HOW should we end year 2015 and begin year 2016?
I suggest--with a spirit of gratitude and hope. Gratitude to thank God for keeping us through 2015 and hope that he will continue to sustain us in 2016.
Only because of God’s grace were we able to survive the year that is now ending. Everything that we have accomplished---what we think are fruits of our labor---were made possible only because of God.
He is the real owner of everything, including our very own lives. And he is the real achiever who granted us the privilege of cooperating with his work. Truly, he is the vine, we are the branches; without him we can do nothing (John 15:5).
When we think of God’s blessings, the extraordinary ones often strike us---the conversion and softening of hardened sinners, the healing of what in human knowledge seemed to be incurable diseases, the restoration of broken relationships, the reversal of financial crises, the unexpected leaps in study or work, and other harder-to-explain things whose occurrences can only be regarded as miracles.
Yes, God gave them all. He can choose to operate beyond the natural laws, and he will do so if he chooses to, for he is a sovereign God who is at the same time a good father who desires good gifts for his children (Luke 11:13).
Yet even the simple, ordinary blessings of everyday life that we often take for granted also come from his loving hands. Every heartbeat, every breathe on our nostrils, each rising of the sun, each restful night’s sleep, every completed task, every good laugh, every kind word from a friend---in fact everything good and noble---all these are gifts not deserved but freely given.
For all these, may we at the threshold of another year, look back and say, “Thank you, Lord.” May his immeasurable love motivate us to know him more, love him more and serve him more in the coming year.
As we face the many uncertainties of 2016, it is tempting to fall into the trap of anxiety. What if this time around I will fail? What if I get sick and die? What if I lose my love ones? What if things go wrong in my job? Our minds can conceive an endless trail of what ifs.
As children of God, however, we are not called to worry but to continue in our hope and trust in him. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us, “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
To be sure, 2016 will not be problem-free; no year is. But we can be consoled by the thought that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). To a Christian, nothing becomes wasted. Our heavenly Father can intervene to make everything, even problems, profitable to us.
There will be trials, but St. Paul writes, “No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Our battles in 2016 have been won even before they begin. The battles are the Lord’s, not ours (2 Chronicles 20:15). This is our hope. This is our faith. We will be victorious in Jesus’ name.
Happy New Year.