Psalm 103:1-2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!  Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.

As you look back over the last year and begin to look forward to a new year, what are your thoughts?  How was this last year?  What sticks out in your mind the most?  Was it a good year?  Was it a tough and overwhelming year?  As you look back, especially if this seemed to be an overwhelmingly rough year, I would like to encourage you to take a moment and think back over the entire year, from January all the way through, and write down every blessing, everything you have to be thankful for, every answer to prayer.  Don’t just think about them; make a list.

The best way to have hope for the future is to remind yourself of Who God is and all He has done! He sees you and all you have faced and even though you may not see it or feel as though anything is happening, He is always working! Take the time to praise Him for who He is!  Bless His name with all that is within you!  The more we recognize who God is the more our faith and trust in Him will grow!  The more we remind ourselves of all He has done, the more hope we will have for all He will do!  Don’t allow all the things that went wrong or all of the loss to consume you to the point that you are not focused on Him.  Ask Him to give you hope and bless His name as you do.  He wants to fill you with His hope for the new year!  He wants to give you strength.  He wants to heal your wounded heart!  We fill our cup of faith best when we focus on who our God is!

So as you face this new year, bless His name, hold on to who He is, trust Him to get you through and to give you strength and remind yourself of all of His benefits! Pour yourself into becoming all you can be for Him!  Ask Him to guide you into this new season to grow in your walk with Him other people will be drawn to Him! He loves you and He wants His best for you, trust Him!  When you can’t see how anything good could come out of where things are right now, give it to Him and trust that He is the Master of being able to take the worst scenario and turn it into something amazing if we just follow Him and allow Him to work!  Remember who He is and bless His name ~ He alone is worthy of all honor and glory and praise!  He wants to be the difference In your life!

Quote: “Don’t be afraid to take a big step if needed.  You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.”  Anonymous