What do you see in the mirror?

I woke up on New Year’s morning, stumbled into the bathroom, and looked in the mirror. The truth is, I did not like what I saw. Looking back at me was a face with deep wrinkles, worry lines, and exhaustion—the opposite picture of rest, peace, and hope.

I was amazed at how quickly my brain planned how to reinvent myself: I was going to look after my physical body better. I was going to eat better, exercise more, and make sure that by the end of 2026, I would look a whole lot different than I did at the end of 2025.

And then the Spirit of God stopped me and reminded me: a new year isn’t about reinventing yourself—it’s about being renewed by God’s Spirit.

You see, all of the physical things that I saw were actually a reflection of deeper spiritual issues. There were weighty concerns that I had refused to turn over to the care of God. There was stress because I was holding on to things that I was never designed to hold on to. There was pain as I refused to surrender certain things in my life to God.

Transformation begins when your thoughts are aligned with His truth. So, before we fall into the fallacy that internal work can be fixed externally, let’s pause. What truth is God trying to teach you right now?

“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7, NIV)

So, what if we decided to align our hearts with God’s truth this year, focusing only on what He is telling us to surrender to His good care—so that we can truly be transformed from the inside out? When we do that, miracles are ready to happen!

Jesus, would You give us the courage to surrender all to You, so that the transformation of our outward body would reflect an inner transformation of the soul?

Never forget, my friend—you are a miracle.