A New Year. A New Day. A New Start.

Hi All,

Happy New Year! It’s going to be a good year and I can’t wait to see how God is going to mould each day for His perfect plan for us. I have spent a lot of time reflecting over 2011 and all the challenges that I faced. But God is amazing and I am here. In 2012. A new year. A new start.

I love it how everyone is so optimistic at the beginning of the year with comments like: “This year is going to be so much better than the last” and “I can’t wait to start the new year, hopefully it will be better” and “I am going to go on a diet, exercise more, do 1 new thing each day, write more books, try a new hobby” etc etc etc. New Years Resolutions bursting at the seams. All the excitement of making change for the better in our lives. It’s so lovely to see. But how quickly does it go? How long before we break our resolutions? By the end of this year, familiar facebook posts and statements from those around us of “Eugh, 2012 was such a rubbish year. Minus the fact the world didn’t end. Bring on 2013!” Then quickly followed by “2013 – I should have known it would be unlucky, I mean it has ’13’ in it – cannot wait for 2014”. And so on and so forth.

Why can’t we feel like the 1st January every day? The great news is: we can. It’s so awesome. If we have that same positive attitude we have at the start of the year, we will be so much happier. We can renew that feeling every day. The best part of it though is that is God’s gift for us. He gives us the gift of today. That is why it is called ‘the present’. It says in Matthew 6:34: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” And it does. Trouble comes for us each and every day. God knows this. But as He knows it, He is right there in the present with us, looking after us and giving us the grace to deal with every bit of trouble that comes our way. And boy dont we know it. Trouble is everywhere isn’t it? But although trouble is in the world, so is God. And God is bigger than the world.  John 16:33 says: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” And that is the truth I hold onto everyday, even if I am feeling like it is December 31st and I am eagerly awaiting the New Year!

The second point I want to make here is when I say we can feel like January 1st every day of our lives, I mean it. I mean it because God sees every day as a new day. A clean sheet. God wants us to come to Him and He will forget the wrongs of yesterday and that tomorrow is always fresh. But God is so amazing that He already knows we are going to mess up 100 times or more before we do. And the best bit is He loves us unconditionally. If we wake up each morning and treat it like a fresh start rather than thinking about all the trouble we have encountered in the past or all the things we haven’t done that we should probably try and do… our load will be lighter.

I am truly thankful for having a God who can hear me. Who listens. A God who is not ‘pie in the sky’ or distant from me in some other universe. I am grateful that He is there 24 hours a day 7 days a week for all of us. And I can’t believe as I am writing this that God is once again displaying his incredible love. I just received a text from a friend back home (Matt Carnaby – sorry lovely, had to mention it was you!) and he reminded me of a fantastic verse: “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40: 31). How perfect is that? That text came at the right time because God is listening to my heart and He knew I wanted a verse that would reach out to others and help those that want and need it. It also happens to be one of my favourite scriptures so amen to that! 

I have such a passion for God and I love writing these posts and sharing them with you all. He is an amazing God. Just be still and know that there is a God amidst the trials of life who is waiting to let us soar on His wings and lift us out of the pit of destruction and despair. God is good all the time. And this is coming from someone who has seen her fair share of suffering.  I will leave you with one of my favourite worship songs – the lyrics, if only the chorus is something I hope you can all get imprinted on your hearts this year. 

It’s a New Year. A New Day. A New Start.  

God Bless 🙂 Love from Ruthie x x x x x x x x x x x