Many of us go into the New Year with new things: presents bought for us at Christmas, new clothes, new ideas, new resolutions. We like the idea of newness and begin a new year with a fresh sense of anticipation and excitement, believing we can shed the obsolescence of the old and move on pastures new.
Such anticipation and enthusiasm do not generally last long, for January in England is often a long, cold, bleak month and we are people who easily slip back into old habits, old patterns of thinking and old ways of doing things. Nonetheless, we serve a God who is seated on His throne and who makes all things new. (Rev 21:5) This gives us encouragement to hope afresh and to persevere through the storms, difficulties and trials which 2017 will inevitably bring.
This new year is a time for renewed hope and commitment. Each Sunday, as we gather together to worship God and serve Him, we see the opportunity for a new week of worship and service. Each day is a new opportunity for worship and service. We serve a God of second chances, of fresh opportunities, a God who makes everything new and who gives us new birth, new life, a new song to sing, and new hope (see 1 Pet 1:3). As we celebrate a new year, let’s celebrate all the new things God will do this year and rejoice in the new life He brings.
