Happy New Year will have a hollow ring for millions of people if a recent survey is correct. It seems that a massive one in five adults are dreading the new year, with money worries figuring high among their concerns.

At the same time, the Government funded Citizenship Survey showed a continuing decline in the number of those willing to identify themselves as Christians and even those who did do so are far less likely to practise their religion than those of other faiths.

These statistics saddened me, but not for the reason most people would suspect. It's got nothing to do with filling the pews on a Sunday, I simply want more and more people to discover the benefits that flow from trusting Jesus.

It starts with forgiveness of course. Thankfully, we can start all over again with a complete clean slate. But wonderful as that is it is merely the prelude to a deeply satisfying and fulfilling life.

Christians have discovered the antidote to worry for example, for when we put God first we don't have to worry about food and clothing. My wife and I have found this to be true time and time again, not least when I responded to God's call to train to be a pastor. We had three young children and no assured income but we always had everything we needed, even though it did get tough at times.

Faith offers us a sense of security. It assures us that we need not fear even when the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, for God has promised us He will be a constant source of help and strength whatever the new year brings. We may not always understand all that's happening to us, but He has promised to be with us, and that He will work in and through all things for our ultimate good.

And that's because we can live with the assurance that God is always in control. Police Officer Chip Gillette came to understand this a few days after a crazed gunman killed seven young people in Wedgewood Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas. As he walked around the sanctuary trying to make some kind of sense of the tragedy, Gillette had 'a strong feeling of the presence of God' just prior to finding a bullet stuck between the pages of a hymnal. He recalls "I read the words of the chorus where the bullet had come to its final rest '...King of Kings and Lord of Lords and He shall reign for ever and ever'. I began to cry and to realise that Christ was telling me that 'He is Lord - before the shooting, during the shooting and forever more'.

Christians can also face the New Year knowing that they can do something useful too. We may be unemployed, or we may feel limited in lots of other ways, but God can use us, whoever we are. One elderly lady I knew, for example, was totally housebound but decided to write an encouraging letter to someone every day. She couldn't leave the house but friends were willing to post them for her. They gained and she was blessed.

Happiness then, as two of my friends have argued, is 'not the goal so much as the outcome of particular ways of living'. (Robinson and Griffiths The Eight Secrets of Happiness: Lion).

If they are correct, 2012 need not be depressing. It could prove incredibly fulfilling for each one of us. But, as always, we will reap what we sow.

Rob James is Pastor of Westgate Evangelical Chapel, Pembroke, and can be contacted at [email protected]">[email protected]