While many tonight are marking the end of the year and celebrating the start of a new year surrounded by friends (or strangers) in an atmosphere of noisemakers and fireworks and loud music, I’m comfortably relaxing at home in my recliner. The calm and quiet of this evening has provided me with the opportunity to reflect on the past year. It’s been a good year. A blessed year. In countless ways. That doesn’t mean though that the year wasn’t without its problems. It had its share of troubles. For me and for you.

Today, on the final day of the year, not all is well and not all is perfect. Some of you are carrying great burdens. Some of you are facing major trials. Some of you are not in a celebratory mood. Your burdens are weighing you down. Though my burdens and concerns may not be as great as some of you, I too carry them into the new year…. The concern of a beloved family member in his illness… Disappointment… Important decisions to be made… Heartache for a close friend and her family… An unspoken situation which is affecting dear friends… Sadness… Anxiety… Weariness… Stress… A host of trials facing family and friends….

Though the year included grief, illness, sadness, and even though some of these troubles are left unresolved, my Hope is in The One who is able to carry my burdens. As a follower of Christ, I can trust the promises given by God to the people of God. If you’re a follower, you can trust those promises of help too. If you’re not a follower, if you haven’t repented of sin and turned to Him as your Savior, I urge you to do it now. Don’t enter another year, don’t go into 2020 without having made the choice to follow Christ. Choosing to follow Him doesn’t mean escaping all trials, but it does mean having the burden of sin removed and it does mean having access to the multitude of promises of God found throughout the Bible.

May 2020 be a year filled with the Love, Forgiveness, Peace, and Hope of Christ for you and yours.

HOPE NUGGET (1 Peter 5:7):
We are told to cast our anxieties (or cares) upon the Lord which literally means that we throw them upon Him. He is able to carry the burden for us AND He cares THAT MUCH for us!