The above poster was advertising Jaws 2 back in 1978, and contains that famous tagline; ‘Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water…’
With the roll-out of covid-19 vaccines and booster jabs, I think most of us were hoping that we had seen the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic. But along comes Omicron, and restrictions start to come back into force and will only probably get stricter in the New Year.
So how do we stay positive when the future looks bleak? Well, we focus our thoughts on higher things; we focus on hope. The Bible is full of passages which talk about hope…
‘At least there is hope for a tree: if it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.’ [Job 14:7 NIVUK]
‘But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.’ [Psalm 9:18 NIVUK]
‘Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.’ [Psalm 31:24 NIVUK]
Hope is something which allows us to lives our lives with dignity and confidence.
I once had a church member who always lived ‘under the circumstances’ of life, and because of this, always had a dim view of the future. Often her future looked hopeless.
But we don’t need to be living ‘under the circumstances’ because we have a hope, a hope in Jesus. This world, with its problems and stresses is only part of our lives and our futures. In this world we will always have difficulties and issues. But Jesus gives us hope through what He tell us in John 16:33; ‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But
take heart! I have overcome the world.’ [NIVUK]
When we live lives focusing on hope, it helps us surf over the problems of live. We may still be buffeted, and at times even swamped, but we will not be defeated because we have a hope in Christ.
So, as we look into this New Year, look through the lens of hope, and your future will look so much brighter and full of hope.
Happy New Year to you all!
Every blessing,
Pastor Steve