In December, it’s customary to not just wish each other a merry Christmas, but also a happy New Year. The two celebrations slot together because they are separated by just one short week.
If you listen to the chatter in supermarket queues, you will probably hear other customers complaining about the year that’s ending, and hoping the next will be better. However, when you stop to think about it, all that really happens at the stroke of midnight on the thirty-first of December is that we take one calendar down to be replaced by another. Is a new year really a new start, when wars continue to be fought, illnesses progress, and people we care about suffer? Is the best we can hope for simply to survive next year, gritting our teeth and fighting through the mire to see another Christmas?
If you’re finding this post a little depressing, I have some good news. In fact, it’s the best news ever. You don’t have to wait until a specific date to begin again. If the weight of your life feels too heavy to bare, let me encourage you to focus again on the baby in the manger. And don’t be so quick to look away. Jesus grew up to face all the trials and temptations we endure, even though he was perfect and divine. No one can accuse him of not understanding what it’s like to be human, because he does, even to the point of death.
We can begin again. Although we have no control over what next year will bring, we can choose to place our futures into the hands of someone who is totally trustworthy. In Jesus, you can have your new beginning.
Prayer
Lord, as I look ahead to the start of a new year, I place my hand in yours and ask you to guide me, comfort me, and walk alongside me every step of the way. I surrender my plans to you, and ask you to reveal yours.
Song: Human for me by Katy Kinard
Scriptures to Ponder
Ezekiel 36: 26: “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”
2Corinthians 5: 17: “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”