With the beginning of a new year comes New Year’s Resolutions. Individuals pen down goals that they hope to achieve throughout the course of the year. These goals or resolutions can range from losing weight, saving money, quitting an addiction or vice, or simply being more intention with ones time. Speaking from experience, these goals are often intentional but the follow-thru is often abysmal. Individuals may choose to visit the local gym strictly throughout the month of January and watch their daily eating habits, but there often comes a time when the temptation comes to eat a delicious treat, or to sleep in and forget the gym. Habits are hard to foster. People are easily led astray by their desires to live comfortably and go back to their old habits.
As 2021 has started, one would presume that people would once again have a New Year’s Resolution. However, with the close of 2020 and the craziness of that year behind us, many individuals are not as optimistic about their future plans. The term “the new normal” is commonly used by the main-stream media platforms and major figures to suggest that the course society has taken is unalterable to the way things were before the global pandemic. While the case can be made about future concerns about ones health and the other challenges that society may face, it is not healthy to approach life with a pessimistic outlook on the future. Neither should fear cause one to avoid life.
2020 was a year of change for most individuals throughout the world. The wave of the pandemic, political challenges, racial unrest, as well as many other challenges that people faced during 2020 make it a year that will be long remembered. People affected by these events will not soon forget how it impacted their lives by losing loved ones, losing their livelihoods, or casting doubt on the institutions of government. People who have been impacted have a choice before them and how they will react to these events. On the one hand, they can sulk in their feelings and allow the pitfalls of life to get them down and they can relive the experiences over-and-over in their minds. The grief and fear can plague their minds, leaving them with no present hope. Conversely, they can realize that the events that transpired-although tragic and heart-wrenching-will not cause them to doubt the future and the course of their lives.
Finding the strength and courage to move past a difficult situation can seem like an overwhelming task. As a follower of Christ, one can look to the Lord Jesus Christ to find hope and strength to get through life’s difficulties. Reading the Word of God, the Bible, can provide a person with the promises of God.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. ‘ Proverbs 3:5-6
‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ Philippians 4:6-7
‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ‘ John 3:16
A person that is a follower of Christ can be assured that God is directing their path. They can walk in the hope that God will listen to them as they pray and that God will impart them with peace. Ultimately, one can be assured that if they have placed their faith in Christ that they will have everlasting life in heaven when they die.
This hope can transcend all of life’s struggles. This is not to say that life is going to be a cakewalk, but those that have placed their faith in Christ can be comforted with the fact that they are not walking through life alone. God is watching over them and is providing them with the strength to walk through the tribulations of life that may befall them.
As 2021 has started, and the uncertainty of the future is set before each person it is worth considering the future one will face in eternity. Life’s difficulties are only temporary, but the eternity is forever. Skeptics may see following Jesus Christ as intellectual suicide and those that choose to believe in such teachings as unsavory, ignorant, or insane. Those people are entitled to their opinion. However it can be said, if the teachings of Jesus Christ are in fact true is a skeptic willing to bet their eternity on it? A person that does not believe should read the Bible, pray to God, and speak to people that follow Him to see for themselves whether or not it is true.
As one can read in the Book of Romans:
‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ‘ Romans 3:23
‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Romans 6:23
‘For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”’ Romans 10:13
What does all of this mean? For one, each person needs to see their need for God. God is Holy, meaning that He is perfect and in contrast each human being is not, we each are dreadful sinners. Sin is what has separated each of us from God. We lie, cheat, lust, hate, covet, and a commit a whole of host of other evil things. No matter how good a person could try to be they could never live up to the perfect standard that God expects. This predicament would leave a person without hope. However, God graciously send His Son Jesus to earth to live a sinless life and then die on the cross for each of our sins.
‘and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ‘ 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
If a person asks God to forgive them of their sins and they believe in their heart that Jesus died on the cross for those sins and rose again they may be saved.
‘For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”’ Romans 10:13
Ask Jesus to forgive you of each the wrongs that you have done. Ask Jesus to come into your heart and that you believe that He died and rose again in order to save you from the sins that you have committed. If a person sincerely prays to God regarding these truths, then they are a follower of Jesus. They can hold onto the hope that is entrusted to them according to the scriptures.
I would encourage this person to read the Bible, to pray (to talk to God), and to find a Bible teaching church where they can plug-in and surround themselves with other followers of Jesus.
Others may read this post and not believe what is written. This is fine too. God does not force himself on anyone, He is willing to hear people out. God loves each person, as they each are created in His image. I would encourage these people to research and read the Bible and come to the conclusion on their own.