Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8 NLT
But forget all that – it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. Isaiah 43:18-19 NLT
Happy New Year to you! But if you are reading this, you are old enough to know wishing for a happy new year doesn’t make it so. Intentional choices and intentional relationships are required.
We have great news and opportunities. In this New Year, we have the same faithful God. He is even more dependable and faithful than the sunrise and the sunset. The same God who has carried you through 2023 and 2024 and every year before is the same. He does not change. He has never forsaken anyone who put their faith and trust in Him, and He will not break His record on you. As He was yesterday, He will be today and forever.
But it is a new year. We don’t know what lies ahead of us, but we do know Who walks with us. This season we are just now concluding has reminded us that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. This new year doesn’t need to paralyze us or cause us to be consumed with worry. We can do everything if we intentionally choose to stay with Him.
The new year will be a wonderful adventure because, though our God is so faithful and dependable, He is not routine. He is always looking out for our best. He’s fully and continually committed to fulfilling His mission. He wants everyone to have the opportunity to follow Him to a full and fulfilling, transformed life. We get to do that ourselves and then join Him in finding others who need what only He can offer. This is one thing I can promise without fear of being wrong. If you will fully follow Jesus into and through 2025, you will be different and you will have made an eternal difference by December 31, 2025.
I know that because God is doing something new. I don’t know what He will do – I just know it will be beyond our personal and community expectations. It is quite easy to miss what God is doing because we aren’t paying attention and focusing our minds and hearts. I am praying God will help me keep my eyes, ears, and heart open to unfamiliar things that might be my first notice of God’s new move. It’s going to be great – He Himself says that what He has done in the past is nothing compared to what He will do in the days ahead. This new year is here for me to embrace and is an opportunity to trust God in new ways.
- Intentionally choose your best new year by choosing to receive God’s “new thing.” Commit to specific prayer and action to keep step with what God is doing. Pray “God, help me be spiritually sensitive and in tune with You to recognize Your new work.”