During the Lunar New Year, friends and relatives would exchange New Year greetings, wishing each other a better life in this coming year, a life with greater blessings. Besides the classic New Year greetings such as “Happy New Year,” “good health,” “abundant wealth,” “may there be surpluses every year,” etc., there are creative greetings for this year of the Horse.  Greetings which are apt for the year of the Horse such as, “Have cash immediately”, “Be successful immediately”, “Be blessed immediately,” etc., have become common New Year greetings.  Health, wealth, success, love and kinship are all part of what defines a blessed life.  These New Year greetings express our vision of a good future and also our hope for a good life.  Of course, these pleasant greetings also add to the festive mood.  Those who receive these greetings also receive a form of encouragement and they look forward to the coming year.  Everyone knows, however, that while these greetings sound good, they offer no assurance and they might not even come true.

According to the Bible, the book of James 4:13-15, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”

We do not even know what will happen tomorrow, so how can we be sure of our fate?  God’s word reminds us that we are limited; our lives are like a mist which appears for a while and then vanishes.  We can make the most comprehensive plans for ourselves but an accident, an emergency, a natural disaster, an illness or death can easily ruin our dreams.  This may seem like a very pessimistic view of life but this is the reality.  When we put God away from our lives and make our own decisions, we often end up hurting ourselves because life is beyond our control.

The author of James gives us a very important reminder – God is in control of our lives.  When you understand this and believe in the truth, it allows us to humble our hearts before God.  When we are able to humble ourselves before God, we would not think highly of ourselves and think that we are capable of being more powerful than God.  Instead we will seek Him above all else and trust in Him.  Whenever we make any decision, we should first consider how it can please God and as we plan ahead, we would allow God to work His will.  When we are willing to follow God’s directions, we need not be afraid that we would take the wrong path and be afraid that we would encounter problems.  Problems and obstacles are part of God’s plans, and He will give us sufficient grace to overcome them.

It is a joy when God walks with us in every moment of our lives.  This is more precious than what all the riches, health, kinship and love have to offer, and is life’s greatest blessing.  May our brothers and sisters in Christ be able to experience the presence of God this New Year.  Let our Lord Jesus lead us in every aspect of our life.  May the Lord bless us with a greater knowledge of God’s word so that we can better understand God’s will in the different aspects of our life.  May He help us to pray for everything, experience God in prayer, and also see the true and living Heavenly Father.  We wish our brothers and sisters, “Immanuel” in the year of the horse, which means “God with us”! (Matthew 1:23).