I went to bed last night, wondering what I should write as a New Year’s Day thought. At 1.17 am I was jolted into consciousness, so I decided to read Psalm 117:
“Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him all you peoples. For great is Hs love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.”
What a great way to start 2025! All of us need to praise the Lord – the Gospel proclaims that God has broken into history to save a people for Himself and has done so supremely in Jesus. Yes, that little vulnerable baby whose birth we have just celebrated. This salvation is open to all by the chesedh (grace) of God. No nation is excluded, no person is excluded. No favourites and no -isms. So we all should praise enthusiastically (extol) Him.
We don’t just praise God for His great love demonstrated through salvation, but His enduring faithfulness towards us. ‘To endure’ means to persist, to keep on but also to remain firm under suffering or misfortune without yielding. The more trouble we cause God, He just keeps on being faithful. How amazing is that! As we start this new year, we need to praise God enthusiastically for His love and faithfulness knowing both are steadfast and sure – there is nothing we can do to change either.
Happy New Year!