Don't Fear the New Year by Jason Ling

Isaiah 49:10, “Do not fear for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

This time of year, as we celebrate the end of the old year and the beginning of a new, we can’t help but wonder what is in store for us. Our world seems so chaotic and different than what we’ve had before and can bring our levels of anxiety or worry to a very unhealthy tipping point. Maybe we’ve had some life changing event like the loss of a loved one. How can we move on? Change of a job or retirement. How can I provide? Our children just growing up too fast in this high paced time of information and technology. How can I help them sort through all this false information? Maybe its been a great year and we worry about continuing this streak. All of these concerns are quite legitimate, but we have the promise that God is always with us.

I believe that putting God first and foremost in our lives can ease that fear of the unknown and help us focus on what’s really important. That is a loving God who promises to care for us not only in this life, but forever with him. Let God’s will be done and ease that responsibility from our own lives. Let's reach out and share this with our neighbors as even we are learning ourselves. He surely has a plan for each one of us if we simply let God be God.

My prayer is that each one of us can worry or fear just a little less, and trust in you, Lord, just a little more. I pray that you will take away that desire to worry and fret over things that were never ours to begin with. That you Lord will uphold each and every one of us with your righteous right hand. May we all find comfort and peace in the knowledge that God's got this. Amen.