[some context…]This reflection was sparked by two things I watched and sat with in the last day or so — Pastor Dharius Daniels’ New Year’s Eve message on necessary endings, obedience, and spiritual maturity, and a TikTok I came across about staying spiritually awake in seasons of waiting and preparation. Both spoke directly to where I am right now — standing between what has been and what’s next, asking God to help me become ready for whatever He reveals.
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There’s something about the first quiet hours of a new year that makes everything feel louder — the questions, the hope, the uncertainty, the faith. And sitting in that tension, one thought keeps repeating itself in my spirit:
I want to be ready.
Not frantic-ready. Not anxious-ready. Not the kind of “ready” that scrambles to control outcomes or rushes ahead of God because the unknown feels uncomfortable.
I mean a deeper readiness — rooted, sustained, grounded in trust — so that if God says move, I move. If He says wait, I wait. If He shifts the direction, I don’t cling to what’s familiar out of fear. I release it, even when I don’t fully understand what’s next.
The truth is…I don’t know what’s next. Like, literally ZERO ideas. And if I’m being completely honest, that uncertainty feels heavy. It makes me wrestle with impatience, impulse, and the urge to fix things on my own. But this year, I’m choosing patience over panic — dependence over striving — trusting God as provider not just in language, but in lifestyle.
Part of what stirred this reflection was Pastor Dharius Daniels’ message about necessary endings — the idea that some endings are not failures, but prerequisites for fruitfulness; that God sometimes asks us to release what worked in one season so He can repurpose it in the next.
Matthew 4:18-22 NIV
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Pastor talked about the disciples — lifelong fishermen with identity, security, and legacy wrapped up in what they knew. Yet when Jesus called them to follow Him, they left the boat, the nets, even familiar relationships — not because fishing was useless, but because God was redeploying their skills into a new assignment.
They didn’t stop being fishermen.They just stopped fishing for fish.
That hit me deep.
There are moments where I’ve wondered whether everything I’ve built — the work, the learning, the creativity, the service — still fits. And on hard days, it can feel like maybe it was all for nothing…like I’m standing at the edge of a shift I don’t yet understand.
But maybe — like the disciples — none of it was wasted.Maybe it was training. Formation. Apprenticeship.Maybe God is repurposing the tools, not discarding them.
And if that’s true, then yes — I want to be ready.
Ready to follow.Ready to release.Ready to hear.Ready to trust that nothing I’ve walked through has been in vain.
The other message that resonated came from the TikTok about not “falling asleep” spiritually — not drifting back into old habits or abandoning obedience right before God moves. The reminder was simple:
this is not the time to sleep — this is the time to prepare.
Readiness isn’t waiting in front of a door, hoping it opens.Readiness is becoming the kind of person who can walk through it when it does.
It looks like faithfulness in small things.Integrity in unseen places.Obedience even when instructions feel incomplete.Staying awake when impatience wants to take over.
I don’t know what God is preparing me for this year. I don’t know which doors will open or close, or how my gifts will shift and stretch. But I know this:
I don’t want to miss what’s for me.I don’t want to mishandle what’s next.I don’t want to cling to boats God is asking me to step out of.
So 2026, for me, is about learning how to be ready — spiritually, emotionally, mentally, relationally. It’s about drawing closer to God, being honest with myself, and letting the Holy Spirit sharpen my awareness so I can hear, see, and sense when He is speaking.
Rooted enough to stay when I need to stay.Surrendered enough to go when it’s time to go.Open enough to release what no longer belongs in this season.Trusting enough to believe that whatever God reveals next…
…I’ll be ready.
And if I’m not ready yet — I’m willing to become ready.To be shaped. To be refined. To be taught.To let God repurpose the parts of me I once thought were permanent.
Because readiness isn’t about knowing what’s ahead —it’s about becoming who I need to be before I get there.
Amen? Amen. Let it be so.
All Is Well— Ashlee Nicole
What I’m Currently Reading: The Let Them Theory by Mel Robins
