2019 is tomorrow. I don't promise anything but god does...

It’s the LAST day of 2018!
 
I don’t think I’m the only one who can’t believe how quickly this year flew by, which makes it even more important to believe that each day matters, uniquely and greatly.
 
I also know I'm not the only one who experienced highs and lows. Some of us more highs than lows and others more lows than highs. Regardless, we are here, yet again, on the break of another year. All glory to God.
 
One of my favorite songs by the artist Johnnyswim has a verse that repeats the phrase, “I don’t know what’s coming, but I know it’s gunna be good…”
 
As believers this statement is ultimately and surely true in Christ, so while I can’t and won't predict the future or promise you anything specific about the coming year, here are a few truths that I pray will be good anchors for our heart and soul as we head into 2019:

1. God will be faithful to you. Regardless of the circumstances you encounter-highs and lows, excitements and disappointments, losses and gains, He will be faithful to you because it’s His work in you. My prayer for us is that we remain faithful to Him. (2 Timothy 2:13).

 

1. God’s Love will not run dry. This year will be filed with moments where the enemy will try and make us believe that His love is poured out only in our “good and obedient” moments. Don’t buy into the lie. His love is beyond any love we know because it doesn’t discriminate when to pour it out. It has been spilled for our lives once and for all. This truth is not so we can abuse God’s unconditional love, it’s so we can be radically transformed by it and motivated by it to live for Him. (Romans 5:8).

 

1. His Word is Life and Light. May this be a year where we truly believe that we can’t be sustained in our walk with the Lord without His Word and we can’t overcome darkness and the battle of sin without His Word. If we are going to know God deeply, His Word must be in our hearts. This year, WITHIN will provide more ways to cultivate your relationship with God’s eternal Word. (Psalm 19:7-14, Psalm 119)

 

1. His Holy Spirit is real and active. For those of us who confess Jesus as Lord and trust in Him for our salvation and sanctification, His Spirit lives inside of us and speaks His truth to us. Cultivate listening to the Holy Spirit. He will not lie to you. He will give you discernment for all choices you are faced with. He will lead you into all Truth. Cultivating this kind of listening requires time and patience. May we be intentional with both. (John 14:25-16)

 

1. In all things, God is for you! If you are in Christ, God has not only saved you in the moment you believed, but He also began a Good work, one that He will continue to move towards completion for His glory and your joy in 2019. Now this Good work (conforming you to the image of Christ) won’t always be easy, in fact part of it is putting to death our old self as we more clearly reflect Christ. We are called by Christ to 1) deny ourselves 2) pick up our cross 3) and follow Him. The good news is that He gives us the strength and grace to obey these three challenging commands daily because He is for us. So, whether you are navigating trials, hardships or blessings in 2019, know that God is for you. Because of that promise we always have reason to give thanks, regardless of the circumstance. (Phil 1:6, Luke 9:23)