Last week we began considering the word “new”. WE talked about how Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment to love one another, yet as we consider the old testament laws, this seemingly new precept was really just a summing up of what had always been. We also rejoiced that the Lord’s compassion is new every morning. What a comfort that brings.
Moving on from these points, I started thinking about other things which God renews for us daily, and the first that came to mind was our strength. Each day when we open our eyes, our heavenly Father bestows upon us the strength we need to face whatever the next 24 hours has in store. He knows beforehand exactly what we’re going to have to face. He knows whether we’re going to have a brilliant, good, mediocre, or even a terrible day. Sadly, we all have those days when nothing seems to go right, but the wonderful thing is that our Lord knows when they’re coming, and so he knows when to give us an extra portion of his strength. Whatever we have to face, we can be certain that he has gone into the situation before us and prepared a way to bring us through.
However, we need to remember that God only gives us the strength we’ll need one day at a time. In other words, it’s no good me thinking today about something I’ll have to do a week from now and worrying because it seems like an impossible task I fear I’ll never be able to handle. The truth is that I don’t need to handle it today. This day has its own unique challenges, and I have to believe he filled me this morning with the strength I’d need in order to handle them. Nothing is wasted with God. There’s no point in him giving me the strength today that I’ll need to handle the impossible task looming down the line. If he did, I’d probably waste or squander it before it was needed. He’ll give it to me then – on the day I’ll need to use it. He promises to renew the strength of those who hope in him. He says we will soar on wings like eagles, and that we will run and not grow weary, and walk and not grow feint? (Isaiah 40: 31.)
Let’s consider the children of Israel when they were in the desert. Remember how God fed them with manna from heaven when there was no food for them to eat. I was struck by the fact that they were told only to gather the amount of manna they would need for one day. There was no point in storing manna for tomorrow, because God destroyed anything that was left uneaten by the end of the day by allowing it to rot. The Israelites had to have faith. They had to believe that the manna would be there for them to collect the following morning, just as it had been on that morning. And that’s how it is with us. We have to believe that the Lord is going to supply everything we need as and when we need it. Jesus warned us about worrying about tomorrow. He said: ‘Tomorrow will worry about itself’, and he reminded us that each day has enough worries of its own. (Matthew 6: 34.)God calls us to live each day to the full, and to place all our tomorrows in his hands, believing that he will renew our strength and his compassion towards us day by day.
So the Lord renews our strength. Also, he renews our blessings. In other words, every day of our lives he blesses us in one way or another. I’m sure we could all bare witness to that. The blessings may take different forms, but nevertheless, they are there, and we should thank him and praise him for them. The very fact that we can enjoy our breakfast, get dressed into warm clothes, put the central heating on, and run a bath or have a shower are all blessings, but of course, he gives us so much more; such is his love for us.
There’s just one more verse I’d like to share with you as we consider the word “new”. It comes from 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 16. In the previous verses, Paul has firstly been speaking about suffering, then reminding his readers of the wonderful hope of eternal life we have through Jesus Christ. Then he says: ‘Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.’ Our physical bodies may be slowly wearing out, but our spiritual condition does not have to mirror the physical. I’ve known people with incredible physical challenges who have soared in their walk with the Lord as they’ve allowed him to turn their weaknesses into strengths. One lady who was bedbound committed to receiving prayer requests by mail and having them tacked to her bedroom ceiling, so she could look up all day long and lift people to the lord in prayer. She saw massive breakthrough as she allowed the Lord to renew her daily in the task he had given her.
So to close, I’d just like to pull everything we’ve considered over the past 2 weeks together and to think once again about the new year we’ve just entered. I believe the Lord is going to do a number of new and wonderful things in 2021 both in our own individual lives as Christians and in his church as a whole. We are undoubtedly going through unprecedentedly challenging times, but my prayer is that many will be brought to their knees in repentance as they acknowledge their need for a Saviour. However, this might also mean that we’ll face new challenges as we seek to help and guide new believers towards spiritual maturity. We might have to find new ways of helping them to move from the milk onto the solid food of God’s Word. WE may have to consider new ways of teaching and presenting the gospel, all the while ensuring we never water down its message. My point is that we have to be open to the work of the Lord in our lives both individually and corporately, and we need to be excited about the new things he’s doing and to approach this new year with eager anticipation and with the joy of the Lord in our hearts despite the predictions of doom and gloom we hear in the media every day. We serve an amazing God, and what seems new to us will never take him by surprise. Also, we mustn’t worry about whether or not we’re going to be able to cope with these new challenges he’ll give us, because as we’ve already established, each morning when we open our eyes and climb out of bed, the Lord will bestow upon us the strength, the compassion, and the blessings we’re going to need for the day that lies ahead.