Day: December 28, 2025
ENDING THE YEAR IN PRAISE
WELCOME BACK! As we stand on this last Sunday of the year, we are invited into a Holy time of reflection and response. The Bible says: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Psalm 103:2), and again He reminded us, “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD” (Psalm 150:6). Ending the year in praise is a deliberate act of faith, not a reaction to circumstances. It means we choose gratitude even when the year holds unanswered prayers, delays, and lessons we did not understand at first. Praise acknowledges God’s hand in every season, the victories that made us rejoice, the trials that strengthened our character, and even the waiting that refined our trust. When we lift praise from January to December, we testify that God has been faithful through it all, and we refuse to let unanswered questions silence our gratitude. This is obedience to the call of (1 Thessalonians 5:18), to give thanks in everything, because our praise is rooted not in what happened, but in who God has proven Himself to be.
On this final Sunday, God is also calling us to shift our hearts from what was lost to what was sustained. Yes, some dreams were delayed and some expectations unmet, but look again, you were kept, preserved, and carried by grace. Focus on God’s protection that watched over you, His provision that met your needs, and His presence that never left you alone. Praise recalibrates our vision, helping us see beyond disappointments to divine faithfulness. Like Paul and Silas in Acts 16, who chose praise in the prison at midnight, their worship did not ignore their chains, it invited God into the situation, and heaven responded. When we praise at year’s end, we declare that if God sustained us through this year, He is more than able to lead us into the next. As Isaiah 46:4 assures us, the same God who carried us from the beginning will carry us to the end and beyond.
Finally, understand this truth deeply: praise at the end of the year becomes a prophetic seed for the coming year. It closes one season with thanksgiving and opens the next with expectation. When we end in praise, we align our hearts with God’s presence, for He inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). Even if the fig tree did not blossom and the harvest seemed empty, like Habakkuk, we choose to rejoice in the Lord and find strength in Him (Habakkuk 3:17–19). Thank you for walking this journey of faith together throughout the year, your consistency, hunger for God, and shared hope matter deeply. May the Lord receive our praise today as a sweet offering, and may He crown the coming year with fresh joy, renewed strength, and greater encounters with His presence. I pray that as we end this year in praise, God will usher you into the next with peace, clarity, and overflowing grace, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Israel M Onyije
Uplifted Moments Team Leader
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