God is in control

Writing this, it is almost midday on the 1st day of 2015. Sitting here in NZ, enjoying the peaceful sound of birds singing, the nearby ocean waves and the happy conversation of my family around me, it is easy to be comfortable and forget that we are in the privileged minority of countries where all this is possible.

As we look around the world at this start to a new year, we hear news of war torn countries across the Middle East and North Africa, tales of human trafficking, boat loads of desperate people willing to pay everything for a chance of a new life, and the latest report out today, stating that there are now more displaced people in the world than at any other time since World War 2.

How easy is it to forget that our God is in control? That He sees all of this and He cares? He sees a sparrow fall to the ground….how much more does His heart cry out for the wounded souls seeking answers and hope for this new year? And He knows that the source of that hope is through the gift of His son, whose birth we have just finished celebrating.

So at the start of this new year, lets affirm our faith in the God who created the heavens and the earth, in the words of Psalm 46 vs 10: He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. (emphasis mine)

And lets make the words of Psalm 2 vs 8 the basis of our praying today and indeed throughout this new year: Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.