Is it a happy New Year?

During the second week of January my wife and I were at a cafe. We go there often enough that the manager recognises us. As with many people in his line of work, he is very much a people person and he wished us a ‘Happy New Year’. When someone says ‘Happy New Year’ to you, do you automatically respond with something like ‘and a Happy New Year to you too?’ That’s certainly been our tendency but this time we got to talking a little and told him about the difficult, stressful and upsetting situation we are currently going through. And it struck me that just like last year, happiness is a fairly rare commodity. There are so many things wrong in our world, so much so that I don’t have to list them. You no doubt have your own list! All in all, rather than a happy New Year there’s a lot that’s pretty bleak isn’t there! And it seems to be getting worse, if not at a personal level, then certainly at a collective level.

So what would make it a happy New Year? God’s Bible has the answer to that and so much more. There are many Bible verses which detail the Kingdom which Jesus will set up when he returns. I like this one from the last book in the Bible, Revelation in particular. It spells out the ultimate outcome of God’s plan. I quote it from the King James Bible because I like the wording in this instance:

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”  (Revelation 21:4 KJV)

Knowing that God has this in mind helps me so much with the day to day issues of life. It can help you too. Pick up a Bible, read it and think about what you read. I hope it helps you!