There is great hope in God. More than just a religious fiction, when welcomed into a life he is present to bring fullness, joy, peace . . . hope! When the apostle Paul visited Athens, Greece In 51 AD (about twenty years after Christ's crucifixion and resurrection), he gave a moving speech to the local philosophers and stoics:
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. "For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring." (Acts 17:24–28, NIV)
He is near to us.
We don't have to wander around life wondering which way to go, or feeling like we're at the mercy of our circumstances. We each have a date with destiny, and a purpose set for us from before the time of our birth (Psalm 139:13–16; Ephesians 2:10). God loves us and has made a way for us to know him, walk the path of our purpose, and experience all the good he has to give in life. Jesus claimed to be the gateway to God and said this: “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” (John 10:7–10, 5:24).
This new year, grab hold of the life God has in store for you. He has good and amazing things in mind. There is great hope. Believe it!
