Kathy thought about the approaching New Year as she filed away the boxes of last year’s paperwork. There were things she would like to do differently in this new year.
Oh, there were the usual things most of her friends were claiming as their New Year’s Resolutions:
• Lose weight
• Stop smoking
• Take more time for relationships
• Set goals
The list went on. The office was filled with laughter and the prospect of hope for change that a new year would bring. Yet Kathy knew, in a week or so, the chatter would turn to the broken resolutions and very few of the hoped for changes would become a reality. She wanted something more for her life.
That night Kathy picked up her Bible and read Psalm 25. It was full of hope and an expectation of change that only God could bring to her life. She read it through a couple of times and underlined some verses that seemed to jump off the page, bringing fresh hope to her heart.
“Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” Psalm 25:4&5
The second time she read it through it struck her… here was her New Year’s resolution!
This would be the prayer of her heart every day in this New Year. She grabbed a recipe card and wrote out the words, letting them soak into her soul. This was the change she wanted in her life… to keep her focus daily on the path God wanted her to walk in hope and in faith.
Take a little time over the next few days and read through Psalm 25 yourself. Consider reading it every day for a week and ask God to make the promise of hope come alive to your heart. Write verse 4 & 5 on a card or a sticky note and place it where you will see it regularly. Memorize it and let it soak into your soul and change your life.
Father God, Thank you for the promise of hope You bring to my heart and my life. I do lift up my soul and my life to You now. I want to trust in You more fully this year. Tune my ears to hear Your voice more clearly. Teach me Your path and guide me in Your truth. In these changing days I need to discern Your ways for me. Help me to put my hope in You, not just occasionally or when I am in a hard place, but every day all day long. Thank you that You are God, my Savior! I ask this in the strong name of Jesus, amen.
May God guide us as we face another challenging year!
by Gail Rodgers
Used by Permission
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