New Hope (Part 1) – Day 1

I read an article about a research study done on Jewish Holocaust survivors. The aim of the study was to determine if there were any common factors amongst the group of survivors, as so many people died in the camps. The interesting finding: all the people who survived had hope. Sometimes, it was in the form of a way to escape and other times, in the knowledge that a loved one was still alive and that they might be able to reconcile. The moment the people in the concentration camps lost hope, they died.

With hope, we can scale the highest mountain, face the most challenging situations head-on and continue to move forward even if it feels as if our last breath has been wrenched from our bodies. When we lose hope, our lives fall apart.

What kind of year has this last one been for you? A year filled with highlights in the form of an engagement, a wedding, a new baby in the family or a breakthrough you have been waiting for, for a long time? Or was it perhaps a year you would rather forget as quickly as possible, because a loved one died, you went through a divorce, you received bad news or maybe, you had to spend Christmas alone?

When looking back at the previous year, we are reminded of times where God gave us a supernatural breakthrough when it seemed impossible, but we are also reminded of his presence amidst the most difficult moments. It creates an opportunity to thank God, but also it gives us hope to walk into the new year without any fear.

My wish for you for this new year comes from Romans 12:12: Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. And Romans 15:13: 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 abound in hope.

Let us find our hope in God in every situation and let us walk into the new year with an expectant heart of what God can accomplish in and through our lives. You never know, this year might just be your best year so far! God bless.