2007 - We have Hope.

This is the first day of 2007. We have just completed a fantastic year in 2006. The blessings of God were all over our lives and we experienced His bounty personally and as a family. Those who received our Christmas letter would know of specific examples where we celebrated and new experiences that were given to us.

As we enter 2007, I wanted the first thing I read to be the Bible. I wanted to begin with an eternal perspective. I opened the Word to Ecclesiastes chapter 9. Here are some verses that I believe spoke to me for this coming year:

4 Anyone who is among the living has hope —
even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your
wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God
favors what you do.
10 Whatever your hand finds to do,
do it with all your might, for in the grave,
where you are going, there is neither working
nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
11 I have seen something else under the sun:
The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all.

Most of all, we have hope. Without hope we are lost and destined for failure. Hope feeds life and enthusiasm. God favors us and will provide for our needs. Whatever we do we should do it to our very best because it will reflect our hope and God's blessings. It is very important then that we choose carefully what we spend our time and efforts doing. Our choices should not reflect conflict with the word of God.

God gives each of us oportunity regardless of whether or not we are the fastest, most brilliant, most learned or strongest. Each of us has potential (time and chance) to succeed and experience God's favor. This reminds me that life is less about competing with others as much as it is competing with ourselves to defeat laziness, procrastination, and comfort to move onto excellence.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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