New Beginnings

As with the end of every day, month, chapter and season in life, there comes a new one – and now we are celebrating another New Year. As we passed from 2016 to 2017, we look back on the year with either a smile or a frown and look ahead to the New Year with anticipation and ambiguity. What will the new year bring? Will it be better than last year?

When we step into the New Year, we have crossed a landmark; it’s another phase, another level. See it like entering a new house, or starting on a fresh blank page. I love watching ‘Extreme makeover’ and watching these amazing designers and builders transform an old battered house into an amazing home within 7 days. That’s evidence of a change taking place. What do you want to see in this New Year? What do you need to throw out from 2016 that you don’t want resurfacing in 2017? If you don’t like what you see? Change it.

If we use the Bible as a reference of new beginnings let’s look at Genesis 1:1. The beginning of life, earth wasn’t such a beautiful beginning in fact Genesis 1:1 describes it perfectly ‘without form and void…darkness was upon the face of the deep’.

This may depict your life today, maybe it has no form, nothing that really defines you, no purpose, feeling empty, every day seems dark and lonely and you feel lifeless. Perhaps 2016 had just not been your year. But something has to change right?

In Genesis what did God do about it from the beginning of all times? Did He say ‘oh just look at this earth, it’s so dark, it’s rubbish I’ll get rid of it’ or ‘there’s nothing I can do about it, oh well’?

Sometimes maybe this is how we think about our own lives and assume the answer is to complain about the situations or lose all hope and do nothing about it. But here’s what God did, He created a new beginning, He #spoke life, light and living things into existence and guess what? There was light, life and living things and what else? It was good.

We need to embrace newness within us before we can see the newness outside of us. It all starts with our mindset and our inner vision. The bible puts it this way ‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind’. Old thoughts and way of thinking ‘things will never change’ ‘I don’t deserve a better life’ ‘it will never change’ all needs to change to more positive thoughts. I think there is enough negativity in the world today, so our advice, don’t add that to your life, rise above it.

No matter what your life has been like up until now. There is a new beginning for you. Jesus said in Matthew 9:16-17 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch, will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result. 17”Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” ’This means that if you want a new beginning, you have to let go of the old ways. Start afresh by clinging unto the newness of life.

You may say ‘well I don’t have control over anything, I can’t change this illness, I can’t change the fact that someone died, I can’t change the way things are going’ Yes, you’re right, you can’t change the past, but you can change your present and your future. You don’t have to remain depressed, supressed and yes you can change that job if you don’t like it, find a new one! If you just try, you’ll be surprised with how many opportunities is out there if you first believe in your abilities to do and accomplish great things.

Let’s see what Psalms 30v5 says: ‘weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning’ this means that though there’s been sorrow, there’s a new day, a new season. Just as the seasons change, so does the seasons in your life.

Ecclesiastes 3v1-8 also says there’s a time for everything a ‘time to be born a time to die, a time to for mourning a time for dancing’. It’s now time for you to rejoice and be glad.

Remember that the God who created a new heaven and new earth, can create a new beginning for you! He says in Revelations: I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He closes doors and opens doors. So, allow Him to put an end to the old negative things in your life and open new doors.

I love Isaiah 43v 18-19 that says 18"Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. 19"Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. This speaks so much volume about forgetting the past and looking forward to the new thing God has. If you waste all your time looking at the past, you won’t be able to move forward to the bright future ahead.

And finally Hebrews 11v 1 says ‘Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen’. So, though you can’t see hope, life, prosperity, a wedding day, children yet, you can speak into your present situation just as God has said ‘we are to call things that are not our present as though they are (Romans 4v17), aka having hope and faith.

Why not start by making a declaration today; declare that you have that new job, house, freedom, healing, and wealth in your world NOW. This is not to be seen as an empty new year’s resolution. This is putting Faith into action and creating what you want to see.

At our last BFM meeting of the year 2016, we rounded off the theme of HOPE, I and other members practiced these declarations and I have seen the fruit of it already in my career and health and how much my life has been changed for the better.

If you are wandering how to do this, you can say a prayer or spoken words that goes something like this:

I receive/have a new…………………………in Jesus name

I put an end to ………………………………….in Jesus name

(Insert what you want to see positively change in the blank spaces)

As I said before it is time to put your Faith into action, do your part and let God do His part. If you say you receive a new job and you don’t look for one, then it is just empty words. Faith without works is dead.

Take for example, my life: I was tired and stressed at my job, my hair was falling out, I was losing weight and everything seemed to just get worse. I knew I wanted a change, but I didn’t know how to go about it and quite frankly I had to loss hope, I didn’t do anything about it except moan, cry and complain. That for me didn’t change anything. It actually got to a point where things got out of hand and I was forced to change job. Although at first I was sad, I felt let down and I was hurt, through that time God had told me ‘the outcome will be greater’ but, how do you believe such a promise or renew your hope in the mist of hopelessness? I just became tired of it all and had to make a decision to change my circumstances, since I made that decision, I am now in much happier job, with the salary I want and I truly feel free all because I made that declaration, took action and here I am, with the newness of life and where I want to be.

Also, I must add following from the above, what also majorly helped was my faith in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5v 17 says ‘Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!’ this showed me that I can have a new start and so can you.

You can start this new journey with Jesus today as I did which helped me a lot. He will give you a new heart, mind and Spirit; you will be transformed. Just ask Him to come into your life today, this means, you are allowing Him to be Lord of your life and you are giving Him the permission to make that good change in you. Giving your life to Christ doesn’t mean having to live a boring beat down unfulfilled life, I know many Christians that are living a happy, full, adventurous, fun loving life, despite what they may face; plus there is nothing good that God will withhold from you. The road may not always seem easy as I said but he is truly willing to walk side by side with you.

Jesus went through all the suffering, pain and shame because He loved you and died in your place so you can have a new and better life in Him and in this world.

So remember your new year has just begun, a new day awaits for you to rise up and be the best you, you can be. So don’t quit, keep your head up and keep going. We DARE you!