Don’t laugh. I can be brief, when I work really hard at it.
I just wanted to take a second and wish you all a happy new year! It’s good to have 2022 behind us. For our family it was a great year, but I know so many who experienced heavy grief or personal hardship. For churches it was a mixed bag. We emerged from the pandemic, but most have not returned to pre-Covid conditions. And while there was so much to celebrate as the Lord moved through His people, there was also much to lament as sin weighed many down. And don’t get me started on the economy, politics, or the increasing secular culture. The year 2022 was hard for many.
And now, ready or not, here’s 2023. I’m not a prophet, so I’ll not try and predict how this year will pan out. Reading the currents, I expect it will have it’s share of success and frustration, blessing and pain. But we trust in a sovereign God. He reigns. Nothing in 2022 caught him by surprise, and he knows every second of your life that will unfold through 2023. In Psalm 118 the psalmist says, “This is the day that the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad.” Well, let me suggest we proclaim “This is the year He has made.”
Let me encourage you, as 2023 unfolds, engage it with joy and gladness in the Lord. Cling closely with Him and His church. And remember, we’re always better together!
Blessings!
Jim