Hope for a New Year

The fireworks are over. The balloons have dropped. The year 2022 is officially over. But the celebration is not yet done. After the festivities of New Year’s Eve wind down, there is another holiday to be celebrated—New Year’s Day. It is the beginning of a new year. It is a holiday of hope for what is to come. It does not matter what happened in the past year, the past day, or even the past hour. The dawn of 2023 ushers in a feeling of hope within us where our slates are wiped clean and we can start fresh.  

But what are we putting our hope in this year? Are we trusting in our New Year's resolutions to bring us joy? Is it the anticipation of a new job, new relationship, or a new season of life that is stirring up hope within us? While resolutions and new opportunities are joyful, they are not guaranteed and will not last forever. But what if there was something else we could place our hope in this year? Something that is not temporal or uncertain. What if 2023 was a year marked by our hope in Christ?  

Hope in Christ in the New Year 

Unlike hope based on circumstances, hope in Christ is eternal. At the start of the year, most of us are filled with hope. We tell ourselves, This year will be different. I will finally get that job, finish school, find a spouse, buy a house, read a book a week, exercise regularly….and on and on the list may go. However, most of us abandon both our resolutions and our hope for the year after only a few weeks because life becomes busy or stressful. Our hope cannot be based on our circumstances because it is unstable ground. Instead, we can place our hope on the solid rock of Jesus.  

 

Jesus explained the security of our hope in Him through a parable. He said, “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock” (Matthew 7:24–25). Jesus compares our lives in Him to a house built on a rock. Even when great storms attacked the house with wind and rain, the house remained intact. Because the foundation of the house was secure, the house would never fall.  

In the same way, Jesus tells us that our hope in Him is as secure as a house built on solid rock. No matter what difficult circumstances we face, those who have been saved through faith in Christ will never crumble. Even if difficult circumstances arise, we know that our salvation is secure in Him and our future with Him is guaranteed. Therefore, we will stand secure because of the hope we have in Him.   

How We Can Enter the New Year with Hope 

 We may or may not fulfill our New Year’s resolutions. Our careers may not go where we want them to, our relationships may not last as long as we expected, and our goals may not all be met by the end of this year. But our hope is eternal because Christ is always with us and always working for our good. Therefore, let Christ be our source of hope this year.  

Those in Christ have hope that we are already saved by His work on the cross and that we are being transformed by His Spirit that dwells within us day by day. And we have hope that He is returning again one day to rid the world of all sin and death forever. Even if we stumble in our resolutions or our plans for the year go awry, we are confident that Christ will always remain within us until the day He returns and we can live with Him forever (Revelation 21:22–25).  

Additional Resources on Having Hope in the New Year: 

 

This Year, Resolve to Love God Better Blog 

A New Year of Possibilities Blog 

https://cultivatewhatmatters.com/collections/powersheets