A New Year challenge...

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

So - I start this year with a challenge - not surprisingly I have no idea what this year will bring - but this is the verse that God has laid on my heart for the days ahead. I hope I can honour Him as I seek to follow this verse in all that I encounter this year.

I know there will be good times - times when it will be easy to rejoice, and to give thanks - the challenge here is to remember to pray even in the midst of the celebrations and laughter.

I know there will be tough times - times when it won't be easy to see the way forward, times when life doesn't make sense - the challenge here is to give thanks and rejoice in the face of adversity.

I know that there will be boring times - times when life seems tedious and repetative - the challenge here is to seek out moments to rejoice in, even amid the mundane.

I know that there will be tearful times - times when life has got all too much - the challenge here is to remember that with tears comes opportunities for release - the challenge here is to listen for God's still small voice of comfort that echoes through the pain.

I know there will be times of laughter - belly-aching, tear-enducing hysteria - the challenge here is to recognise that all merriment finds it's source in Him.

I know that there will be times of peace - quiet stillness that calls my heart closer to Him - the challenge here is to seek those times amid the busy-ness of life and to draw closer to Him in those precious moments.

I know that there will be times of crazyness - when life has got too busy and there doesn't seem to be any let up from the relentless merry-go-round of stuff that I encounter day after day - the challenge here is to find the time to pause and to give thanks that He gives me the strength to carry on.

I know that in everything - all times - He is the source of life and love and hope - this is my challenge. To remember this is all circumstances - whatever they may be in the days and weeks ahead.

Immanuel - God with us - Always