In today’s devotional, Dr. Michael Youssef reminds us that God is the same faithful, loving Savior in life's ups and downs.
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[00:00:00] You are listening to My Devotional, the daily devotional from Dr. Michael Youssef and Leading
[00:00:06] the Way. Yesterday, Today, and Forever by Dr. Michael Youssef
[00:00:13] The ancient Romans called the first month of the year January, naming it after the Roman
[00:00:18] god Janus. You see, Janus has two faces. One face looks back at the past year, and this
[00:00:25] face is filled with sorrow and dismay and perplexity. The other face looks forward to the new year
[00:00:31] with hope and cheer and confidence. This cycle repeats year in and year out, with the new
[00:00:38] year becoming the old and optimism turning to despair. On New Year's Eve, you can feel the
[00:00:46] excitement in the air. It's almost electric, but as those two faces of Janus reveal, it
[00:00:52] is short-lived. Funny thing happens, a couple weeks into January, people begin to realize
[00:00:57] that the problems they had last year followed them. Whatever catharsis they receive from saying
[00:01:03] goodbye to the old year and ringing in the new one has faded away. However, we who love
[00:01:08] Jesus Christ don't have to tie our hope to a new year or wallow in grief when that new year
[00:01:15] disappoints. That's because the God we serve is the same yesterday and today and forever.
[00:01:21] He is the God who overrules our past sins and forgives our trespasses. He rules over the present,
[00:01:28] and he also guarantees our future. Because this is true, it doesn't matter what date it is,
[00:01:35] whether it's January 1 or December 31 or any day in between. We can spend every day thanking and
[00:01:43] praising the Lord for each circumstance that comes our way. We are free to praise God and thank him for
[00:01:49] the ups and downs of life. We can worship and be grateful on good days and bad. We can bless the
[00:01:55] Lord for the joys and for the sorrows. Why? Because God's promises to us are as sure as God himself.
[00:02:04] Here's one of the greatest promises in the Bible. God says to us, his children,
[00:02:09] never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you. This promise was for last year. This promise is for
[00:02:18] this year. This promise is for all our future years, whether we are here on earth or with him in
[00:02:25] eternal glory. Whatever the future brings, those of us who love God and follow his son can have peace
[00:02:31] and confidence. For our God will never leave us. Let's pray together. Father, we praise you for the
[00:02:38] promise of your enduring presence. What a gift to have the Lord on our side, orchestrating all things
[00:02:46] for our good. We give you all the glory for the peace and hope that we have in you. We pray this in
[00:02:53] the name of Jesus. Amen. If today's devotional encouraged you, we'd love to hear about it.
[00:03:00] Leave a review and share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it.
[00:03:05] My devotional is a ministry of Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. To learn more, visit ltw.org today.