About 365 days since I last sat to write a “New Year’s Message,”
And I can’t help but loosely echo the words of the Psalmist…
In the 65th psalm, he says,
“Praise waits for You, God, in Zion.
Vows shall be performed to You.
You who hear prayer, unto You shall all men come.
Our sins did not overwhelm us, because You atoned for our transgressions.
How blessed we are that You have chosen us and caused us to come near to You.
How privileged we are to be able to live in Your courts.
You have positioned us in Your secret place,
And filled us with the goodness of Your treasuries.
By awesome deeds of righteousness, You answered us and brought us salvation.
You have shown Yourself to be the hope of all the earth, of those far and near.
By Your power and strength You have brought great things into being,
Stilled the roaring of the seas, its waves, and the turmoil of nations.
Even those in the farthest reaches of the earth
Have come to know and fear Your wonders.
You have set songs of joy into our dawns and dusks.
You have blessed the works of our hands and brought us increase;
Indeed, You crown our year with Your bounty,
And cause our storehouses to overflow with abundance.
Everything in sight declares Your praise with joy.”

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…”
Is what most of us wish we could confidently pronounce
Over the memory of all the challenges, trials and difficulties
That unwaveringly dogged our steps in the past year.
But then again most of us are mature enough to know
That wishful thinking never got anything solved.
So instead I say, “With breath in my lungs and God by my side,
I am an overcomer. As the LORD lives, I will rise and stand
Where I had fallen before; What I had lost will be restored to me;
And where I had missed it, I will be realigned.
The bitter will be made sweet,
And comfort found in the midst of mourning.”

It is a new day of a new year:
What excesses of hope abound in the possibilities herein contained;
Such hope as does not disappoint, but propels into fulfillment.
May this hope shine brighter with each new day,
Till this year is crowned with dazzling glory.

Happy New Year!!!

_{#Personalized Scripture
#Psalms 65:1‭-1
#Romans 5:3-5}