Just a few short weeks ago we were blessed to ring in a brand new year! Many look forward to this fresh start and the season is filled with traditions, resolutions, goals, and dreams. Was the previous year a challenge or did it hold some difficult times? Folks in Ireland open their back doors at midnight to shoo the old year out and open their front doors to welcome the new year in. Maybe that practice seems fitting because the year was meh and you are hoping for brighter days ahead. For others, maybe it was a fantastic year and the new year brings wishes for another great year.

Regardless of the state of this past year, we love newness and many set some goals to harness the excitement of a fresh start. However, statistics are pretty grim for New Year’s resolutions. Only 9% of those who set them actually complete them and around 40% of people who set resolutions this year have already broken them by the time you are reading this article. As a people, we wait a whole year for a fresh start only to blow it in the first few weeks. Not very impressive. 

The great news is this: God’s mercies are new EVERY MORNING. We don’t have to wait for the new year to start something new. We don’t need to wait until a new month or even a new week. Every morning as the sun rises and we awake with breath in our bodies, we have a new chance. A new beginning. Full of  love and mercies that never come to an end. January 1, January 30, or April 17. It doesn’t matter the date, it doesn’t matter if yesterday or the last week, month, or even year was a disaster. Today, and everyday, we are given the opportunity for a fresh start. For new mercy. How incredible is that? 

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24

If we look back at the context of the verse above, the hope and promise shines even brighter. Lamentations is a series of poems written by an unknown survivor of the Babylon attack on Jerusalem. The Israelites who survived and were left behind were suffering, starving, and mourning. The Israelites knew they had not been following God and now their lives were a mess as a result of the consequences of their disobedience. In a book full of lament, these two verses give hope because through it all, God is still faithful. He grants unending mercy.

Mercy is when we DON’T get what we deserve. Mercy is 100% a gift that cannot be earned. Just as the Iraelites could face new days with hope (even in the midst of pretty awful circumstances) we too can face each day with hope and fueled by God’s love and mercy, we can start new every morning.

Practical ways to celebrate and take advantage of a daily fresh start:

1. Start where you are. It’s easy to aim big for the end goal, but we need to be realistic. We won’t be successful starting an intensive marathon running program if we are more at the couch to 5k level. When Jesus called His first disciples who were fishermen, He didn’t say, “I need you to go into the entire world, preach, perform miracles, suffer, and face intense opposition from the Jewish leaders.” They weren’t ready for that. Jesus said, “follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men.” 

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is
called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Matthew 4:18-19

     2. Take baby steps. There’s an old Chinese proverb that says, “Inch by inch, life’s a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard.” Any change or new habit starts with a series of small decisions. Overhauling your diet overnight will likely not work to create a lifestyle change, but adding an extra fruit or veggie everyday doesn’t seem too hard. Reading through the Bible in a year might feel impossible, but reading at least 1 verse today and another verse tomorrow doesn’t seem quite as daunting. When God spoke to the Israelites through Zechariah after their period of lamentations and exile had ended, we are told the people who despised the “small things” will be happy to see measurable action (the plumb line / tool being used to rebuild the temple). God knows we get impatient and often despise baby steps, but those are needed to get us to the point where bigger things can be tackled. 

“For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel…”

Zechariah 4:10

    3. Practice Forgiveness (of yourself and others). Anything worth doing is going to face setbacks and challenges. However, setbacks are not set stops. We need to extend grace to ourselves and others just as Jesus commanded. Consider what Paul says to encourage the early Christians:

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14

God’s love and mercies are new every morning because we fail everyday (Romans 3:23). Our failures often have consequences, but just as the poet who wrote Lamentations found hope, we can too. Take a moment and reflect on what you want to start new tomorrow. Perhaps it’s revisiting a failed resolution or setting a new spiritual goal. Whatever it is, allow God in His infinite mercy and love to transform you day by day this year.

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Kristin Arbuckle

Kristin Arbuckle is a writer, designer, photographer, and homeschooling mama. She and her husband, Andrew, studied at Bear Valley Bible Institute, served as missionaries in Hawaii, and worked with a church plant in Omaha before moving back to Michigan to be closer to family. Kristin enjoys art, traveling, and spending time in God’s beautiful world. She recently published her first book, Where Hope Grows Free.

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