End It With Gratitude
I’m usually more interested in looking forward than I am in looking back. However, as each year draws to a close, I believe it is a good practice to briefly review the previous 12 months and take inventory of what lessons have been learned. Life’s experiences and how we respond to them contribute to the people we become. And it is beneficial to consider the ways the Lord has blessed us in the past year.
As we revisit 2024, we can see the trials and challenges we’ve overcome. We can remember those people we’ve encountered along the way. This includes both those who were pleasant, as well as those who weren’t, because there is something valuable to be gained from both.
We can think about the faith victories we’ve had- the healings, the provision, and the growth. God comes through for us and often we fail to recognize it. As we remember the things God has done for us, let’s pause to give Him thanks. Without Him, we would not be here to begin another year on this earth.
This year, 2024, has been a particularly dramatic and challenging year from a national point of view. As a people, we’ve seen many unusual events, such as attempted assassinations, indictments, censorship, and other such ungodly things. I believe a veil has been removed from our eyes as a country, and we are now seeing clearer. We know what we must do to remain one nation under God with liberty and justice for all, and we will stand together against tyranny and oppression wherever we see it. Never again can we sit idly by while the wicked occupy seats of power and influence. Believers are created to rule and reign, and that is what we must do.
Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing. James 1:3-4 (Amplified Bible, AMP)
As we end this year, we close the curtain on 2024. There was never a year like it, and we appreciate every lesson, every victory, and everything that it has done to grow us. As we leave the old year, we do so with a much different attitude and outlook than when we entered it. We are stronger, wiser, and better-prepared for the days ahead of us. 2024 has done its work, and now we step into a brand new year full of promise of the fulfillment of what God has for us. We end the year with gratitude for what God has done and look ahead with expectation of what He will do in the coming year.
