At the beginning of this year, I was reflecting on just how fast the previous twelve months had flown by. Normally, I am a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. I love setting health goals, financial targets, and house projects. But as I sat down to prepare a message for our church, I felt a genuine tension.

I started to think about how busy the prior year had been – how many things were happening right up until the end – and I realised I didn’t know if I had enough energy to set “big goals” this time. I didn’t have the space in my calendar to fit more “doing” in.

In that wrestling, I kept coming back to Psalm 92. For a while, I couldn’t figure out how it fit, but then I realised God wanted to use it as a prophetic platform for our church for 2026.

We are Trees, Not Machines

In our modern society, humans are often treated like machines to be optimised and perform. The goal of a machine is output and productivity. But when God speaks about the righteous, He doesn’t use the language of mechanics; He uses the language of biology.

Psalm 92:12-15

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no wickedness in him.’”

I believe this is God’s heart for us this year: A year of flourishing. A year of growth. A year of bearing fruit and staying fresh and green.

But notice how that happens. It’s not through more “hustle” or “grind.” Trees don’t “strive” to grow. These trees are slow and enduring. They take time. A machine burns out; a tree that abides stays “fresh and green” even in hard seasons. As Henri Nouwen once asked:

“The question is not how many people take you seriously, how much are you going to accomplish, can you show some results, but are you in love with Jesus?”

The Power of the Vine

Jesus took this illustration even deeper in John 15. He makes it clear that our success this year isn’t about doing more for Him, but staying closer to Him.

John 15:1-12

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful… Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

Redefining Fruit – What are we actually looking for?

Before we look at how to grow, we have to challenge what we perceive as “fruit.” In our world – and even in our businesses or families – we often think fruit is the outcome. We think fruit is the promotion, the amount of money saved, the house bought, or even how many chapters of the Bible we ticked off a list.

But these are outcomes, not necessarily biblical fruit.

In verse 12, Jesus says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” The fruit God is looking for in your life in 2026 is Love. Are you more patient with your kids? Are you kinder to that difficult colleague? Is the fruit of the Spirit – peace, gentleness, and joy – more evident in your life now than it was last year? That is the fruit of the kingdom.

Here is the nuance we often miss: We want our lives to be effective. We want multiplication. But to have multiplication, you need seeds. And you cannot manufacture a seed. You can’t go out and “work” to create the seeds of success or impact. In nature, the seed only exists inside the fruit.

If you want your life to be effective and multiply in 2026, you don’t start with the seeds (the results). You start with abiding. When you remain in the Vine, fruit is produced naturally. And tucked inside that fruit are the seeds of multiplication and effectiveness that God has planned for your future. You can’t start with the seed; you start with the connection.

You Can’t Will a Tree to Grow

Here is the challenge: you cannot produce more fruit out of more effort. Think about it – you can’t stand over a tree and demand it produce more fruit. You can’t shame it into productivity. You can’t give it a performance review or set more aggressive KPIs.

In the same way, you cannot manufacture love through willpower. You can’t simply “try harder” to be patient or “work harder” to be joyful. A tree produces fruit naturally when it is healthy. Instead of focusing on the fruit, we must focus on the environment. When we adjust the environment, the fruit follows naturally.

Adjusting Your Environment: The Three Keys

If we want to see fruit in 2026, we have to look at the three environmental factors that create health:

1. Good Soil (Where are you planted?)

The righteous flourish in the “courts of our God.” Are you actually planted in the house, or are you just attending?

• Practically: This looks like building deep relationships with those sitting around you. It’s being vulnerable and letting people know the real you. Whether you are a retiree or a young family, your health depends on being rooted in community.

2. Deep Roots (What sustains you?)

Deep roots come from rhythms that keep you connected to Jesus, not just big goals.

• Practically: Use the things you already do. Pray while you brush your teeth. Meditate on a scripture during your 30-minute walk. These “piggyback rhythms” allow your roots to go deep into the Vine without adding more “work” to your day.

3. Pruning (What needs to go?)

Even good branches get pruned so they can be more fruitful.

• Practically: This is about less distraction rather than more discipline. Ask yourself: what is crowding out my connection to Him? Is it the social media scroll? The constant noise of the news? The “hustle” identity? What is God asking you to cut away this year to make room for more love?

A Prophetic Challenge

As we journey through 2026, I don’t want to ask what you have accomplished. I want to ask: Are you planning to be more in love with Jesus this year than you were last year?

If you stay connected to the Vine, the fruit – the love, the patience, the kindness – will follow. Let’s stop trying to manufacture life through willpower. Instead, let’s get planted, let our roots go deep, and let the Father prune what needs to go.

Let’s abide in Him.