What Should We Do?

Wow, another year has passed, and it is time to prepare for 2024.  As many of us ponder what 2024 will look like, we should seek our Lord and savor to find the answer.  I know it is always hard to look at a new year and wonder what the Lord will be doing, especially in the crazy times we are in.  As I ponder what 2024 will bring, I hope that all of us will seek God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).  We should pray that God will work in a mighty and powerful way to stem the tide of lunacy being driven by those who do not fear God.  Let us “pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thess 5:17- 18).”  This world will bring forward many challenges for us to face every day, whether from our sinful nature or the grief and anguish we have living in a world corrupted by profound darkness.  We need to be sharing a message of hope and love to all who will listen and encourage those in need that there is a God who cares and controls everything.  And share the message of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.  It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 

So, as we approach 2024, let us be “strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9).”  As the people of God, we need to stand firm during the onslaught of the storm, facing the winds, the tide, the cold; even if it knocks us down, we need to get back on our feet and fight the good fight with our Lord and savior by our side.  The world needs to see Christ working in us and through us.  As the people of God, we need to be bold yet loving, strong yet soft, stern in our faith but caring for those around us, and most of all, speaking the truth of God in all circumstances.