I know what you’re thinking. We all had great expectations for the year 2020 and look what happened! Then when we rang in 2021 we had hoped the pandemic would be over and life would be so much nicer. Now you may be hesitating to get your hopes up that 2022 will be any better.

Yet, we have many reasons to sing in this new year. In God’s Word we are commanded to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). I have paraphrased that verse to say “In all things sing.” Here are just four of the many reasons you, too, can sing and joyfully enter this new year with great anticipation:

1. You have a God who always has your back.

Regardless of national or world politics, or even how our state or county is run, you are secure because of who loves you. God is more interested in individual hearts than the welfare of nations, as a whole. And you are one of those individual hearts He has set His own heart upon.

Psalm 139 not only assures us that God’s loving presence will never leave us, but it elaborates on the detail with which God protects us and has our backs. In verse 5, the Psalmist said, “You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.” And in Psalm 71, an inspired songwriter said, “My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long—though I know not how to relate them all.”

Imagine how many times your God has rescued you throughout the day and you weren’t even aware of it. No personal bodyguard, best friend, boyfriend, husband or secret-service agent can watch your back or rescue you like that. As a loved daughter of God can truly sing the words of Psalm 4:8: “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Your security is not in who is in the White House or who is governing your state. Neither does it lie in your financial situation or the solidity of your relationships. True security and protection comes from knowing you are God’s. And Psalm 84:11 promises: “No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” That is cause for gratitude. And that is reason to sing.

2. Your Creator knows you intimately.

When I was a child, my mother used to say, “I know you better than you know yourself.”  How can anyone know us better than we know ourselves? We tend to hide so much and there are so many layers to who we are. Yet, I find it comforting to know that there is One who knows me better than I will ever know myself and that is my Creator, Sustainer, Savior, and Lord. He is the Only One who knows the motives and intentions of my heart – and yours. And that means He never misjudges us or thinks ill of us.

David, the songwriter who knew God intimately, said in Psalm 139 that God searches us and knows us. He knows when we sit and rise and perceives our thoughts from a far. He discerns why we do things and is familiar with all our ways (verses 1-3). He created our inmost being, knit us together in our mothers’ wombs as He molded us together in the secret place, saw our unformed bodies, and planned all our days before they came to be (verses 14-16).  Now that is another reason to sing. You and I have a Heavenly Father who knows us from the inside out. And yet He still chooses to love us.

3. God will never withdraw His love from you – never.  

We live in a world in which people come and go. They enter and exit our lives. Feelings change. Promises are broken. Divorce happens. And yet, God tells us most assuredly in His Word that His love is unlike anything we’ve experienced on this earth. Not only will He never leave us, but He promises, regardless of our actions or circumstances, that His love is here to stay.

In Jeremiah 31:3 God pledged His love for those who follow His Son when He said, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you out with kindness” (NASB). And in Romans 8:38-39 He makes sure we know that nothing we – or anyone else – could do will ever separate us from His enduring love. That is the love of a perfect Daddy for His daughter. And that is a love that is yours, too. Sing, for you will never be unloved.

4. Your future is secure.

Many people are anxious about what kind of an inheritance their family might leave them. Yet, I never have to worry about that, and neither do you.  My future and my inheritance are all about Whose child I am, eternally. Psalm 16 assures me that my Heavenly Father will provide for me throughout this lifetime and in the one to come when it says, “Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance” (verses 5-6). Do you believe that?

Ephesians 1:3-14 gives us just a glimpse of the inheritance we have now in Christ Jesus, not just one day future when we’ll live in His presence. He has not only “blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (verse 3) but also extends those blessings to our lives on earth as we walk in His will. You never have to shake your head in resignation, thinking “It’s all who you know” when it comes to getting the callback, or obtaining the job, or securing that promotion. Because our Heavenly Father is God, you and I know the One who can open any door, secure any deal, break down any wall, and divide any sea. He’s the best agent, boss, or bodyguard we could ever have. He gives us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11) and calls us His beloved. Regardless of what the headlines say or the evening news projects, if you are in Christ Jesus you have a secured hope and this world is not your home. When you live like you believe that, you can’t help but sing.

What do you have to be thankful for as you enter 2022? I would love to hear it in the comment section below. Let’s start a chorus of praise!