01/03/2023
“We cannot know the future but we can know the One who holds the future in His hands.” Author Unknown
On New Year’s Eve the world collectively celebrates to ring-in the turning of the calendar to a fresh year. It is traditionally a festive night with parties, fireworks and lots of hugs and kisses. But it really is so much more than an opportunity to revel or simply turn a chronological page. We gather with friends and family to celebrate an event that signifies a transition from old to new. The evening reverberates with the motto “out with the old and in with the new”. Some liken it to the idea of forgetting the troubles of the past year with the anticipation that a new year will be filled with better days.
Many see it as an opportunity to initiate changes in their life. Some start a new diet and exercise routine, others examine their finances carefully re-prioritizing their budgets, many make resolutions to work on relationships or stop worrying so much and, of course, if you are like the old timers it is a time to go on a cleaning spree in the house.
With the advent of the New Year, the focus always shifts our attention to the future and a new beginning. No matter what life changes we resolve to tackle, it is a time for renewal and getting back on course with the basics and priorities that matter in life. We lean into that time of transition with the hope of a fresh start and the lasting change of shedding of the unwanted that have accumulated whether it is a few pounds or other trappings weighing us down.
Some people resolve to deepen or explore a relationship with God for the New Year. Amazingly, no other resolution we can pursue offers a guarantee like this one. The Bible tells us how God responds to those who seek to Him.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
But God being who He is has defined the path those who wish to seek Him must travel on. He declares we must seek Him in truth; not our truth or someone else’s. God is uncompromising in that regard.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. Psalm 145:18
You notice from the verse above in Hebrews that faith is an essential part of the equation. But faith in what or who? Drawing near and seeking God starts with the truth that Jesus Christ is the way of relationship and reconciliation with God. The road to God comes through faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone (John 14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5).
The thought of starting fresh with a clean slate offers us hope for the New Year. It is a freedom and newness that we all seek. Jesus Christ is the author of new beginnings as the One who made the way for mankind to be reconciled to the Father. When He comes into a life, He takes the old and makes it new.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
No one knows what the future holds in the New Year. We can always look back for better or worse to see where we have come from but we rarely know exactly what the future holds. But through Christ we are given a future, a hope, and a new beginning. In Him our tomorrows and our eternity become secure. We just have to resolve to seek Him in faith.
Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’ Isaiah 46:9-10
M.P. Bramble
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