New Year Expectations for God's Provision

Expectations, whether positive or negative, have the power to direct your life toward a good and inspiring objective or to be challenged by what is evil and harmful and capable of wrecking your life. God intended for you to have positive expectations, with faith to believe in his guidance and provision.

God does not intend for you to live in a state of anxiety or fear, so he provides courage to venture out and live with the expectation that he desires to supply your needs at every turn in life. In Exodus 14 God instructed Moses to tell the Hebrew people, who were at a critical, decisive moment in their history, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see what the Lord will do.”

Whatever situation you’re facing now at the launch of this New Year, God’s word of encouragement given to the Hebrew people long ago is relevant for you today. God has not given you a spirit of fear, so stand firm and expect the Lord to do what is good and right.  Happy New year!    

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Now glory be to God who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of – infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.

~Ephesians 3:20 The Living Bible

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A Song in the Darkest Night

Goodness, kindness, and joy are close companions, and to possess these attributes gives evidence that hope for the future resides within the heart and soul of the possessor. We live in a time of uncertainty, so the natural response is to become self-protective coupled with anxiety, which is often expressed as anger.

This was Job's reaction when his world collapsed, causing incredible grief. His friends encouraged him to focus on the Lord God "who gives a song in the darkest night." Job’s friends were not discounting his sorrow but reminding him there is joy in knowing God cares, which provides hope for a brighter day.

When God's goodness and faithfulness reside in you, worry and fear are reduced because God is in charge of what you cannot control. Listen to God’s reassuring words. “For I have not given you’re a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind.” It’s possible to have hope for the future when the presence of God resides in you.  

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May the Lord show his constant love during the day, so that I may have a song at night, a prayer to the God of my life. Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise him, my Savior and my God.  

~Psalm 42: 8,11 Good News Bible

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Subscribe to the Attitudes Answers podcast on your favorite podcast platform to hear this and other 2-minute features 3 days every week.