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 you 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.  I know you probably don’t really feel like it if your year has seemed to be just ridiculously overwhelming, but it will encourage you if you will take the time to do it.  Turn on some praise and worship music and it will help you remember.

The best way to have hope for the future is to remind yourself of Who God is and all He has done!  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 consume you.  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!  He loves you and He wants His best for you, trust Him! He has a plan and He will use all of the good, the bad and the ugly to work His plan out in your life if you will give it all to Him!   His best is yet to come!

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

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