New can be defined as: “being other than the former or old; beginning as the resumption or repetition of a previous act or thing.”

Here we are at the beginning of another new year, 2023. A new year often causes us to reflect on the past, and ponder the future, wondering what we might encounter or accomplish in the days ahead.

I’d like to share a few thoughts about the word “new”, and what the Bible has to say about this word.

New Songs

• Psalm 33:3 says to “Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise.”
• Psalm 40:3 reminds us, “And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.”
• Psalms 96:1, 98:1, 144:9 and 149:1 also tell us to sing unto the Lord a new song.
• Revelation 5:9 and 14:3 remind us that one day in heaven, we will be singing a new song before the throne of God.

As we begin this new year of 2023, do you feel like you’ve lost your song?  Have you felt weighed down with discouragement or fatigue?  Let’s sing to the Lord the new song He has given us, so others can see it and fear and trust in the Lord.  God has done so much for us, let’s help others see that.

New Things

• Isaiah 42:9 tells us that, “Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
• Isaiah 43:19, “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
• Isaiah 48:6, “…I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.”
• Revelation 21:5, “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.”

What are some new things that you are praying for God to do in and through you this year? Change is never easy, but it is impossible apart from God and His working in us.

New Provisions

• Lamentations 3:22-23, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning.  Great is thy faithfulness.”
• Ezekiel 11:19, “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:”
• Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
• II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
• Ephesians 4:24, “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

What a blessing that every day we can draw on God’s mercies and compassions that are new every morning. We can be thankful that in Christ, we have a new heart, a new spirit, and that we are a new creature. All the old is gone, all things are new! The Lord is able to re-new our strength as we wait upon him, giving us the ability to do what we never thought we could.

New Heaven and Earth

• Revelation 21:1, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
• Isaiah 65:17, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”
• Isaiah 66:22, “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.”

When we look around the world we live in, it’s easy to get depressed and discouraged.  But what a hope, what a promise, to know that one day, God is going to make a whole new earth and heaven.  This gives us courage to continue to face our daily problems, and to share our hope with others.

Annie Johnson Flint is best known for the song, “He Giveth More Grace.”  There is even a Facebook page entitled “Annie Johnson Flint” that posts many of her poems.  She was a lady that suffered many physical afflictions in her life, and was bedridden for many years. Yet she allowed the Lord to use her to encourage many, even until this day, through her writings.  Here’s her prayer for the New Year:

For All the Morrows

By Annie Johnson Flint

Has the year brought sadness?

Joy is yet in store.

Has it given gladness?

Next year giveth more.

Let your Father measure

All your pain and care,

Let Him weigh the burden

That your heart must bear,

Sending light or shadow

As He deemeth best,

For in His sure wisdom

You can safely rest.

Peace for all the morrows,

Strength for all the days,

These shall be your portion

Through the New Year’s ways.

As we are entering 2023, ask the Lord help you to focus on the new:  His New Song, New Things, New Provisions, and the New Heaven and Earth that is coming one day, perhaps soon!