The beginning of a new year sparks within most the hope that maybe we can start again.
Now be honest... isn’t that what we all want... a new start... to pull out a new piece of paper. Don’t we all have this yearning within us to place our foot on the starting line just one more time, forgetting the past and pressing forward with hope that things will be better this year.
After all, we’re all aware of times when we have messed up. We’ve said wrong words, reacted the wrong way, rushed ahead when we should have waited, gave in when we should have resisted. And just so you know, in 2013 you are likely to mess up a few times.
That’s not what you want to hear, right? But there’s hope. Life getting better is still is an option.
The hope of this option lies in the fact that God wants you to experience His love every day. Lamentations 3:22, 23 says, “The Lord’s love never ends, His mercies never stop. They are new every morning.”
Like one wave follows the other towards the shore, so God this year wants you to know the constant, never-stopping goodness of His love. What God wants to do for you is more than just apply something to the surface of your life. Those kinds of things can be worn away by life’s stresses and anxieties.
Rather, God wants to start something new in you. For when you give Him your heart, He returns the favour with a spiritual heart transplant. Several weeks ago, a family lost their daughter in a skiing accident. They came to the decision that they would donate all of her organs to whoever needed them the most. By an amazing turn of events they met the person who received their daughter’s heart. They were able to put a stethoscope on the chest of the woman who had received the transplant and felt the awe of hearing their daughter’s heart.
This year, you have the opportunity to know that the heart of Jesus can beat in you. This year, you can have a brand new heart. You can live anew with fresh purpose, fresh hope and new lease on life.
Now, if this sounds strange... if it sounds like something ‘religious,’ may I encourage you to push past such thoughts and indulge yourself in idea that God is for you. In fact, why not say it out loud, you’ve got a moment... God is for me!
Your teachers may ignore you, friends may have forgotten you. But know this, God is for you. If God has a calendar, your birthday is circled. If there are trees in heaven, God’s carved your name in everyone of them.
You see, when you place your life in God’s hands, He can turn your messes into a masterpiece. He draws together the disjointed parts of your life and makes it a work of art. That you don’t have to live in a state of fear... that’s not His plan. Instead, if your problems are too large in 2013, God can do more than what you think is possible. If your need is too big, God can abundantly supply your need. If the temptation is too great, God can provide a way of escape. If 2013 seems too frightening to you, God is able to keep you from falling.
God wants you to have a great new year. Will you give Him your life? If you will, you will be off to a new start that will only get better.
This column is submitted by the Tri-Community Baptist Church in Beiseker.
