New Year, Renewed Hope

There is no circumstance in life in which placing your hope in Christ is not relevant. There is no valley so low that His light cannot penetrate. Even in the dark night of grief we can choose to make much of the Lord. We can be resolved to lift Him high. Tomorrow we will wake to the start of a brand new year, and this reality is often accompanied by the idea of a fresh start. We make lists of the ways we’d like to grow or change and make plans to implement new habits, learn new skills, or embrace new experiences.

Often, these resolutions are driven by a desire for self-improvement. But what if this year we allowed our resolutions to be rooted in a deep desire to exalt Christ? What if we welcomed 2023 with a resolve to anchor our hope in the Lord and magnify His name through our grief?

To be resolved means more than having a vague objective. It is a determination to make something happen. It goes beyond wishful thinking and attaches itself to a plan. So where do we start? How can we pursue and measure a goal such as this—to hope more, exalt Him more?

It can be so easy to lose sight of the finish line when we think of how far we still have to go. Rather than simply striving to cultivate habits of hopeful living long-term, we begin each new day welcoming His presence and receiving His mercies. We fortify the shifting sands of our aching hearts by placing them on the rock solid foundation that is Christ and Him alone. We need to set our aim on the hope we have been given today—knowing Christ and exalting Him today.

The hope of Christ is not merely a promise for the future. God doesn’t mean for us to be motivated solely by forthcoming rewards. His goodness, comfort, peace, strength, and joy can be tasted now. We can be conformed into the image of His Son now, even in our grief. We, who mourn the death of our precious babies, can choose to grieve as unto the Lord, being upheld by the strength and comfort that He supplies, “in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11).

We must also consecrate our resolve in prayer. It would be foolish to pursue any new pattern of kingdom-minded living without first asking God to make it flourish. This resolution cannot be accomplished on our own strength, but by leaning on His. And so we ask the God of hope to fill us with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we may abound in hope (Romans 13:15).

As believers, we have the added confidence that God honors every resolve for good. We can depend upon His power to fulfill such resolutions in our lives.

“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)

God will empower you to honor Him in grief. When the sorrow seems too great to bear, He will strengthen you to stand. When fear and doubt creep in, He will enable you to be victorious over it. What a beautiful exchange this is: God supplies the power and He receives the glory.

So, let 2023 be the year that we stop simply talking about hope and start living in light of the great hope that we have already been given through Christ! Let this be the year that we magnify His name as we choose to treasure Him supremely, even from within the valley. Because when you have tasted His all-satisfying presence, you know that He is worth it all.

Ashlee is the Editorial Coordinator for Hope Mommies and author of their I AM, Identity, and Sojourn Bible studies. She and her husband, Jesse, live in Milwaukee with their children—five on earth and two in heaven.

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