It’s a new year, and yet—for many—it seems like some of the old is trying to come along for the ride. That’s not surprising, but we do not have to despair.
As followers of Christ, there’s much that we can rejoice about in our day-to-day lives. Despite pressures, obligations, and the frenzied pace of our hectic world, we have promises from Almighty God, who is all-powerful and well-known for keeping His Word.
He has promised to take us from glory to glory as we follow Him through life (2 Corinthians 3:18). We have His reassurance that regardless of our flaws, past sins, shortcomings, habits, hangups, or hurts, we can look like Christ.
This may seem hard to believe at different points in our average day, especially when we think how Jesus (who was, is, and will always be perfect, holy, sinless, giving, and relentlessly kind) took no offense when being ridiculed, verbally attacked, threatened, and even murdered.
In areas where we feel we fall short in our performance or our relationships—in our patience, in our ability to display Christ fully to a broken world—accusation arises to magnify our weakness and diminish God’s strength in our eyes. Even in these moments, the truth remains and stands against the onslaught of the enemy’s taunting:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
For the followers of Christ, there is an insurmountable hope that the Lord’s words will always be proven true in our lives regardless of the situation. Even when things feel, sound, and appear to be headed in the opposite direction of the Word or our desires, we can hold firmly to truth. And when the old tries to infiltrate the new, we can cling to the paradigm-shifting reality that our Maker has written His commitment throughout the Bible to remind us that even when He’s working with rough materials and all hope seems to be lost, our God does not fail.
This year, do not hesitate to cling to the truth of God’s word!
“I am who I am.” (Exodus 3:14)
God alone is God. The great, powerful, all-knowing, sovereign Ruler of all things. He has no beginning and no end. He will always exist, always have all power and all authority and always be proven as victorious, regardless of the situation or circumstance. The God who created all things from nothing still specializes in miracles and making new things out of nothing.
“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has taught Him?” (Isaiah 40:12–13)
“‘To whom then will you liken Me that I should be equal to him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40:25–26)
“Have you not known? Have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint, nor is He weary? His understanding is inscrutable.” (Isaiah 40:28)
“Indeed, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” (Jeremiah 31:3)
Long before the world was formed, God thought of and desired us to receive His love. He wanted you in His family simply to love you because you are you and made by Him. Ephesians 1 reminds us of this tangible truth of how greatly we are loved.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who . . . chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him in love; He predestined us to adoption as sons to Himself through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace which He graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.” (Ephesians 1:3–8)
God is for You
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)
All throughout the Bible we see how the Lord takes care of His children. He provides, protects, restores, cleanses, and heals His people. Even though He needs nothing, He leads in kindness and humbly invites us to walk with Him. The same God who led His people out of slavery from the grip of a powerful king is the same One who desires that you prosper even as your soul prospers.
“Anyone who harms you harms my most precious possession.” (Zechariah 2:8)
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me. For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)
