Three weeks into 2020. How has the new year been for you?
If it’s going great, good for you! If not, we Chinese get another chance with the Lunar New Year just around the corner … tomorrow! And we get to start over.
Hope in God
Thankfully, for Christians, everyday is a new day in the Lord and we can always look forward to new experiences with Him. New year or not, good times or not so good, Lamentations 3:22 declares that God’s mercies and compassions are “new every morning”. The passage goes on to proclaim the greatness of the faithfulness of our God! To this end, we can and must always hope in Him, and Him alone.
We all desire that 2020 will be better than 2019, that it will be the best year yet. But our hope is not in what the year holds but in God. Perhaps, this is the year that resolutions are kept and goals achieved (we hope la). Even so, our hope is not in how well we accomplish or meet these targets. Our hope is in God.
If we don’t grasp the truth of this hope we have in the Lord, it is all too easy to look to new starts in new years only to discover these to be false starts, over and over again. After just a few of these, discouragement and disillusionment can set in, resulting in a sense of helplessness and hopelessness. This is what happens when we hope according to our own expectations, expecting God to fulfil our desires and wants but not according to His plans and purposes.
The Hope of Glory
Biblical hope is more than just naming and claiming what you hope to have in this temporal, material world. Sadly, many have made it just that, using Hebrews 11:1 as biblical basis. On the contrary, the hope we have in the Lord is that we have confidence and certainty of eternal glory in Jesus Christ. Our hope is “the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
When we are clear about this, it matters not how the year progresses. Whether good or not so good, smooth or challenging, this hope serves as an anchor of the soul – sure and steadfast – because we know that through Jesus, we have access to God’s throne of grace where we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16; 6:19-20).
New Mercy. Fresh Grace.
This is the same mercy and grace declared in Lamentations 3:22 and they are served new and fresh every morning! When I started ministering in a full-time capacity in 2007, I picked this verse as the tagline of my website “One Day at a Time“. It was to remind me that everyday is a new day in the Lord. There will be new challenges and new lessons to be learnt. At the same time, there will be new mercies and fresh grace to sustain and enable me. My part is only to be faithful, recognising and leaning upon the greatness of His faithfulness. My hope is not to be in men or women, in organisations or structure, positions or titles. My hope is to be in God, and God alone.
I am excited for what 2020 will hold for me and my household, and Archippus Awakening. That said, my hope is not based on what I hope to achieve for Jesus. Whilst I have set certain goals to keep me on track, it is important that these markers align with what the Lord has prepared for me in this year. To this end, I am greatly encouraged to receive this verse in my time with the Lord just yesterday:
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
1 Corinthians 2:9
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him
You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet
Dear friends, I don’t know what 2020 holds for you or what you are hoping for. This is my prayer for you … that you will posture to hear and obey the Lord in this new year, resting in His love and grace, holding to the hope that is found only in Him alone. However your journey has been with the Lord, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Wait on Him. Seek Him.
May this new year hold new experiences and encounters for you and your loved ones!
In His love and for His glory!
Henson
One Day At A Time 