Making All Things New

There is something about the turn of a new year that excites us. There is this strange sense of anticipation and exhilaration as we begin again. We find that we have all sorts resolve to make this new year count. We vow to make this year better than the last, even if the previous year was a good one. The new year brings with it new...hope.

And so we make resolutions. Eat healthier. Exercise more. Spend more time in the Word. Remember birthdays. Save money. The list is endless. The great thing about the fresh start of a new year is that we find ourselves really believing we can make those changes. And we do...at least for the first few weeks. Then the smallest failure discourages us and causes us to give up completely.

I think this is a problem. Not because we fail to keep our resolutions. The problem is that we give up so easily. Of course we do...because we cannot do it. We do not have the strength to make needed changes in our lives. Changes that honor God, but are apart from him if we do not ask him for help.

"Behold, I am making all things new," our Lord says to us in Isaiah 43:19. God makes a way for us. Failure is not the end of the story. It never has been. Over and over again in the Bible, we see how God makes his mercy and grace new for us every morning (see Lamentations 3:22-24). And so we begin again. Each morning is a new year, a new chance to honor God with our lives. With each new day, let us resolve to rely on God more. Go ahead and make resolutions. Change is good if it honors and relies on God.