A Year of Praise Awaits Us

 

¹⁷ I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness
and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

—The words of King David from Psalm 7:17

 

In a few short hours, we will have turned another page in history. An old year will have slipped away. A new year will have begun.

What kind of year will 2013 prove to be? Neither you, nor I, know the answer to this question. A lot can happen in 365 days—that’s 8,760 hours or 525,600 minutes, or 31,536,000 seconds. Some of the things that happen during 2013 will seem like good things. Other things that happen during 2013 will seem like bad things.

Actually, we really can’t identify whether something is truly good or truly bad until we’ve gained the perspective of the passage of time. Often, things that seem bad, in the long range, prove to be not so bad. Similarly, some things that seemed very good at the time, when looked at through the looking glass of history seem not so good after all.

Few things are certain. One certainty we can cling to: the faithfulness of God.

As King David wrote in the Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post:

I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness…

So, allow me to boldly suggest that we focus our attention on the God who loves us. Let us join in singing praise to Him for His righteousness—especially since He has given us His righteousness through the precious blood of His Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ:

 

 

Will you please pray with me?

Thank You, God, for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us.

As we begin a new year, we pause to lift our hearts and voices in praise to You, O God. Your righteousness establishes us on firm ground. You have given us a sure foundation of forgiveness for our sins through the shed blood of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

During the times of trials that may await us during this new year, and also during the times of great joy, we do not want to forget that Your loving arms surround us. You protect us with Your great unfailing, undying love.

Keep us ever mindful of Your Presence in our lives. Grant us a full measure of Your special blessing. We thank You for the reality that Your love for us remains unshakable. And, we thank You for hearing our prayer in and through the precious Name of Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

_{Copyright © 2012 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

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