Joy,Hope, Security, and Great Faith

As we come to the close of another year, I can’t help but look back. What were my successes and what were my failures? I give myself the appropriate pats on the back for the jobs well done, or the kicks in the pants for my perceived misses. It seems many of us get caught up in the ‘be a better you this year’ mentality. It’s tough not to, the messages are everywhere. Scads of books and talk shows are headlined with these topics. Being an overachiever myself, I buy into these ideas hook, line and sinker. Until, in my most quiet moments, which are rare these days, I hear His voice. “Are you ready to hear what I have to say about the past and the future?” “Are you ready to grow and learn from Me?” Like a flood, God’s words spoken through Moses come rushing in. “Listen O heavens and I will speak; hear O earth the words of my mouth. Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.” (Deut. 32:1-2.) Human nature causes us to try to do it better. Make this year great, make more of an impact! God gently reminds me, it’s about Him. If I have failed, He and I have dealt with it and He remembers it no more. If I have had a triumph of any kind, He did it all. If my kids are obedient, my husband is content, and we are financially sound, it’s because He has showered us with blessings. I can not look at anything good in my life and take any credit. I am then pressed to proclaim His goodness!
There is also the other side of that reflection coin. What’s next? What’s to come? Two years ago we welcomed our precious son Canon, and two weeks later said goodbye to my dad. We rejoiced in the birth of our third child, and yet grieved the loss of my dad. New Year’s can be so exciting and yet so daunting. There can be hope and expectation, but also fear and worry. Still having grief and loss fresh in my mind, I tread lightly into the New Year. A piece of me wants to hold onto last year. I know how it turned out. Even if there was pain, I know that pain and I survived. I don’t know the end of the story for 2008 yet. As my mind flip flops between proclaiming God’s goodness and concern for what lies ahead, He speaks again. The rest of that passage, “Oh praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, His works are perfect and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.” (Deut.32:3&4.) We can look to the future with joy because His works are perfect. We can feel safe and secure because He is the Rock we hold onto. In a world were there is so much uncertainty and deception, He is our sure foundation whom we can trust. When my biggest fears flood in, when my temptations of thinking I’m great sneak up, and when I take up past sins, I remember to proclaim His goodness. He alone is the reason we can look to a new year with joy, hope, security and great faith.