Hope for the New Year

“Something good is coming.” That was my hope one January when we were planning to move. We had lived in Pennsylvania for twelve wonderful years, where my husband Kelvin had pastored his first church. But he felt it was time to move on. It would be hard to leave our many cherished friends and to step out into the unknown. In the past, God had always taken care of us, so we were confident that He would continue to do so. We believed strongly that He had plans for our future. He just wasn’t telling us what they were. Yet.

In January, Kelvin began sending resumés to churches around the country, but positions that looked promising never materialized. I held on to the hope, “We know God has a place for us.” By the end of June, when all the other pastoral changes had already occurred, we were still left without a church. We learned that there was a very good reason for that. A church in our district opened suddenly when their own pastor finally received word that he had been accepted elsewhere. The reason we had to wait was because our new opportunity hadn’t even existed yet. So our hope in God did not disappoint us!

God’s word tells us: “Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us” (Romans 5:5). We can trust in the fact that God loves us. Hope is the confidence that He will bring about what is best for us overall in His perfect timing. Hope is a byproduct of trusting in who God is and living in the ways He has shown us.

When someone asks me to pray for a new job for them, I sometimes say, “I believe God has a place for you. But maybe that job just isn’t open yet. And it could be better than the job you’re looking at now.” When we put our hope in specific circumstances, we may be disappointed. But when we put our hope in God, we will always find the help and strength we need. God promises to meet all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.¹

For those who are concerned about our country’s future, I believe the best thing we can do is to put our hope in God, instead of in our plans or political persuasions. Here are two good reasons:

1. We can put our hope in God because of who He is! He is all-knowing, more powerful than any army, and sovereign above all authorities in existence. He is also always truthful, compassionate, merciful, patient, and just and fair to all. God is trustworthy; He is good and kind, always available to guide us.

2. We can put our hope in what God says. When God speaks, His words will accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which He sends it.²  God has always carried through with what He promised and always will. He always speaks the truth because He cannot lie. All of His promises are trustworthy and will be fulfilled at the proper time. God will encourage our hearts and give us endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ! ³

When we face a serious problem, our first instinct is to say, How can I handle this? But we need to remember our HOPE is in the Lord. He wants us to trust in Him with all our heart and not to rely on our understanding of the problem. ⁴ He knows our future and wants us to seek Him first in everything, individually and collectively. King Jehoshaphat, when threatened by a vast army, put His hope in God. “We do not know what to do,” he prayed, “but our eyes are on You.” God told them not to be afraid, that He would fight for them. And He did! The enemy was defeated completely! ⁵

Our ultimate hope comes from our trust in Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us. His blood shed in our place paid the debt we owe to restore our relationship with God our Father. By embracing Jesus as Lord, we have the sure hope of eternal life in heaven. Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Corinthians 4:17). Meanwhile, each new day brings us hope as we see God’s hand working daily for our good.  

May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

¹ Philippians 4:19; ² Isaiah 55:11; ³1 Thessalonians 1:3; ⁴ Proverbs 3:5;  ⁵ 2 Chronicles 20;