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What hope can a new year bring to ease the restlessness?Dec 31, 2019 |
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| From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham
Q: The Christmas season for me is always a happy time. It seems people are more likely to be in good spirits. But when the last day of the year comes, I crumble. Depression sets in like a dark cloud as I reflect on disappointments. What hope can a new year bring to ease the restlessness? — H.D. A: A new year is only a mark of time, a turning of the page. Mankind was not established on earth just to be preoccupied with self, our own problems and pleasures. Mankind was not put here to make this a better world. If this is all there is to life, then it truly is “meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:14, NIV). Man was not made for himself, but for God. The Great Designer planned that we would know Him forever. Why are people so restless? Why are people constantly searching for lasting peace and contentment yet never fully satisfied? Many people express this particularly when a new year approaches. Countless people echo this lament. The Bible says this happens for a very good reason: We are incomplete without God. If we leave Him out of our lives, we have an empty place in our souls, a yearning deep inside us that only God can satisfy. No matter how hard we try, if we ignore God, our search for lasting peace and happiness will be futile. Man is not just a physical being; he is a spiritual being, created with a soul or spirit that gives the ability to know God. The Bible says that God implanted something of Himself inside of us: “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). God has given us a unique spiritual nature and we can know its blessings when we surrender completely to Him. ======== (This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.) (c)2019 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC. |
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