The new year is here. 2021 is gone and 2022 has arrived. Whatever happened last year is now in the past. We look ahead to the new year hoping for the best. No one knows what to expect or what will happen this year. One thing we know for sure is that our God is still in control. He was the same last year and He is the same this year. Hebrews 13:8 says that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever”. The years will come and go but our God will never change.

As we face this new year together we should take the time to remember the mercies of God last year. Psalm 98:1 says “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.” A lot of us survived some tough times last year and it is only by God’s mercy and grace that we made it into the new year.  God was there for us through all the ups and the downs and all the crazy times last year. let us take the time to give God the glory.

The new year is also a chance for us to come up with resolutions to change those things that need to change to make us better. As you know very few of us are successful in actually keeping up with our new year resolutions. What if we did something different this year? What if our resolution is to trust in God to change us instead of trying to change on our own? Let us look to God for guidance. On our own, we cannot do anything but with God all things are possible. Phillippians 4:13 says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

David asked God in Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me”. We have tried on our own to change and we know how hard that is. Just like David asked God to create a clean heart and renew his spirit, we also need to pray to God to change us. To live the life that God wants us to live we need to be renewed from within and only Jesus Christ can do that. Our attitudes and our thoughts will begin to change as Christ starts working in us.