Transitioning From One Year To The Next

Friday December 31, 2021
 

In just a few hours the new calendar year will be upon us.  On what basis do we hope to have a better year in the coming one than we had in this year which is almost gone?  Often, we feel overwhelmed at the start of a new year because we have so much stuff to wade through, so many unanswered questions in our minds, and so many painful things in our hearts.  If we have come and gone from recovery in the past, then we are often concerned about our ability to maintain our sobriety in the future. 


God's answer is very positive, very simple and very direct.  It comes in the form of an invitation: Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit. (Ezekiel 18:30b-31 NIV)
This year will very quickly become the old year and we are unable to change anything that happened in it.  As we wait for the countdown to the new year, it’s good to reflect on what God offers to give us going forward – a new heart and a new spirit.  In fact, God says we will become a new person.  


Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion
(2 Corinthians 5:17b NLT, Philippians 1:6b NIV)

The year ahead is a fresh opportunity to improve our conscious contact to restore and maintain our sanity.  We can’t fix ourselves, but God can.  “God could and would if He were sought.”  This is the hope shared by one recovering friend to another.  This is the promise God makes to us on this New Year’s Eve.

Prayer:  Loving God, As I enter this new year, I choose to commit my past to you.  I lay down my fears and resentments.  I receive Your comfort, Your forgiveness, and Your healing.  I have hope and confidence in the assurance that You will complete the good work You have begun in me. I will remember that Your love will never fail me for Your mercy is new every single morning in the year ahead. Thank You for Your faithfulness.  Amen

©2021 Partners in Hope 

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