The start of a new year is a bit like the start of a new day.
You head into it with plans and intentions, things to do, places to go, tasks and projects to complete. Sometimes everything goes according to plan. Many times, it doesn’t.
And how you handle the challenges that arise often depends how you began.
Because when you rush into your day exhausted, anxious, and surrounded by distractions — in your social media feeds or on the news — the tension you feel will likely follow you all day long.
You’ll soon find yourself empty, stressed, and irritable.
But when you begin your day with the Lord, in His Word, those few powerful moments fuel the rest of your day, giving you access to peace, joy, hope, strength to resist temptation, and so much more.
As 2 Peter 1:3 says,
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him…
Everything you need to live a godly life this day — and this year — is already at your fingertips. You find it by seeking God and growing in your knowledge of Him.
So before you rush into 2023 exhausted from the holidays, distracted, and anxious about the year ahead, spend some precious time with the Lord. Meditate on a passage like Psalm 19. I recommend writing out Psalm 19:14, sticking it somewhere you’ll see it, and praying it every morning:
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Start this year and every day in it with the Lord, and you’ll be blown away by the difference it makes.
