No Surprises in the New Year

Some people might describe me as a goal-oriented list maker. And they would

be right. So, it’s no surprise that I start a new year (sometimes the new

calendar year in January, sometimes the new school year in the fall) with

journal and pen in hand, writing out goals I want to accomplish. One New

Year’s Eve, I sat thinking about hopes and dreams for the upcoming new

year. But I had one thought I just couldn’t shake.

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Gazing at a fresh page in the calendar, I fretted about the ways I would

inevitably mess up the new year. It hadn’t even arrived yet, and already

I’d begun to regret and even fear the sins I would certainly commit. I

became bogged down, knowing I would spoil the new year in no time.

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But for those of us who have entered a relationship with God through Jesus,

believing in His death and resurrection and trusting Him to forgive our

sins and provide new life, we can choose something betterbetter than

living in regret over the past or in fear about ruining the future. We can

live in freedom, resting in His sure love for us.

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Will we sin in the new year? Of course, and the Lord already knows this. He

is not caught off guard by our failures, and He has already secured our

forgiveness inJesusforgiveness for our sins in the past, present, and

future. The Lord extends compassion to us, separating us from our sins so

that we are never joined with them again. So, we can hope, dream, and plan

for each new year, knowing that our compassionate Heavenly Father does not

treat us as our sins deserveeven the ones still in our future. Allison

Wilson Lee

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If we know Jesus, we can be free from the fear of failure because His

love and forgiveness don’t change, even when we fail. How can resting in

these truths give us hope as we look forward to the future?

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Whenever we sin (by doing or thinking anything that goes against God) He

calls us to confess and repent, turning away from our sin and back toward

Him. Are there any sins on your mind that you can confess and repent from?

Consider taking a moment to come to God in prayer, resting in His sure love

and forgiveness.

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He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the wEsther Psalm

103:12 (NLT)

Read Verses:

Psalm 103:8-Psalm 103:14