There is reason to celebrate the beginning of 2009. God is with us. No matter what '08 delivered to us, '09 is God's time. After prayer I believe God's word for this year is "It's a new year...do not fear". In fact, He commands us to not fear. Any time God commands us to eliminate a sin habit He also tell us what to replace it with. He doesn't say simply, "Do not fear" without giving us a reason to not fear and a promise to hold onto.

Isaiah 41:10-20 is a veritable gold mine in this regard. With the command "Do not fear" God gives us His rationale:

v10 - ...For I am with you...for I am your God...I will strengthen you...surely I will help you...surely I will uphold you. (His very presence assures us we are not alone...ever! His strength is available when we are weak. His arm in available when we lose our footing and stumble.)

v 13 - For I am the Lord your God (Elohim in Hebrew meaning the exceeding supreme God. It is no small "g" god who declares His promises to us.)...who upholds your right hand. (Remember when we walked hand in hand with our daddy and how confident we felt? God's strong grip holding our weakness allows us to confidently walk forward into what is certain to be a bumpy new year.)...I will help you (repeated in case we forgot v10. To repeat something is to emphasize it.)

v 14 - ...I will help you ("NOW HEAR THIS": He said it, He means it,we can be sure of it!)

Is there any reason to doubt or fear the coming of a new year? In a few verses God has given us the antidote for fear and it boils down to - Himself. He is our reason to not fear. He is the foundation upon which 2009 rests. What a foundation for faith we have.

 Be blessed and do be happy this coming year. v 16 gives us a promise to anticipate: "You will rejoice in the Lord. You will glory in the Holy One of Israel". Knowing what we know of God we can rejoice as we declare, "Happy New Year".