Happy and Blessed New Year!
I cannot help but echo the first two stanzas of Isaac Watts’ (AD 1674-1748) hymn as we enter this new year:
O God our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
Under the shadow of Thy throne,
Thy saints have dwelt secure,
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
This hymn was written in the 18th century based on some of the verses from Psalm 90. As the Psalmist recognized the transcendence of God and the transience of humankind, so also Watts was totally aware that the God who created the heavens and the earth is eternal and everlasting. Mankind on the other hand, is but grass that springs up in the morning and fades in the evening. However, our hope is in this unchanging and eternal God in whom we can find our ‘shelter’ from all the storms of life. We puny creatures, here today and gone tomorrow, have a certain hope in God because He is the One who ‘guards’ us from all our ‘troubles’ and His ‘arm alone’ is ‘sufficient,’ and ‘our defense is sure’!
How encouraging and comforting are these promises from God’s holy Word, reflected so aptly in this hymn. The everlasting God is truly our ‘eternal home’. He is our ‘help in ages past’ and He will be ‘our hope for years to come’! Hallelujah! What a promise! What a comfort to hold on to this truth as we enter 2025 and also usher in the Lunar New Year.
As I consecrate my life to God afresh this new year, there are three things from Psalm 90 I pray for:
First, I ask God for wisdom – so teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom (verse 12). That God will enable me to live each day well for his glory, especially in the choices I make daily; that each choice will reflect a desire to walk humbly and closely with Jesus, and to submit to his ways and do the things that truly count for eternity.
Second, I ask God for contentment and to always have a thankful heart – satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil (verses 14 & 15). That I will give thanks to God for his great salvation and serve him with joy and gladness.
Third, I pray for God’s favor and benediction upon the things I do for his kingdom – let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us… (verse 17). As God grants me wisdom in the choices I make (as in my first request), then he will grant me favor and bless the things I do. Then God alone will be glorified!
May we consecrate our lives afresh to God our Father, through Jesus Christ his Son; and may the Holy Spirit continue that work of transformation that he has begun and bring it to completion!
I close with the chorus of Don Moen’s song – Lord I Offer My Life To You:
Lord I offer my life to You,
Everything I’ve been through,
Use it for your glory.
Lord I offer my days to You,
Lifting my praise to You,
As a pleasing sacrifice,
Lord I offer You my life.
Happy Lunar New Year to all our Chinese alumni!
