And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4 ESV)
You made it! Yes, you made it to the end of 2014. I bet there were some days that you thought you would not make it to the next week, but here you are! I know that you've had one trial after another, but you made it. I know that you've been hurt and wounded and let down, but you made it. I know that finances have been difficult and dreams have been shattered, but you made it. Tomorrow starts a new day and a New Year!
Someday, we will say the same thing when we get to heaven - We made it! The Book Of Revelation states that at that time - God will wipe away every tear from your eyes. Think about that - no more tears. No more sorrow. No more mourning and no more pain! Even death will be wiped away. All the former things will be wiped away. God will even dwell amongst us.
There are two ways to look at crossing the finish line. First, I can look back and analyze all my mistakes and failures and reminence about what I should have done. Or second, I can throw up my hands and say, "I actually made it. I crossed the finish line. I really made it. Thank you God for all your help and strength through every day and every trial."
Tonight, people will celebrate and party and make a lot of noise which is all fine - it's fun to celebrate. But can Iencourage you to take a second to pause and lift your heads to God for all He has done for you. Take a moment to send up a prayer of thanks to a God who loves you so much.
Yes, life might be hard but don't lose heart - you are being renewed day by day.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV)
Look at what Jeremiah tells us in the Book of Lamentations:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV)
Tomorrow starts a new day, a season. And, if you've asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins - tomorrow starts with a clean slate.
I love the fact that God's mercies are new every morning. It doesn't matter about your past failures, mistakes and indiscretions. It matters only that those things are in the past because God has forgiven you and now gives you the strength to move on.
I look back on 2014 with much thankfulness. I have been blessed beyone measure. God has filled my cup. I have had up's and yes, I have had some downs. There are some days I don't want to revisit ever again. But, I made it. By the grace of God, I made it. 2014 is closing and coming to an end and 2015 promises many possibilities.
However it turns, I know that God has always been with me and that He will be with in the future - even till the day I die. I am humbled and blessed. I am thankful and am looking forward to what God has in store for me.
Again, I'm thankful that I made it!
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