By now, many of us have quietly decided that 2026 is already a disappointment.
The plans were good. The intentions were sincere. Read more Scripture. Pray with focus. Rest better. Love people with more patience. But somewhere between the calendar turning and real life showing up, things slipped. Days were missed. Rhythms broke. Motivation faded. And without saying it out loud, we started telling ourselves a story. I blew it. Maybe next year.
Jesus never tells that story.
In the Gospels, Jesus consistently meets people after failure, not before success. Peter does not deny Jesus once but three times. Publicly. Clearly. Without ambiguity. And yet resurrection morning does not come with a lecture. It comes with an invitation. Go tell the disciples and Peter. Jesus makes breakfast. He asks one simple question. Do you love me? Then he calls Peter forward again.
This is how Jesus teaches us about time. Failure does not disqualify you from starting again. Delay does not displease God. There is no expiration date on obedience.
We tend to treat spiritual practices like streaks. Miss a day and the whole thing collapses. Jesus treats them like relationships. You do not stop loving someone because you missed a conversation. You speak again. You show up again. You begin again.
The mercy of God is not measured in clean starts. It is measured in fresh ones.
Scripture is full of late beginnings. Moses is eighty when God sends him. Jonah runs the opposite direction before finally obeying. The thief on the cross has no time to fix his life and still hears, Today you will be with me in paradise. Jesus never says you should have started sooner. He says, Follow me now.
That word now matters.
Now is where grace lives. Not yesterday. Not the version of you with better discipline. Not the imaginary future where life slows down. Now. This breath. This moment. This ordinary day.
If you have already failed at the goals you set for 2026, you are not behind. You are exactly where Jesus often does his best work, right after the moment you realize you cannot save yourself through effort.
Starting again does not require a dramatic reset. It requires honesty. Name what is true. I am tired. I am distracted. I am discouraged. Then take one small step toward God. Open the Psalms. Say a simple prayer. Show up to worship even if you feel flat. Love the person in front of you.
Faithfulness is not about intensity. It is about returning.
Every day with Jesus begins the same way. Not with a scorecard. Not with shame. But with an open hand. Come to me.
It is never too late to start again. Because with Jesus, beginning again is not a failure. It is the point.
