2018 : The Year of Hope And Anticipation

At the end of each year, we usually have a foretaste of what the New Year will bring. Last year, I felt

that the year will be filled with many changes and challenges. It was so, both in my personal life and in the world affairs.

What I sense for this New Year 2018 is hope and anticipation of what the Lord will bring about. It looks like the new wave of protests taking place in Iran right now will eventually finally bring down the oppressive regime that is holding Iranian people hostage for nearly four decades now, which will also bring an end to many terrorist activities around the world that this regime is funding, including Hamas.

I look forward to see if the biblical pattern of 70s for Israel will hold and what type of restoration will take place there as well. In the Church also there is a sense of renewed energy and joyful expectation as the movement of prayer and cooperation between different churches continues, there will be pouring out of God's blessings upon His people worldwide.

Last year, we saw how the materialist and postmodern philosophy that pushed people towards increased ungodliness began to crumble and an interest in the Bible began to grow in unexpected places. It does not cease to amaze me how a secular liberal Canadian psychologist, Jordan Peterson, is able to draw hundreds of thousands into listening of his series of lectures on the Bible stories and they cannot get enough of it. The spiritual hunger among the people, especially the young people is growing. There are therefore many reasons to hope.

It is often easy to focus on all the bad that is happening in the world, but we have to remember that God is always on the move and way ahead of the enemy and that where the darkness gets deeper, His light can shine the brighter. So, determine to notice all those good things and understand what The Lord is doing, and be encouraged by it. God bless everyone and have a blessed New Year 2018!