Soak in Hope

New year is always a new beginning: a new planner on hand, a new prospect in mind.

To some, New Year entails resolutions. To others, it means another year of challenges.

But how do we face New Year? How does one juggle up and fit in all the prospects and new plans ahead?

Our world has become clawed by the atrocities of rat race. Everyone is running and catching up. We tend to squeeze in everything; gauging our fulfillment by the quantity of tasks we can accomplish-an obvious baloney. We are victims of the pressures of time.

Given our present situation, can we really have the audacity to set aside our plans in exchange of solace and refuge?

Harold Sala, in his devotional book Today Counts, said that we are in the curse of busyness. He asks whether we have the feeling of crossing everything off of our to-do lists: return every phone call, attend every meeting, get everything done at home and in the office. He further challenges us whether we think that God would be pleased if we could do a lot of things in a day. But his point is otherwise stated in such a way that in the midst of our busyness, we need to give ourselves a time to withdraw in prayer, in solitude and contemplation.

Furthermore, Elizabeth Elliot, in her book Keep a Quiet Heart, tells of the several ways to make yourself miserable: count your troubles, name them one by one; worry everyday about something; pity yourself; make sure you get your rights; don't fall into any compassion traps; devise clever but decent ways to serve God and mammon. The list goes on and on.

But the bottom line of this entire dilemma is our self-defeat and perpetual struggle.

Our world maybe under pressure. We may be in frenzy. Everything else around us may turn like whirlwinds. Everything flies and runs like rays of light; but we always have our choices. We can either drown ourselves in the humdrum and animosity of our to-do lists or we can choose to put God in the center of all our endeavors and give ourselves the quietness our hearts had been longing for. We can always find time to go slow: find silence and refuge away from the noisy and agitating conditions of our day-to-day challenges.

We need not be victims of our seemingly bereft situation. We can allow ourselves to soak in the hope that God can always intervene in our vain attempt to put order in the things and situations we don't have full control of.

Retiring to solitary or quiet places is best spent with a devotional book that is always convenient to carry. They are full of encouragements and reminders that will refresh you and prepare you to face yet another day. But this time, you need not be alone in facing them because you have Someone who will go with you all the way through.

Writer's note: Today counts and Keep a Quiet Heart, and other bestselling devotionals are published by OMF Literature Inc. and are available in all leading bookstores nationwide.