Hope for the New Year
Happy New Year, friends!
I am beyond excited for what this new year entails! I may not know all of the details, but the Lord certainly does. And He can be trusted to work all things out for good! Amen?
If you’ve been joining me here in this space for very long, you may notice that things look a bit different around here.
I’d like to welcome you to my new blog, with a new name, a new design, and a new direction!
So Why the Change?
Towards the end of the year, I had an disturbing experience that led me into a two-month-long wrestling match with God.
Something inside me was churning. And I knew that the Lord was preparing to teach me something new.
As I pursued Him through prayer and the study of His Word, He began to awaken my senses to an integral part of His character.
One that I seemed to have dismissed, over the years..
I will be sharing more about this journey in the months to come, but for now, it is enough to say that God is on the move! And I, for one, cannot be more excited about it!
My One Word
My One Word of the year directly correlates with the new path that the Lord has graciously set my feet on. Imagine that!
Without further ado, I’m happy to share that my One Word for the 2019 is HOPE. And it is the new focus of this here blog!
Feel free, (if you feel so inclined), to take a peek at my updated home page, where you can hear more of my heart behind the future of this blog- Rediscovering Hope through the Lens of Suffering.
Do you have a Word that God has spoken to you for the new year? I’d love to hear what it is! Please share in the comments below.
Prayer for You
I came across this beautiful prayer, whispered by the lips of Billy Graham in 2008. It directly aligns with my own prayer for the new year, and so I wanted to share it, and pray it over each one of you, as well.
Our Father and our God, as we stand at the beginning of this new year we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance as we face the future.
We each have our hopes and expectations for the year that is ahead of us—but You alone know what it holds for us, and only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its challenges. So help us to humbly put our hands into Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your will for our lives during this coming year.
In the midst of life’s uncertainties in the days ahead, assure us of the certainty of Your unchanging love.
In the midst of life’s inevitable disappointments and heartaches, help us to turn to You for the stability and comfort we will need.
In the midst of life’s temptations and the pull of our stubborn self-will, help us not to lose our way but to have the courage to do what is right in Your sight, regardless of the cost.
And in the midst of our daily preoccupations and pursuits, open our eyes to the sorrows and injustices of our hurting world, and help us to respond with compassion and sacrifice to those who are friendless and in need.
And so, our Father, we thank You for the promise and hope of this new year, and we look forward to it with expectancy and faith.
This I ask in the name of our Lord and Savior, who by His death and resurrection has given us hope both for this world and the world to come.
Amen.
To read this prayer in its entirety, visit Billy Graham’s Prayer for the New Year.
Be blessed, fellow writers!
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Rachel – I love your new look. I look forward to hearing more about your journey and see how your word come to fruition in your life. I am still working on my word for the year. Happy New Year!
Thank you Maree. I look forward to sharing more in the future. 😉
Happy New Year, my friend.
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Thank you for the beautiful prayer, Rachel. I love the look and focus of your new blog. “Hope” is a beautiful word to focus on, and “Hope through the lens of suffering” is even sweeter. I am excited to see what the new year brings for you!
Thank you Laurie. I am very excited as well! Praying your new year is filled with many blessings, and rich adventures!:)
Truth is my word for 2019. It came to me during a conversation with my brother. You can read all about it in my latest blog post. Hope is a great word. Great prayer by Billy Graham. It covers every point of our walk with God and our journey through life. Blessings to you as you take on new territory in 2019.
Taking on new territory.. love the way you worded that!
Truth is a fabulous, and powerful word! Can’t wait to read your blog post about how it came to be! Excited to see where your word leads you this year!!
Thank you for sharing that beautiful prayer by Billy Graham. What a beautiful way to start this year!
I couldn’t have said it any better! My heart exactly! ❤️
I noticed your new home page and it really caught my eye because I spent quite a bit of time yesterday studying about hope for a teaching assignment that’s coming up this year. The Lord took me all the back to Himself, the source of hope–rearranging my expected outline in the process, but I’m thankful even for that!
Exactly! He is the source of all hope! He IS Hope! This is exactly what the Lord has been showing me as well.
Funny that you would mention this as you are preparing for a teaching lesson. I’ve been asked to speak at a women’s event, on the topic of Brokenness. And God completely did a 180 with my original outline as well, bringing it all back around to Hope.
Confirmation! 🙂
Happy New Year Rachel! I love the new look of your blog and when we’re suffering, “rediscovering hope” is what we all need. My one-word this year is “becoming!” There is such a tug on my heart to become more of who God intends or my lack of faith will make me settle for less. I look forward to reading your wise and encouraging words in 2019. May God’s strength be yours as you share hope through the lens of suffering. Many blessings to you!
Thank you Joy! You are such an encouragement to me. Bless you!
Becoming is a GREAT word! Ah, there is so much that the Lord can do with a powerful word like that, and a willing heart! I am excited for you! May this be a year of MUCH becoming, as you strive to become evermore like Him! <3 Happy New Year, friend.
Rachel, I thought something was different when I stopped by earlier today, now I know what it is. I love your new site, name and all. I’m excited by what God is doing and will do in and through you in 2019. He’s such a good God who fills us with hope eternal.
Blessings to you, dear friend.
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