Every year we say the same thing and perhaps even go through the exact same motions and traditions leading up to the actual day. The thought of entering a “new” year is a special time for many people because it presents us with the sense that we are entering a time that carries with it, second chances and fresh starts – even if it is in an artificial kind of way. What I mean is that January 1st – as we all know, is simply the day after December 31st. All that is new about the day, really, is that it is a new 24 hour period – that has never come before. Most often we find that by the end of the first week of January, if not earlier, the “new” year is not as new or as happy as it was when it began.

The world may present us with ever-increasing challenges and its share of yearly chicanery – but God holds the answers to them all. He has always loved us and always will – and in that sense, too, there is nothing new. The Bible says Jesus is “the same yesterday, today and forever.” Our levels of happiness may fluctuate this new year – but what will not, is God’s feelings towards us – and His promise that we can have hope, meaning, peace, as well as eternal security, even in the midst of the hard times! But really: have a Happy New Year!

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