HOGpreacher: December 2008

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Happy New Year

HOPE

…but they who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, and they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. [Is. 40:31]

Tonight we celebrate the close of 2008 and we will wake to the opening of a new year. Some of you will greet the New Year with horns, cheers, and revelry, others of us will fall asleep before midnight and simply say hello to 2009 when we get up. Regardless of how we get there, we will all experience a new start, a new beginning, a new calendar year.

One of the benefits of marking time in year increments is that it offers us a beginning and an end. Regardless of the events that have occurred, we can bring to a close a specific time frame and start fresh. We have all heard and possibly said ourselves, “I’m more than ready for a new year, I just want to move on.” Closure can be a therapeutic aid in getting past difficulties or painful events.

So, we approach the New Year as a blank sheet of paper-unblemished, neither good nor bad, simply waiting for us to make our mark. But we don’t have to just throw ourselves to the winds of time and see where we are taken. We have choices. While we may not be able to alter world direction or reverse national trends, we can affect our dispositions and interactions. I have some control in how I view the world and how I interact with others. A major influence on our mood and view is the level of hope that lives inside.

Hope isn’t based on one’s ability to forecast what direction things will go, or on knowing exactly how things will turn out, it springs out of one’s faith and trust. Those who believe God is a compassionate, merciful, and loving God, will take comfort that under His guidance and direction, we will experience His gifts. Our hope in His presence in our lives provides us with the energy, openness, and willingness to pursue dreams, weather failures, and look to tomorrow with promise.

As the New Year unfolds and you make your mark on the days head, we pray you have the confidence and peace that hope provides. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may about in hope.” [Rom 15:13]