So much can happen in a year. A lot can stay the same, too. Was your 2018 filled with change, transition, new faces, and different places? Or did 2018 chug along the same track, ticking to the same rhythm, consistent routines, and familiar things as in years past? Years can include both the terrifyingly unfamiliar and the monotonous tone of days ticking by— thrilling new opportunities and the comfort of everything that looks just as it always has. Maybe you don’t want to see 2018 tick down to its final seconds. Maybe you can’t wait for the 2018 chapter to close so you can turn the page to a fresh 2019. Maybe you feel that bittersweet mixture of both. I’m feeling nostalgic about 2018 because its twelve months twisted and stretched and poked and prodded me with growing moments I’d never trade for anything. Even the hard stuff became precious to me. (2018, I might forever have a soft spot in my heart for ya.) But as we get ready to ring in the uncharted territory of a new year, this phrase keeps ringing in my ears: 2019 is full of True Hope. So much can happen over the span of 365 days, but on every single one of those days, the sun rises with God’s new mercies. God’s faithfulness won’t fail you on January 1, 2019, and it won’t fail you on December 31, 2019. His faithfulness will hold you and protect you and strengthen you and sustain you every day in-between.
Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, therefore I will hope in him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him (Lam. 3:19–25).
As I read those precious words, I feel my heart surging and swelling with confidence in God. His steadfast love never ceases; His mercies never end. Therefore, we can have hope. Unshakeable, unchanging, unfailing hope for what’s to come. For whatever comes. We don’t know what these next twelve months have in store. . .
- 2019 might knock us down with aches and pains.
- 2019 might knock us out with heart-shattering circumstances.
- The coming year might drag on with one gut-punch after another.
But even in that worst case scenario, God’s faithfulness will never fail you. His mercies to you will be new every morning He gives you breath. Our Sovereign Father who has our best in mind will walk every step of that path with us—or He’ll carry us if we can’t walk anymore (Isa. 41:10, 30:18; Ps. 37). He’s not the God who leaves us high and dry—He’s the God who gives us a future and a hope; True Hope. Not a grit-your-teeth-because-everything-will-end-up-fine kind of hope, but never-ending-love, new-mercies-every-morning hope. He is our Good Shepherd who says He’s got 2019 covered. He is worthy of all our hope and more.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever (Ps. 23).
Whatever changes come your way in 2019, God will stay constant, steadfast, immovable. He’s what True Hope looks like. • • • Whatever God has in store for you in 2019, you can rest in this: He is the Source of True Hope! And we’d love to walk with you through the New Year—and beyond—to remind you of the never-failing hope we can have in Jesus. Proclaiming True Hope; that’s our mission in 2019. You can help us grow and expand this mission in vital ways. And today, your help is needed! Learn how you can help us keep this blog ministry going.