Chapter Chat: In the Lord is where to find the hope we all long for
As time moves further into 2025, our memories of Christmas and a new year and its time spent with family and friends remain with us, however a sense of normality and routine has been invading our lives again.
The morning rush, daily working, the school run, our home chores, plus so much else, again fills our time.
Thus, the cycle of another year will inexorably move through its various seasons and events.
For many, January brings a sense of resolve and new year resolutions – a desire to change habits, to do things better, not to repeat the mistakes of the previous year.
However, despite the enthusiasm such resolve might generate, have any lasted thus far? How much longer might they continue before slipping into old – and comfortable – failings?
The reality often is that a new calendar year means nothing more than the change of a digit! The person who was ill before will, in all probability, continue to be unwell.
Those who were grieving the loss of a loved-one will still be mourning. The person waiting on a hospital appointment, surgery or treatment will not find any greater assurance just because it is a new year.
Anyone who was weak in the face of temptation before will, most probably, succumb again. It is therefore a truism to acknowledge that not a lot changes when an old year morphs into a new one.
However, it is not the proverbial case of abandoning all hope those who enter here!
No matter what state our life might be in, no matter what age or stage of life we find ourselves at, no matter the circumstances which are dictating our existence at this time, there is hope!
It is the hope that things can change – that something can make a difference.
Today’s world has those who would claim that change can be effected in the lives of people.
Whilst there have been advances in many fields which have brought remarkable benefits to mankind, there is nothing that man could develop to bring any certainty to life.
For that reason, the hope which we long for lies beyond ourselves and our fellow human beings.
None of us know what this year will bring but there is One who does – the God who gave us life and who sustains us.
If we are, therefore, to resolve anything for 2025, it ought to be that we will walk in trust, in faith and with hope in Christ, the One who knows us far better than we know ourselves.
In Romans 5, Paul urges his readers to ‘rejoice in hope of the glory of God’.
And he goes on to speak about hope in this way, ‘Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us’”.
Our greatest, indeed our only hope, lies in Jesus Christ who loves us and has given Himself for us.
The Psalmist David, at a time of illness, was deeply troubled by the fragility of life. So much so that he prays in Psalm 39v7 ‘And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You’. If we are seeking change for the better. If we are desirous of something which can make a difference.
Ultimately, if we are looking for certainty in the matter of heaven and eternity, it is to be found in Him because Christ is the only One who can make a difference in life.
We can all reflect on last year – and indeed our lives – with its joys and disappointments.
We are understanding enough to realise that 2025 will inevitably bring us happiness and sadness.
Whatever encourages us or causes anxiety in life, our hope ought always to be in the Lord.
He has lived, died and risen again to give us the hope of eternal life and in Him alone we find the joy of soul salvation.
If we are seeking hope for our tomorrows, the One who can make a difference is Jesus, about whom David declares, ‘My hope is in You’.
May you know blessing in 2025 as Christ dwells in your heart through faith.