Congratulations on making it to another year. That feels like it gets more challenging all the time. Maybe that’s just me. Either way, here we are at the starting line of another year. It’s perfectly new and wide open with possibility.
If I were the type, I’d come to the starting blocks with resolutions aimed at being a better me and maybe a “word of the year” to direct my focus. However, I’m not the type. Never have been. If you are, good for you. I earnestly wish you the best. I hope you crush it.
I will not be hoarding your gym space or flooding your social media feeds with pictures of all the salads I’m eating. Personally, I’m just going to keep trying the best I can and will desperately need to cash in on those new mercies every day that God promises us in Lamentations 3.
I do enjoy dreaming and setting goals. Setting goals is important. The Bible makes many references to the prudence of having goals, plans, and visions. However, if I’m being honest, I just like to have a sustainable plan because it gives me the illusion that I’m in control. I’m not, of course. I am just constantly in need of those new mercies. It is such relief to know that God’s love for me doesn’t depend on how successful I am at accomplishing resolutions or goals.
I woke up one morning this past week thinking about “new.” For Christmas, I got a new pair of sneakers for my daily walks. I had been wearing them in the house for a couple of days to break them in a little. That morning as a I woke up, I decided that was the day to take the first walk in the new shoes. The funny thing is it’s the same shoe I always get. In fact, I get a new pair about every six months. Sometimes the color changes, but otherwise it’s the same brand and style. I don’t even wear them for anything except my daily walks.
Why was I so happy about a new pair of the same shoes that I get so regularly? I was literally lying in bed thinking about this before I ever opened my eyes. I am forever amazed at when and how the Lord speaks to me. On that morning, He answered my question. “Because they’re new.”
My eyes flashed open in response. “Yes, Lord. A new creation.”
That’s it, and it’s such a good thought for me as we begin this new year. My old shoes were worn out from the past. They carried hard mileage that came in another challenging year. A year where, much to my disappointment, I didn’t reach my walking goal. A year where I played it safe too long and couldn’t recover once real challenges hit me. But I get to leave that disappointment, and those old shoes, in the past.
I can learn lessons and remember some parts of the past year, but I have a new pair of shoes and a fresh opportunity to begin again. A chance to set my goals and try again. When we choose to follow Christ, we have the same opportunity.
“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 (NKJV)
I am so glad that I can leave my old self in the past. Friends, I’m grateful that we each can leave our mistakes, our failures, our bad days, and wrong turns in the past. We can shed those old shoes and that difficult year and step into the new.
We don’t have to travel to foreign lands, read fifty classic novels, or work out six days a week for this promise to apply to us. The only resolution we need to make is to follow Jesus. When we make that change, the old is cut loose. A new life in Christ is yours free of the weight of your old self. It provides a fresh start and a lifetime supply of new mercies.
There is nothing greater or more eternally significant that you can do as you begin this new year than to make up your mind and your heart to walk with Jesus. If too many challenges have taken their toll and you’ve slipped away, this is a great time to seek Him again. Jesus hasn’t changed. His love for you hasn’t wavered. His promises haven’t expired. He’s offering you a fresh start.
