Happy New Year! The first words of the Bible set the trajectory for our lives on this first day of the new year. “In the beginning, God . . .” The God who has always been, was there at the beginning of creation. Someone asked me, “Who created God?” “No one created God,” I answered. He always was, always is, and always will be.
God is good at starting things. The God of new beginnings offers us a fresh start today. Louisa Fletcher put it beautifully:
“I wish that there were some wonderful place
Called the land of Beginning Again,
Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches
And all of our poor selfish grief
Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door,
And never put on again."
This new year is the time and place for beginning again. What will we leave behind as we enter the new year? Mistakes, heartaches, and selfish grief offer a good place to start. Drop them like a shabby old coat. Never put them on again.
Paul offered us hope, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. Old has passed away. All things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Welcome to the land of Beginning Again. One foot in front of the other. Let’s go and find our way together. God is so good at finishing what he starts. Count on it.
