I write this on 1 January 2022. I am filled with hope for the new year. It is not because anything actually changes with the turn of the year. The bases for my hope are the promises I know of in the Bible. The Bible is a book of hope.
In the year 2021, the world still had to cope with the ongoing effects of COVID-19, an unwelcome intruder into our collective lives which we, as a human race, could not eradicate simply by an exercise of the will. We enter 2022 carrying into it everything from 2021 — there is no magic with the change of the calendar year.
If we commit ourselves to God as revealed in the Bible, we can be assured that blessings will follow.
It is written in the Old Testament book of Isaiah: “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:30–31). This is a great promise in the Bible, which is for everybody. All who hope in God (the LORD) will receive new strength.
It is written in the Old Testament book of Micah: “But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Saviour; my God will hear me.” (Micah 7:7). This verse expresses a choice we can make for ourselves — the choice to trust in God (the LORD). Does God really hear you? Will God respond to your prayer, your hopes in him, and any angst that you express to him? For multitudes of people who have trusted in God, the answer is yes.
In the Old Testament book of Lamentations, it is written: “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” (Lamentations 3:19–24). The author of these words clearly faced reality — he did not look at life with rose-tinted glasses. Yet, he had hope in God — the basis of which was his own experience of God, and his confession that his lot was with God.
In the New Testament book of Philippians, the author wrote: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:12–13). The author proclaims that he could do all things — in good times and bad times — because of Jesus Christ in whom he found strength.
It is written in the New Testament book of 1 Peter: “ In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:3–7). This is a promise in the Bible for our eternity. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ died on a cross to pay the price for our sins, so that we can receive God’s forgiveness and enter into eternal life. This hope is bound to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead — for us to have any hope, the resurrection needs to have taken place and we need to believe it.
Let’s consider the following words from the New Testament book of Hebrews: “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.” (Hebrews 6:17–20). God desires that we know the strength of his promise to us. We can absolutely trust in him and his promises. He gives us a sure hope for eternity, for the future and for today.
Therefore I am hopeful, because Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour. Do you also have this hope in your life? Jesus himself tells us: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10). You are entitled to this life too, for Jesus has offered it to everyone who would believe him on it.