Reflecting on God's Faithfulness This Year
I am sure you’ve noticed that the Christmas music has faded away until next year. By now the newsfeeds are all about the year-end reviews of events that took place in the last 12 months. And of course, there is an increased focus on the upcoming college and NFL playoff games.
Maybe you are considering some New Year’s resolutions already, but before we jump into the future, maybe here at the end of the year we can take time to look back and reflect on the many things God did in our lives over the last 12 months. Here are some questions for you to consider as you look back:
Did God put you in the right place at the right time to encourage or help another person?
Did God send someone into your life at the moment you needed clarity or perspective?
Did God answer a prayer in ways far beyond what you expected?
Were you surprised by an invitation from someone to serve in a new way that you had never considered before?
Did you or a family member experience physical or emotional healing last year?
When we take the time to reflect on God’s movement in our lives and in our various communities, we usually discover that the Holy Spirit was and is always working, even when we may not notice in a given moment.
For some reason a line from the Christmas song “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” frequently came to mind throughout Advent this year. The refrain just got stuck in my head: “Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy. Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.”
I wonder as we come to the end of the advent season if we might make a conscious effort to lean into these promises from scripture, that through Christ we have received, and will continue to receive, comfort and joy.
One of the scriptures I memorized at the beginning of last year had this phrase in it: “He will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love.” In this promise we see that God has always been in the comfort and joy business. One of the great songs from Handel's “Messiah” comes from Isaiah chapter 40 verse one, “Comfort ye, comfort my people.” The gift of our Savior brings us the ultimate comfort of God as he forgives us of our sins and has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit.
As we close this year and enter the new year, I pray that you will trust the Lord’s presence and have full assurance that in Christ we have the constant comfort of God in every difficulty, and that we will experience the joy of the Lord as we offer our lives in service to others as God has called us to do. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Zephaniah 3:17; Isaiah 40:1-2, 61:2-3 ESV
Photo by Matheus Bertelli
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