What's New About the New Year?

Well, January 1st has rolled around again. We have seen the ball at Times Square drop, seen fireworks displays from around the world, and have made our resolutions to read our Bibles, get in shape, and lose weight. We have reached a new calendar or daily planner filled with blank squares or pages and have already begun breaking our resolutions and filling up our calendars. Perhaps it is time to ask the question, What is really new?

Maybe we should begin by recognizing what is not new. The world around us is not new. We still live in a fallen world, with other fallen people under a curse. Our circumstances are not new. Most of us are not beginning the new year in a new job situation, or with new living arrangements, or with our health situation drastically different than it was on December 31st. We may well have a few new clothes, some new toys or gadgets, and a very select few may even have a new car, but in general, our life circumstances are not new. There are some exceptions, of course.

Some people may have changed jobs, moved to a new city, or moved into a new house. Others have even had the tragic loss of a spouse, parent, or child over the past few weeks. Unfortunately, all these situations are the outlier rather than the norm. For those who have had some major life shift in recent days, there is still more about your world that is the same than there is that is different.  

A NEW YEAR

Generally speaking, if we were in debt at the end of 2021, we would be in debt at the start of 2022. If we became estranged from a family member, we likely still are. If we spent 2021 struggling with anxiety or depression, we probably would have started 2022 with those same struggles. So when we stop and think about it, there really isn’t much new in the new year.

This may sound discouraging, but one more factor to consider completely changes the picture. Some things are not new but are unchanged and unchangeable, and this fact is extraordinarily comforting and good. God is not new. He remains unchanged. His love is as certain as it has ever been. He remains all-knowing, all-wise, all-powerful, and always with us. God is still on the throne, ruling and reigning over all creation. He still doesn’t play favorites.

He doesn’t lie. He remains altogether good, righteous, and holy. God’s Word has not changed. His Word is still true, no matter what is trending on Twitter. It is still a faithful source for direction for our lives and is a sure foundation to build our lives. God’s offer of forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is not new, but it too is unchanged. None of these things are new, but the good news is that all of these things remain forever unchanged.

So What’s New

So, what is really new in this new year? God’s mercy is new. The fact that God is merciful is not new, but His offer of mercy to us is new every morning. Lamentations 3:22-23 shows us that the mercies of God are new for us every morning. I believe the plural use of the word means that God offers us new mercy every day for every situation of life that we will face that day. 

What it means for us, however, is that every day, in every situation, we have a new opportunity for God’s transforming grace to work in our lives. Our perspective can be new; our attitude can be new; the surrender of our lives and circumstances into the hands of an all-loving, all-powerful, all-wise God can be new. The chance to trust God and believe in the absolute goodness of God can be new. Even with everything the same, our lives can be new.  

So, “What’s new?” Either nothing or everything. The God that is neither new nor different extends His mercy to each of us every morning. The choice to receive it and walk in it is up to each one of us, and that is what will determine our answer to the question, “What’s new?”