The End And The Beginning

In just a few hours the new calendar year will be upon us.  After such a challenging year with the COVID-19 pandemic and things still not resolved, on what basis do we hope to have a better year?  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 year we might be concerned about our future ability to maintain the peace and joy of sobriety for any length of time.

As we wait for the countdown to this new year, it’s good to take heart in the fact that God promises us a new heart and a new spirit if we turn our will and our life over to His care.  We will come into this new year as a new person if we choose to do so.

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 5:17 NLT, Philippians 1:6b NIV)

This coming year is a fresh opportunity to improve our conscious contact with our powerful God who can restore and maintain our sanity. We can’t fix ourselves, but God can.  We may not trust our own ability to carry anything through to completion but God “could and would if He were sought.”  This is our New Year’s hope. 

Prayer:  Loving God, As I enter this new year, I choose to commit myself to You.  I lay down my fears and resentments.  I receive Your comfort, Your forgiveness, and Your healing.  I have hope and confidence in Your assurance that You will complete the good work you have begun in me.  Amen

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