The joy of the Lord is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)

My beloved, I wish you a happy New Year in the name of our Lord Jesus.

As we enter the new gates of the year 2016, all of us are expecting something to happen in our lives in this New Year. Yes! Every one of us is waiting for a new happy life. We are waiting for some new doors to be opened in this year or some doors to be closed in our personal lives which are affecting our happy and healthy lives.

You would have passed through dry lands, disappointments, distress, illness, misery, sorrow and agony but the bible says, “The Joy of the LORD is our strength”. If you sit in the presence of God, He will give you immense new strength to pass through the trials and temptations which you undergo in your daily lives. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart” John 16:33. If you sit in His presence and start seeking Him, your strength will be renewed like the eagles and you will fly high (Isaiah 40:31). You would have received so many blessings and promises from our dear Heavenly Father, in the last year, but you may not have witnessed or crossed some of the promises in the last year. Don’t be afraid. Wait for His right time because He is truthful (Hebrews 10:23). Therefore He is able to save completely (Hebrews 7:25). The God we worship does not change anything He first spoke when He looks at it the second time (Job 33:14). When we face pain, suffering, losses that come to us often, if we seek only Him, the Lord who desires to bless us, there is no doubt that we will gain everything.

In the Holy Bible, we see a Shunnamite woman who was in her later years and had no chance of conceiving a child in her womb. But she was promised by God through the Prophet Elisha that she will have a son and as promised she got a son. And in a few years he dies. But the Shunnamite woman went seeking God who gave her the son, even without letting her husband know about the situation. She goes to the man of God Elisha and says “I will not leave you” and took hold of his feet. Even when her only son died she went seeking God who gave her the son and got her son back alive (2 kings 4:35-37). Delight yourself also in the LORD; and he shall give you the desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4). Being joyful or delighting yourself in the Lord means surrendering your ways to the Lord (Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. Psalms 37:5). Even St Paul writes the same in Phillipians 4:4 saying Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

In the Holy Bible, a woman named Mary Magdalene went seeking Jesus to the tomb where He was laid. Peter and John also went to the same tomb. But seeing that Jesus was not there, they went back. But, Mary stood by the tomb and was crying wanting to know where Jesus was. When she sought Him will all her heart, Jesus came and stood behind her. Now her eyes were opened and see saw the angels sitting in the place where Jesus was laid and later she also saw the living Jesus (John 20:11-18).

Yes my beloved, there is no doubt that we will find Him when we seek Him desiring Him. He alone is our God who can free us from all our troubles, sins and curses. This is what David says, in Psalms 35:10 “All my bones shall say, “O LORD, who is like you, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

When we seek Him with all our heart, He is good and able to deliver us and our family. So, seek the Lord and desire Him first. The Lord is ready to give you the grace you lost and also new grace (Job 23:14,15; 42:12-17).

In this New Year each one of us is called to be joyful in the Lord (Psalms 97:12). Beloved, let us first seek the Lord and desire His kingdom (Mathew 6:33). May the Lord Himself bless you and your family.

Sis. Meera Amalanand

God's Love Missions Family