God’s New Year Resolution for you (Ros' Blog)

Shortly before Christmas, prompted by an Advent sermon, I started to read my way through Psalms, something I used to do regularly but hadn’t done for a while. By a happy coincidence, I reached Psalm 12 on New Year’s Day, and my first Bible reading of the year read like God’s New Year Resolution:

“‘For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise,’ says the Lord; ‘I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.’ The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. You shall keep them, O Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.”

I hope these words fill you with confidence for the future. Maybe you are included in “the sighing of the needy”. Perhaps your body won’t do the things you’d like it to do, or your horizons are limited because it isn’t easy for you to get out. Maybe you’re trapped in a relationship that has become unsafe, and you can’t see any way out. Perhaps you are tormented by guilt over something and long to find peace for your conscience. Or… fill in the blanks… there are many kinds of “needy” that can give rise to sighing.

Perhaps you fit better into that category, “the oppression of the poor”. You don’t have to be party political to acknowledge that austerity policies have hit disabled people harder than any other group in this country. I have seen disabled friends fall apart with fear and anxiety just at the sight of a form from the DWP landing on their doormat. Perhaps you have been one of them. Maybe you have lost your disability benefits or, like 900 people a week, your Motability car. Perhaps you are mustering your courage to appeal against a benefit decision you know to be unjust and unfair. Maybe you just want to work but employers won’t look beyond your condition and give you the chance to prove yourself.

If any of this describes you, then be assured that God has not overlooked what you’re going through. He promises to arise on your behalf and bring you to the place of safety for which you yearn. Many politicians have made promises they either had no intention of keeping or were unable to keep. But look what this Psalm tell us about God’s promises: His words are purer than seven times purified silver. They are no fleeting promises, spoken today and forgotten tomorrow. Three thousand years ago David wrote this beautiful song, to be performed on an eight-stringed instrument, and in its lyrics he declared that God’s words would be preserved “from this generation forever”.

And here we are, three millennia later, still proving God’s faithfulness. David was right, God’s words have been preserved from that generation until now, and they have lost none of their power. He is still keeping His promises. So no matter how you find yourself at the beginning of this New Year, rest in the assurance that God’s New Year resolution is to guide you into a place of safety and He will not let the things that oppress you have the final victory. Happy New Year, and in the words of the Apostle Paul, grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

(Photo (of '2018' written out with a sparkler against a night sky) by NordWood Themes on Unsplash)