New Hope for A New Year

With the new year only hours away, I search for words of wisdom to share with you…. just the usual “happy new year” doesn’t say all I feel. I wish for all of us a bounty of new hope and the peaceful assurance that God is in His heaven and all is right with the world. As always, God’s Word says it best.
Psalm 96 tells us to “Sing unto the Lord a new song, bless His name and show forth His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the heathen and His wonders among all the people. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all Gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.
Psalm 98: Sing unto the Lord a new song; for He hath done marvelous things. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth; make a loud noise and rejoice, and sing praise.
Psalm 100: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.”
May these words encourage us all to walk more closely with Him and share His love daily with those around us. I hope we can approach the new year with a more positive attitude. We’ve all heard the bad news that is broadcast daily and makes hope seem elusive if not impossible to find. It’s true that our country has seen better times, but hope is still alive as long as God is in charge.
Our prayers go out to the ones who have been hit by recent tragedies caused by floods, tornadoes, blizzards and so forth. May the new year bring them peace and the awareness that healing can be found in the arms of Jesus. May we find new ways to tell the old story of Jesus and His love to those who need to hear it most.
Let us all sing a new song of hope, peace and encouragement for all the world to hear. We serve a living God who has promised to never leave us or forsake us. Let us not forsake Him either by complaining and dwelling on the negative things that happen all around us, but look rather for the good that comes to those of us who love the Lord. Miracles happen every day too. When you witness one, tell others about it. When God dips His love in your heart and you feel like shouting, go ahead….make a joyful noise!!
May God’s love and the peace His presence alone brings be enough to see us all through the coming new year. May our hearts be reminded of and blessed daily by the power in the name of Jesus!  Happy New Year!