A Fresh Start
Nothing really changes when December 31st ends and January 1st starts. We might stay up later than usual to celebrate, but after the party, our problems are still there. Our concerns and our worries do not go away when we turn the calendar page.
But there is something “new” about a new year. Somehow it just feels like there is a chance for a new beginning. Perhaps there might be a different outcome this time, maybe something will change this year. It is why so many people resolve to try a new diet or join a gym or read more books and watch less TV at the turn of a new year.
God’s Mercy Is New Every Day
God knows our struggles. He sees us fall and fail time after time, yet He does not give up on us. He encourages us with the word new in Scripture to give us hope that the old can be forgotten and changed and He can make all things new. Here are five passages where God offers hope with the new:
1. Jonah 1-2: This first passage is a perfect example of a sense of the old and the new. You know that God told Jonah to go preach to Israel’s enemies. He refused because he did not see people the same way God did and ended up in the belly of a big fish. Jonah cried out to God and thanked Him for saving his life. God again told Jonah to go preach to Nineveh. This time he obeyed, and Nineveh repented and was saved. Jonah sinned and ran from God, but God’s mercies chased him down and gave him another chance.
2. Philippians 3:13-14: But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Paul made just as many, if not more, mistakes than most of us, yet by God’s grace, he was able to let go of the past and press hard toward the future reward. He knew he had been forgiven and trusted God to reward his work and his faithfulness.
3. Lamentations 3:22-23: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Not just on January 1st, but each day of the new year and every year, God renews His mercy to us. No matter what our challenges might be, God’s love and care remain constant.
4. 2 Corinthians 5:17: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
In the verse above from Philippians, Paul was able to forget the past because he was a different person now. If Christ has saved you, you can step into the new year with confidence because your identity is in Christ, not in your mistakes or failures.
5. Isaiah 65:17: See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
Later, in the book of Revelation, Jesus again says, “I am making all things new” and says that God will wipe every tear away, and there will be no more death, sorrow, or pain. Even with the hope of a new beginning in the new year, we will always have pain here in this life, but these verses remind us of God’s ultimate plan for renewal and restoration. Those who know God will spend eternity in a new place, where nothing of the pain of our past will even be remembered.
As we move into and through this new year, cling to the hope that God’s promises are trustworthy and true. He can make something new and beautiful of our challenges and pain, both now and in the future. “I am making all things new.”
For more thought-provoking topics, tune in to Hope 100.7.
God bless you. Stay hopeful! ❤️
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