Hello my dear readers, I am so happy and grateful to God could come back again in this New Year. Happy New Year! We are wishing you a year of health, wealth, happiness, success, warmth, and loads of love of your dear ones. I hope this New Year showers you with full of Joy and blessings. This is my first post in this brand new year.
Has become our familiarity every early year our company held a general meeting. We discussed everything about the company growth in the previous years; we evaluate and make plans and targets to be achieved during a year ahead. In the meeting, there was one interesting thing and it made me ponder. One of our director said, “This New Year will be similar with the previous, we will be in uncertainty situation. We could make the best plans, but still, we don’t even know what will be happen next. Everything could be change in a matter of minutes”
I heard sound of pessimistic and skepticism! Questions arose in my heart. Should not we enter the New Year with a new vigor? Should we move in this New Year with shadowed by uncertainty? Then whether we have losing the joy in our lives in this New Year just because we think that we will face uncertain situation? Then without sounding of preaching and giving a lesson, carefully I am trying to say something, “Yes indeed if we look at the current situation and the conditions in which the world is filled with a variety of problems, it is natural we would be so easy to doubt and pessimist. But on the one hand we should not forget that we have God who always be with us. Because of Him we could calm. As written in Psalm:”
Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. (Psalm 62:1 NIV)
My beloved readers, for me personally, this verse is very encouraging and able to give peace. Actually true tranquility comes from God, not from the world circumstances where we are, instead from an abundance of money, status, employment levels and so on, nor from others. The condition may be uncertain or unclear and this time, It may be that there are among of us who in the lowest point of crisis. But by realize that the presence of God will always be with us should be able to keep us calm. Our salvation is in His hands, help on any difficult thing was upon him, guarantee of future day will be provided by God. If we continue on the next verse, an affirmation will feel getting stronger.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:2 NIV)
Then, we will find a similar verse in the verse 6:
Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. (Psalm 62:5 NIV)
The world may be full of uncertainties like our director said. Maybe many people predict that this year is not better than the previous year but we have rock and unshakable fortress that could be a place to hold. We can remain calm focus to provide or perform the best if we realize that God is always close to us.
I was remembering story of Micah. Micah is a prophet from the remote village whose ministry is in the range of the reign of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Situation and condition the world today seems similar as in the time of Micah. Chapter 7 the book of Micah describe the moral depravity and a very difficult situation at the time. Famine, Crop failure (Verse 1), moral degradation, loss of godly and honest people, trepan each other, deceived each other, even destroy each other (Verse 2) Has been so accustomed to do evil, corrupt officials and judges and accepting bribes, the leader imposes his will, the law perverted (Verse 3) Even the best people in the world likened as useless and stabs thorn hedge, nothing else can be trusted, broken homes, hostility among family members (Verse 4-6) Micah said that all this as a incurable and infectious wound.
“…. Plague is incurable; it has spread to Judah. It has reached the very gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself” (Micah 1: 9 NIV)
Is not what we are facing today is roughly equal to the situation that Micah faced at that time? But let’s take a look what Micah did at the time?
But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me (Micah 7:7 NIV)
What we could learn from the story of Micah? Micah has one big spirit. Yes, spirit of surrender to God. The verse above describe fully surrender to God. Look, after we saw how the moral depravity expressed so obvious in the previous verses, then Micah expressed his attitude was in such conditions: Micah chose to hold on to God with the full of hope. Micah believes God’s inclusion in any circumstances, Micah has full of trust to God’s power that will always save and listen to the prayers of His children
If God is able to save His children in the past, if we have repeatedly seen that God is able to perform miracles through magical ways, if formerly He can, even now God is still able! Because,
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8 NIV)
Walking with God does not mean that we will always be one hundred percent live without problems. Problems will always be there. But Jesus said,
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34 NIV)
This verse comes preceded by a verse which also already known very well:
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33 NIV)
Let’s try to combine these two verses. The result is, we will know and understand that even in the hardship that can be comes tomorrow God will still be there. Tomorrow will have worry about itself. Fear that muddying our thoughts today about tomorrow will not change anything. No results could be obtained with fears; instead we will add a new problem. Want to restless or anxious as any, tomorrow will remain come with the trouble itself. But if we truly believe that God is always present and be with us, why we should be worry? Tomorrow will be comes with its own difficulties but do not forget that not only problems and difficulties. God’s word said that,
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV)
All of that would be more than enough to strengthen us through the difficult days and can make us live with joy that is not from the world but from God.
My dear beloved friends, what about us now? Are there any of us who are afraid to face uncertainty in entering this New Year? Whether in undergoing this New Year we are full of fear and doubt? If there are, let’s come closer to God, and get the serenity and strength. Do not let doubt fulfill our mind. Point our thoughts and views focus on God alone. Truly trust in Him! Express our fear and doubt we have in Him.
Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. (Psalm 62:8 NIV)
Praise Him and give thanks to God because He promised that,
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. (Psalm 46:2-8 NIV)
God has promised something that should be comforting and calming us, something that should not make us has to lose the joy. Therefore we do not need to fear to enter the New Year which is predicted by human logic to be a full with uncertainty or hopeless.
At the beginning of this New Year please allow me to encourage all of you that we do not need to worry because we have a God who is very concerned. Close to God will always be able to make us calm. His sturdiness will be able to make us not easily shaken. It is okay World continue to offer the uncertainty, but there is assurance in God. Tomorrow will come with its own problems. But we still must remember that the grace of God, which never end will also present and greet us when we wake up in the morning. We do not need to be afraid to face tomorrow and the next days because I know and I believe that God always be with us and he will goes before us as He promised:
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV)
God has given so many promises as written in the verses above, so why should we be afraid? Let’s enter the New Year with joy, let’s fill this year with the best thing we can do, and let us give praise and thanksgiving to God who has promised to be with us from the beginning to the end of the year. God’s promises are yes and Amen! His promises are never failed.
Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled. (Joshua 21:45 NIV)
Let us use this year as a moment to increase our relationship with God, exercise our faith in order to continue to grow better and increase our capacity to receive the outpouring of wine from Heaven. Tribulation may be present tomorrow, but as sunrise that certainly presents every morning, likewise the God’s promise will certainly present in our life. Amen
Karina – Living by faith
Photo by Sue Nash https://heavenlyraindrops.wordpress.com/
Karina's Thought 