By Doug Creamer

We have stepped into the New Year. The month of December always goes by so quickly. Here we are in a new month and a new year. We all may feel a little discomfort entering an unknown time. The truth is the future is full of many good things for us and there will also be some challenges that we will have to face. The question is which will we choose to focus on?

Fear and anxiety love to play in our minds with the unknown future ahead. We can find ourselves worrying about what will or might happen. There is a sense that the future is out of our control and that makes us feel uncomfortable. If we rely only upon ourselves and our own abilities then these feelings would be justified. But as the people of God, we must turn our focus upon Him and trust Him with the future.

We will face things that are challenging and difficult. What if some tragedy befalls us, what then? The place to begin is with the fact that God is in control. He may allow or even send some challenges into our lives to cause us to grow spiritually or to draw us closer to Himself. On the tragedy front, we have to remember that they do not originate in heaven. In those horrific moments we have to trust the scripture that teaches us that God can bring about something good from every situation if we will trust in Him.

To illustrate my point, I ask you to consider the tragic flooding and destruction that occurred in our mountains from Hurricane Helene. I believe that was not from God. Now I ask you to consider all the miracles you heard about during that time. Consider all the churches, communities, businesses, organizations and individuals that offered help to those affected by this tragedy. People have come from all over to offer their services to people in need. Neighbors helped neighbors. God has a way of counteracting and bringing hope into hopeless situations. Sometimes it takes a little time, but God is faithful. God can bring good out of the bad!

So, I want to encourage you to take your eyes off all the things your mind has imagined that could be bad in the new year and look to your good Father who is planning good things for your future. You may ask: How do you know God is planning good things for me? Jeremiah 29:11 promises us that God is actively planning good things for us and to give us hope and a good future.

The word hope grabbed my attention. The word hope is powerful. It means that we have a feeling of optimism. We actually believe that God is good and that he is actively planning good things for us. When we live with hope it means that we are actually changing our thought processes. Instead of allowing negative thoughts to prevail we are following God and allowing Him to change our minds. God’s new way of thinking allows us to believe that no matter what situation we are facing God is going to bring a positive outcome. That’s hope!

When we can live our lives with an expectant heart, expecting God to do something good, it will change the way we live our lives. We have to engage our faith and our active thoughts. When our thoughts want to run into the negative, we have to confront them with God’s promises for our lives. God is good and promises good things for our lives. Sometimes we may have to admit to our brothers and sisters that we are struggling so they can gather around us and encourage us and remind us of God’s goodness and faithfulness.

I know what I am writing is not easy. I know that at some point this year I will need someone to encourage me. You will need someone to encourage you. We can and we will do that for each other. I want to encourage you to grab ahold of hope. Look for the good God is doing in your life now and all year. Believe that He sees you in your situation and He is actively working on your behalf. Look for His promises in the scriptures for your situation and trust Him to fulfill those promises for you. Believe that He loves you and is making good plans for your future. I believe that 2025 will be a good year. It will have its struggles but let’s let those struggles lead us to Him.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041 or doug@dougcreamer.com