Our Hope for the Coming Year: God with Us

Recently, I purchased one of those fancy digital calendars—the kind that sits shining brightly on the counter, each square speckled like colorful confetti. Yet like all calendars, it doesn’t just display dates; it also tells a story. A quick scroll back through the past year leaves my mind weary from all of the unexpected interruptions: vacations that ended abruptly; sudden illnesses that pivoted plans; unpredictable seizures that led to lengthy hospitalizations with our daughter; devastating doctor reports; and hours spent on phone calls with insurance providers. As I think ahead to the calendar waiting to be filled, I find myself asking, What hope can carry me through the days to come?

My story is hardly unique. Dear friends delivered a baby at twenty weeks. A young mom of four from our church was recently diagnosed with cancer. At Christmas dinner, extended family members shared stories of financial strain. Maybe you can add your own items to this list of unexpected events that sadden your soul. 

What is your hope for the coming year? Do you battle to see hope when life seems full of disappointment, sadness, and pain? Whether it’s in your parenting, career, relationships, or health—what is your confidence when unexpected news seems to throw everything off course?

God with Us: Then and Now 

As followers of Jesus, our hope lies in the truth of Immanuel, God with us. When we read through the Bible, the Old Testament reveals humanity’s repeated failure and God’s steadfast promise to save His people. At last, the first chapter of Matthew declares the birth of the Messiah, the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy hundreds of years prior (Matt. 1:23). The book closes with the risen Jesus reminding His disciples, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (28‬:‭20‬). 

This is our hope—lives bookended by the intimate presence of God. It’s not a hope found in fulfilled dreams or successful ambitions, nor in good health or financial surplus. It’s a hope found in Jesus Christ—God Himself dwelling with His people, now and forevermore. The presence of Christ gives us hope despite shattered dreams or unforeseen circumstances. 

Because He is fully man, Jesus knows the depths of our sorrow. Because He is fully God, He is infinitely good, wise, and sovereign—and we trust Him. God the Father “made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (‭‭2 Cor.‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬); ‬‬therefore, we have hope of an eternal favored relationship with the One who created the universe.

During His ministry on earth, Jesus encouraged the disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit—God’s intimate presence among His people—who would speak to them and guide them into all truth: 

“When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me. . . . he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears.” (John 15:26; 16:13) 

After Jesus’ return to the Father, this same Spirit continued to guide and strengthen His followers. Turn ahead a few pages to the book of Acts, and we see believers facing hardships like stoning, imprisonment, and shipwreck. Although our trials today may look different, because of the Savior’s presence with us, we can echo these words of the prophet Habakkuk:

Though the fig tree does not bud 
and there is no fruit on the vines, 
though the olive crop fails 
and the fields produce no food, 
though the flocks disappear from the pen 
and there are no herds in the stalls, 
yet I will celebrate in the LORD; 
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! 
The LORD my Lord is my strength; 
he makes my feet like those of a deer 
and enables me to walk on mountain heights! (‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭3‬:‭17–19‬‬‬)

Habakkuk’s eyes were fixed on his Savior and Rescuer. And when we, too, fix our eyes on the God of our salvation, earthly circumstances lose their grip upon our soul. Matthew Henry says in his commentary on Habakkuk 3,

But those who, when full, enjoyed God in all, when emptied and poor, can enjoy all in God. They can sit down upon the heap of the ruins of their creature-comforts, and even praise the Lord, as the God of their salvation, the salvation of the soul, and rejoice in him as such, in their greatest distresses. . . . Jesus, when we can speak of Him as ours, is balm for every wound, a cordial for every care. It is as ointment poured forth, shedding fragrance through the whole soul.¹

Habakkuk poured forth the ointment in the light of unexpected discouragement. He saw a challenging season increase his faith and confidence in the strength of the Lord. Fast forward hundreds of years and we see Peter speak of the same truth:

You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭6–7)

When life takes a sudden twist or turn, when disappointment, loneliness, or sadness overwhelms us, as believers, we find hope in the presence of Immanuel. He is with us now on this broken side of heaven and will one day usher us into our perfect eternal home. Immanuel now, Immanuel forever. 

Everlasting Hope All Year Long 

Six years ago my husband and I received news that no parent ever wants to hear. When our second daughter was born, genetic testing revealed a diagnosis that felt like a death sentence—a prognosis that predicted a future filled with severe disability, dependence, and constant care. Dreams for my future family crushed under the weight of the words “cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome.” The video in my mind’s eye—where my husband and I walk hand-in-hand as little children joyfully skip behind us, crunching the leaves in a crisp, autumn landscape—quickly darkened to grayscale, shadowed by hospital stays, seizures, tube feeds, and medications. 

Over time, the promises of God’s Word have reoriented my perspective and brought great hope. While our circumstances often remain bleak, I know He is with me. I now see this plan as one exploding with intention and design—and one that increasingly breathes life to my weary soul.

I see glimpses of His plan unfold when unique opportunities arise to share the gospel of Jesus in the depths of grief—at my daughter’s bedside while she lies intubated yet again or in the middle of a therapy session when discouragement draws near. Because the promised Immanuel has come, darkened spaces become places to shine true hope. Hospital rooms, doctor offices, and therapy sessions become places where people can hear the truth of Jesus, who can bring hope to their sadness and pain. 

At the beginning of a new year, we are often encouraged to set goals and create action plans. Fresh beginnings bring motivation, but they also carry a fragile hope. Let us find everlasting hope all year long in something eternal—Immanuel, God with us. He is with us in our pain today, and He will be with us on that future day when He wipes it all away. It is in Immanuel that we will find infinitely deep, everlasting hope—for every moment of this day, this week, and the rest of our lives. 

¹ Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete), Vol. 3 (Joshua–Esther), Habakkuk 3, https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/habakkuk/3.html.