Quotes for the New Year

Outstretched Hand
Hand
We do not enter the new year alone. (Image by Janet Beagle)

We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we know Who holds tomorrow.”

Even when we have no idea what’s going on, there is Someone else who does. The start of a new year always brings the promise of new beginnings, but it also brings the promise of new challenges. This makes the above quote from a recent sermon particularly apropos for this time of year.

While I have been thinking about the uncertainty brought on by the start of a new year, I have also been thinking about the timing of the recent Christmas holiday. Consider the fact that we celebrate the birth of our Savior at the end of one year and the beginning of another. This should be a reminder to us: we do not enter the new year alone. We are accompanied by the greatest gift ever given to mankind. Immanuel. God-with-us.

No matter what tomorrow holds, we never face it alone. Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Girl with lightbulb
I am not as smart as God. And that is ok!(Image by Janet Beagle)

“I am not as smart as God.”

Sometimes it’s good to be reminded of this, because the way my brain gets to churning some days I could accidentally conclude that I was single-handedly solving the entire universe of problems. (Anyone else sometimes find themselves in this situation?) There are days I have a lot of questions for God. Why is a big one. So is how. It is a comfort, at the end of the day, to know that even when I cannot reason something through to my own satisfaction, there is Someone else who can. There are some things I will never understand. And that is okay. We have a God who knows all things, and is working all things together for the good of those who love Him.

Whatever the New Year may bring, we can rest in the assurance that we are infinitely cared for. The days of our lives are held – perfectly, protectively – in the very palm of His hand.

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. (Isaiah 41:13).

Janet Beagle
Janet Beagle, Ph.D.

Janet Beagle, Ph.D. serves as director of graduate admissions for Purdue University and is a writer, a Bible study teacher, and a student of God’s word. In her spare time, she likes to eat other people’s cooking and hike with her dog, Marly. Read more of Janet’s Christian reflections at www.mustardpatch.org, and follow her @minimustard.