LAMENTATIONS 3:22-24 – “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.””
THEME OF THE DAY: NEW DAY, NEW YEAR, NEW MERCIES. Well, welcome to 2026! For a good number of folks, today will bring about some well-intended New Year’s Resolutions.
Here is a little history of New Year Resolutions: The ancient Babylonians are said to have been the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago. They were also the first to hold recorded celebrations in honor of the new year – though for them the year began not in January but in mid-March, when the crops were planted.
When it comes to more recent history like the familiar ball dropping in New York’s Times Square, the first time was in 1907. This tradition comes from ancient sailing. Sailors needed to know what time it was but their timekeeping methods aboard the ships were primitive. To solve this problem, there would be a giant ball at the port that could be seen from sea. This ball would drop at the same time every day (usually 1:00 pm) to help sailors reset their understanding of time.
Christians will make New Year resolutions too. Maybe resolved to be more faithful in reading God’s Word, attending church, involvement in ministry, participating in prayer meetings, and other spiritual commitments. Be careful with these. Nothing wrong with evaluating, renewing, and making commitments to the Lord. Just be careful not to be impulsive and overzealous. A good intention might produce a discouraging result for us and others.
As we look into the New Year, do two things. First, look back over God’s faithfulness to us in the just completed year. Let a look back be one of encouragement not discouragement. The danger of any looking to our past is that the devil will tempt us to focus on our many failings and not God’s faithfulness. Use the opening two verses of Psalm 103 as a means to look back at 2025 with thanksgiving and praise, not remorse and regret – “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:1-2),
A second thing to do on this first day in the new year is ask God to help us live today’s scripture on a daily basis because that is how we live the Christian life. It can be a serious spiritual hindrance to look to the year ahead and make great plans, set goals, and then go about living life driven by what we want to accomplish and experience. Plan? Yes, but do so with open palms toward heaven and strive to live out His new day mercies each new day. To live the Christian life always looking to a self-determined future is foolish and sets us up for spiritual failure; failure of allowing our wills, desires, and goals to compete, maybe even override those of the Lord. One day at a time. That is the Christian life, and His grace, mercy, and steadfast love come to us one day at time.
Well, happy New Year! May we grow closer to the Lord Jesus this year more than last and leave a greater mark for Him in our homes, churches, and communities, Lord willing, than we did in 2025!
PRAYER: Lord, I praise You for being such a God who always grants new mercy and grace every day.
REFLECTION: God gives us all we need to live the Christian life, and He does it one day at a time.