Why Your 2025 Struggles Will Change the Way You Pursue Purpose in 2026 (And Why That's Perfect)

2025 has been a lot. Maybe you're sitting there thinking this year knocked you flat on your back more times than you care to count. Perhaps you questioned your calling, felt overwhelmed by circumstances, or wondered if you were even walking in God's will at all.

Girl, I need you to hear this: every single struggle you faced this year wasn't wasted. It wasn't punishment. It wasn't evidence that you're off track.

Your 2025 struggles are actually God's divine preparation for the most authentic, powerful, purpose-filled season you've ever experienced in 2026. And honestly? That's absolutely perfect timing.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

Let's start with what Scripture tells us about hard seasons. When Joseph was thrown into the pit by his brothers, sold into slavery, and wrongfully imprisoned, he wasn't experiencing random bad luck. God was positioning him for a purpose that would save nations. Those years of struggle weren't obstacles to his calling; they were his calling being forged.

The same is true for you, beautiful.

Every challenge you faced this year, whether it was financial pressure, relationship struggles, health issues, career setbacks, or that deep sense of "I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing with my life", has been shaping your character, clarifying your priorities, and preparing you for a level of purpose you couldn't have accessed without going through the fire.

Your 2025 struggles taught you things that comfort never could:

• What you're truly made of when everything falls apart

• Which relationships and opportunities actually matter

• Where your security really comes from (spoiler: it's not your bank account or your circumstances)

• How to depend on God in ways you never had to before

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." - James 1:2-4

Here's what I've noticed about Kingdom women who've walked through difficult seasons: they emerge with a different kind of purpose pursuit. Not the shiny, Instagram-worthy kind that looks good on the outside but crumbles under pressure. No, they develop the kind of purpose that's been tested, refined, and proven in real life.

Maybe in previous years, you felt pressure to have your calling figured out, to appear like you had it all together, to pursue purpose that looked impressive to others. But 2025 stripped away some of those pretenses, didn't it? When you're in survival mode, you can't afford to waste energy on what doesn't matter.

This forced authenticity is actually a gift. In 2026, you won't be chasing purpose to prove something or gain approval. You'll be walking in purpose because you've discovered who God created you to be when everything else was stripped away.

The financial and emotional constraints of 2025 taught you something powerful: every resource, every opportunity, every relationship is precious. You learned to steward well not because you had abundance, but because you understood the weight of what you'd been given.

This shift from scarcity thinking to stewardship thinking changes everything about how you'll pursue purpose in 2026. You'll make decisions not from fear of missing out, but from wisdom about what truly deserves your investment. You'll say yes to opportunities that align with your calling and no to everything else: not because you're being picky, but because you've learned to honor what God has entrusted to you.

One of the most beautiful things that emerges from hard seasons is a deep appreciation for authentic community. The people who showed up for you during your 2025 struggles: those are your people. The relationships that survived the pressure? Those are relationships built on more than convenience or surface-level connection.

As you step into 2026, you're not pursuing purpose alone anymore. You've been reminded that we need each other, that God designed us for community, and that your calling is meant to be lived out in connection with others who are also walking in their purpose.

"Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." - Psalm 139:23-24

Take some time to journal through these questions, sis. Don't rush through them: let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart as you reflect:

Gratitude in the Struggle:

• How did you see God's faithfulness even in your most difficult moments this year?

• What character qualities did you discover about yourself that you might not have known existed?

• Which relationships deepened during challenging times, and why?

Clarity Through Challenge:

• What dreams, goals, or pursuits felt less important when you were under pressure?

• Conversely, what values or priorities became crystal clear when everything else was uncertain?

• How did your understanding of your identity in Christ shift this year?

Preparation for Purpose:

• What skills, insights, or experiences did your struggles give you that you didn't have before?

• How has your capacity for empathy, compassion, and understanding grown?

• In what ways do you feel more equipped to serve others because of what you've been through?

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.'" - Jeremiah 29:11

Here's what I believe about your 2026, girl: You're about to step into the most aligned, authentic, and impactful season of purpose you've ever experienced. Not because life will be easier (though we pray it is!), but because you've been prepared for it in ways that ease and comfort never could have prepared you.

You'll pursue purpose from a place of:

• Security in your identity rather than insecurity about your performance

• Wisdom from experience rather than naive optimism

• Dependence on God rather than dependence on circumstances

• Gratitude for opportunity rather than entitlement to success

• Compassion for others rather than judgment from your ivory tower

The struggles of 2025 didn't derail your purpose: they refined it. They didn't disqualify you: they prepared you. They didn't waste your time: they invested in your future.

Heavenly Father, thank You for not wasting any of our struggles. Thank You for being faithful in every season, especially the ones that felt overwhelming and uncertain. As we prepare to step into 2026, please help us see our 2025 challenges through Your eyes: not as setbacks, but as setups for the beautiful purpose You've prepared for us.

Give us courage to trust Your process, wisdom to steward well the lessons we've learned, and boldness to step into our calling with authentic confidence. Help us remember that our struggles don't disqualify us: they distinguish us for the unique work You've prepared specifically for us.

We surrender our timeline to Yours, our plans to Your perfect will, and our fears to Your perfect love. Use every difficult moment from this past year as preparation for the purpose breakthrough that's coming. In Jesus' powerful name we pray, Amen.

Don't let anyone: including that voice in your own head: convince you that your 2025 struggles mean you're behind or off track. You're not late to your purpose party. You're not missing your window of opportunity. You're not too damaged, too tired, or too confused to step into what God has for you.

You're exactly where you need to be, having learned exactly what you needed to learn, at exactly the right time.

Your 2026 purpose journey is going to be beautiful precisely because it's been forged in the furnace of real life. And sis, that's not just okay: that's absolutely perfect.

You're ready for what's next. More than you know.