Anyone who knows me will know that I am probably the worlds worst blogger. What started off as a good idea soon got relegated to the bottom of the to-do list, and more often than not has fallen off altogether! However, a friends post on Facebook yesterday got me thinking, so I thought I would share my thoughts.
He was reflecting on the year that was 2012. He was saying that for him, it had been a mixed year – some highs, some lows. My guess is that this would be true for most of us. Life is rarely all good or bad – it’s most usually a mixture. He went on to quote from Romans 5:
Romans 5:3-5 (ESVUK)
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
In this passage, the Apostle Paul talks about hope. This is one word that has such a stronger meaning in the Bible than we have for it in everyday English. We might hope for good weather, or for a favourite sports team to win their next match. Often this hope is no more than wishful thinking. Biblical hope is so much more. Biblical hope looks not to good fortune but looks to Jesus. We are encouraged to put our hope in Him.
The Psalmist puts it like this:
For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. (Psalm 71:5)
As 2012 has now ended and we look forward to 2013, my encouragement to all of us, me included, is not just to hope for a better year, but to put our hope in Him who is our hope. Let’s put our hope and trust in Him who promises to walk through this year with us, no matter what it may bring. As you hope in Him, let me wish you a very Happy, Hope-filled New Year.
Graham Pyman 