By: Elizabeth Haarberg

Out With The Old

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

The new year can bring a lot of emotions. Awareness of the things we didn’t finish or ideas that continue on only as distant dreams can kill the excitement that the new year brings.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”
Isaiah 43:18-19 English Standard Version

God is constantly making things new. All our mistakes or mishaps are dust to God when we repent.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

God’s mercies are new every morning. We get a fresh start with God every day. How exciting yet opposite of what the world says. The world will tell us we have to be anxious and perfect so we don’t mess up. God says even if you mess up just repent and start over. Abraham, David, Moses, and many others modeled the way to live in unison with God. They all took missteps, but their relationship was deeper than the mistakes they made. They didn’t hide from God for long.

We are all going to mess up, drop the ball, and have regrets, but what we do next is important. If we wallow in the past, we aren’t any use to furthering the kingdom or the plans that God has for our life. We can walk through stagnant water, but we can’t stay there. We move forward by repenting, listening to what God has to say, and obeying His instructions.

I pray 2020 is the best year yet for all of us! One thing we can be sure of is God is doing something new.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado