Many were glad to see the old year pass and ready to welcome 2020. Still others might find it hard to think of facing a whole new year while dealing with the same old problems. Christmas and the holidays were not easy for many who lost loved ones, found themselves without a job, or simply were financially challenged. The news of our economy sounds great, but many are still unemployed and hungry…while the costs of living continue to rise.
Psalm 96:1 tells us to “Sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.” What new song should we be singing? The old songs of blues and heartache are just that: Old! Why don’t we try changing our lives by changing our attitudes…and find that new song. I know it’s not easy to always be optimistic and look for a silver lining when the clouds are so heavy, but we can look for the good in all situations and try our best not to get discouraged. It is often said that God would not bring us this far, just to desert us. Maybe He was not the one that did the deserting, the moving away from how we used to do things… like trusting and obeying His every word.
Many times in their exodus from Egypt, the people accused God of forsaking them; leading them so far just to have them die without water, without food and other necessities…Each time they complained to Moses and he talked to God about it…and each time God sent what they needed: water, food, a light to travel by night and a shade during the day. We are often reminded that we do not have simply because we do not ask.
God knows our needs, but He wants us to look to Him for help. He wants to be a part of what we do and where we go. No one likes to feel responsible for every little thing and like they are the only one trying to remedy a situation and make things better. Men often feel this way when out of a job and others in the family complain of being hungry or having to do without something. There is no shame in asking for help, especially from the One who loves us most. James 5:16 tells us that the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man just like us, with the same passions and desires, and he prayed ernestly that it would not rain…and it didn’t rain for three years and six months.
Let our resolution this year be to serve the Lord with gladness and to enter His courts with a new song. Onward Christian Soldiers isn’t new by any means, but maybe we haven’t been singing it enough lately so it’s new to us. He Lives, is a song that reminds us that Christ is still among us and taking care of business as from the beginning no matter what man may say. “What a Friend we Have in Jesus, never grows old…Take it to The Lord in Prayer: “Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
May we all find our new song and sing it throughout this new year. The days ahead are full of promise and newness of life. Jesus tells us in Matt. 6: 31 Take no thought (don’t worry) saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? 32 …for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!