January, 1942 THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NES S The Secret of a Happy New Year By HERBERT LOCKYER Philadelphia, Pa.
I N THE GOODNESS of God, we stand at the portal of another year. The Old Year has rolled into eter nity, and what a year of anguish and horror it proved to be! It may be that as far as our own personal lives are concerned, we would like to recall the vanished months in order to put a few wrong things right. Words were spoken we would like to withdraw; acts were committed we have a desire to undo. But the beginning of another year is here, and with it, the assur ance that the God of our years waits to make us victorious where we were defeated, strong where we were weak, hopeful where we were fearful, holy whe;re we were sinful. 'W ith hellish forces let loose upon1 the earth, and with the prospect of a year of unprecedented woe and tribulation, we must have some in spiring message which will yield the secret of a holy, happy New Year. Meeting our present need, our Lord reveals Himself in a fourfold way in His exhortation through the prophet Isaiah as He speaks to us: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: ,1 will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteous ness” (Isa. 41:10). God’s Prerogative There are two “nots” we will have to observe carefully if we want a year of unbroken peace. “ Fear thou not . . . be not dismayed.” Fear and dismay! These are the enemies lurk ing within the shadows to rob us of trust and confidence. And, because of His ability to see the end from the beginning, God possesses the sov ereign right to command us to have a year without dread or depression. One of the blessed things about God is that He graciously supplies what He commands. It was this aspect of the divine character that led St. Augustine to pray, “Give what Thou commandest; then command what Thou wilt.” God’s appeal, therefore, is not merely negative. He waits to fortify our mind with His grace, so that we will not succumb to any glqom the year may hold. “ Fear 4hou not” ! Fear is in deed something to dread. Fear is the child of doubt; faith is born of God. Fear ends in fail
cheerless world. Multitudes of Indi viduals have committed suicide rather than face the future as. slaves ruled by a cruel despot. The enslaved •na tions, are without song.. For the words,’ “ be not dismayed,” the Revised Ver sion margin gives us the suggestive reading, “Look not around thee.” Men have sad hearts and faces because of what they see as they look around. Our eyes, however, must not be upon our environment. Neither must we look back. If we do, past sins and failures will add to our dismay. Guilty of transgres sion though we were, we must not brood over our shortcomings. If they are under the blood of the Lord Jesus through our genuine repentance and
ure; faith leads to victory. To have, then, a year without fear, we must have a year of ever-increasing faith in Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think. “Be not dismayed” ! War breeds depression. We find ourselves in a
"Fear thou not; for I am with theei be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteous ness" (Isa. 41:10).
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