‘In this world you will have trouble,’ Jesus told his
friends, ‘but take heart, I have overcome the world.’
You start the new year full of hope and even vague
expectation that it is going to be great. Of course it’s just another month but
there is something cathartic about taking down the old calendar (if you’re like
me and not yet sold on the advantages of linked up Google diaries) and putting
up the new.
It’s a clean slate. Anything could happen. You’ve identified
those things which tripped you up last year. You’ve declared you won’t let that
happen again. So, there should be no problem with getting on with a new vision,
realizing a new (or even an old but as yet unfulfilled) dream.
And then the new year starts. And if yours is anything like
mine, already there have been a few glitches. Only three days into it and we’ve
had a sickness bug, a problem at work, a dog who looked like she was on her
last legs and then, miraculously, has picked up again. And I just don’t seem to
be getting on with anything much. Keep getting distracted and then having
another cup of coffee. Or reading a newspaper. Or eating a sugar cookie.
Well, I don’t know about you but I am so grateful that Jesus
has overcome the world, and that as big as some problems seem, as yucky and
unpalatable as some are, he is still with me. He is still whispering into my
heart words of encouragement, words of love. He hasn’t stopped believing in me
and wanting to help me to realize some of those dreams.
And he’s whispering those words of encouragement into your
heart, too. So take time to listen. I’m about to slip into my prayer alcove and
shut out the world. Because in it, we will have trouble.
Thank God for Jesus.
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