The New Year - Pt. 2

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, band I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. (Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV).

 

Happy New Year! As I wrote yesterday, my prayer and hope is that each of you will be able to navigate this year with hope and encouragement in every circumstance you may experience in your journey. This means we begin with the relationship we have with Jesus, guaranteed by the presence of the Holy Spirit who dwell within our spirit. That takes me to our reading today. It is one of the great promises God has for all His people.

 

The birth of Jesus was unusual in many ways. It was inauspicious and relatively quiet, except for the shepherds who heard the angels! I don’t blame people for missing what happened in the small town of Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. Who would have thought that the Lord of heaven and earth would come into the world as a child born in a stable!

 

So, as we close the chapter on 2024 and turn the page to a new year, we might find ourselves remembering some of the triumphs and trials of the past year. Even if you have had some wonderful successes in the past twelve months, you can probably remember some low points as well. As you enter a new year, I hope you can remember that God’s plans have always been to prosper his people. He can transform ordinary events and difficult trials into key moments that help his plans to prosper. He is not out to harm us, but the dark moments we experience can be part of the most important lessons to help us grow nearer to him.

 

God has a way of saving his world that we may find hard to understand. He introduced his Son into the world and brought about our salvation in a way that could easily be overlooked. And yet, he has changed the world, and his kingdom keeps growing. That same God comes into our lives and draws us into his plans for a hope-filled future! Trust His promise of goodness in our lives!