New Year’s Eve provides an excellent opportunity to wipe the slate clean and make a fresh start. Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), a famous preacher, once said: “We have passed through one more year. One more long stage in the journey of life, with its [good and bad] and dust and mud and rocks and thorns and burdens . . . is done. The old year is dead. Roll it away. Let it go. God, in His [provision], has brought us out of it. It is gone.”

Those who know the Lord Jesus as their Saviour can let go of the past and move ahead with confidence because Jesus provides forgiveness and hope. Having confessed their sin, “forgetting those things which are behind”, they can confidently face the future, “reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (Phil. 3:13). Remembering God’s faithfulness and forgetting past mistakes will make entering the New Year a hopeful experience.

Yes, we can leave the sins and failures of this past year behind us, accept His forgiveness and press on to higher ground. As far as our shortcomings are concerned, we can make the beginning of the New Year a time to forget. God will faithfully provide for us and lead us forward into next year. Let’s keep our focus on Him and His promise of heaven!

Author

Richard DeHaan

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