“There’s no happy to it,” the woman snapped at the clerk, who had wished her a Happy New Year. The clerk meant well. Who’d have thought she’d get such a negative remark from saying Happy New Year?
I turned to the young girl behind the counter. “Sweetie, it’s been a hard year for everyone.” I handed her my store card. “You keep that pretty smile. It offers hope.”
The year 2020 was challenging, but it’s behind us. Now, there is hope in a New Year.
I remember the movie Ghostbusters II when negative thoughts and frustrations were so high that they overcame a city. Bad things began to happen. It took hope—the promise of all that was good—to restore the desire of a city to pull together and be happy again.
COVID pushed us to the brink of complete negativity. People couldn’t see anything positive in their future.
Christ told His disciples of His impending death. He reminded them that shortly they would not see Him. They would grieve and hurt, but later, He would return.
Jesus likened their grief to the pain of a laboring mother. At the moment, the pain is excruciating. But once the child was born, the mother rejoiced, and the pain was forgotten. Jesus later reminded them they would always experience trouble, but not to worry. He had overcome. In other words, hope. Things might get hard, but there is hope because Christ overcame the world.
We cannot hide from the world’s difficulties, but we can seek hope. There will always be hope because Jesus gave us that gift. I realize the significant loss felt during the pandemic of 2020, and many still endure the consequences. Some have suffered job loss, illness, and even deaths, but we cannot allow ourselves to remain stuck in hardship. Instead, we rally together, seek joy, and grasp the hope promised through Christ Jesus. He didn’t die in vain. He died so that we might have the hope of salvation, grace, and eternal life.
We feel the sting of hardship, but remember, Christ overcame. We will overcome as well. Stand tall, pull your shoulders back and step into a New Year with hope. Our God loved us so much that He gave His only Son.
Christ is our hope then, now, and forever. Do you have hope for the New Year?
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)
Cindy K. Sproles is a best-selling, award-winning author. She is a speaker and a conference teacher who teaches nationwide. Cindy is the cofounder of Christian Devotions Ministries, www.christiandevotions.us, and www.inspireafire.com. She serves as a writing mentor with WRAMS (Writing Write Author Mentoring Service) and is the director of the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. Visit Cindy at www.cindysproles.com.