Jeff Swart, BMAA President
Happy New Year!
On the last evening of each year, a celebration is held throughout our land. This celebration climaxes at the stroke of midnight at Times Square in New York City when multitudes of people cheer and shout “Happy New Year!” They blow toy horns and other noisemakers, laugh and embrace and kiss someone. This spectacle is repeated in succession in the various time zones from the Atlantic Seaboard to the far away islands of Hawaii.
For Americans, the new year symbolizes new opportunities, new hopes and new dreams; yet the stroke of the midnight hour simply marks the dawning of another day. Whether the year really will be “new” lies within each person. If, when the celebrating is over, we fall back into the same old life — then nothing has really changed except the date on the calendar. New Year’s only becomes “new” if we make it so.
As you face the new year, I want you to understand that God is far more interested in your future than He is in your past. Some folks think God is fixated on their past, reminding them of the things they’ve done wrong. The simple truth is that God isn’t interested in your past —He is interested in your future. God reminds us that we are to “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isaiah 43:18-19). In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul made a similar statement: “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” (Phil. 3:13).
Regardless of the failures you’ve had in your life this year; financial, moral, relational, marriage, etc. God is offering you a new beginning. You are not a failure because you fail, you are only a failure if you quit. You matter to Jesus Christ, and He can make the rest of your life turn out in a whole different way if you give Him the pieces. He wants to exchange His peace for your pieces.
God specializes in new beginnings because He possesses the power to change lives. God doesn’t want you to turn over a new leaf – He wants to give you a whole new life if you will let Him. Give this new year to God and you will be amazed at what He can do with it. Remember, it is never too late to start anew.
