“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son,and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us’.” Matthew 1:23
As the words, “Happy New Year,” ring out, many are hopeful that this year will be a good one. It’s always so interesting to think back to the previous New Year’s Eve and remember what your hopes and expectations were for the year ahead. This past year, many folks were met with things they didn’t see coming, both good and bad. Just yesterday, I was thinking about one such family in my community that had no idea the things they would face that led to the loss of a cherished loved one.
I’m not sharing any of this to be a downer on what is supposed to be a big day of celebration, to include feasting on black-eyed peas and collards, for those in the south. What I am saying is this, to simply have faith in God for the year ahead and hopefully you’ll find more blessing and goodness than you can contain. But regardless of what the year ahead may bring your way, there’s one thing you can know for sure. We find it in our key verse, and that is the truth that “God is with you!”
That’s the whole reason Jesus came to this earth through the virgin, Mary. God simply wanted to be with us in an even better way than He had been with Adam and Eve all those years ago in the Garden. Now, not only is He with us, but for those who have put their faith and trust in God through Jesus Christ, He is also in us.
Today, as you celebrate this new year, know that whatever may come your way, God is with you!