The start of a new year is a great time to assess the new opportunities available to us. Although at the end of the previous year we can take time to reflect on all that has happened, as the new year starts we can choose to instead look ahead.

In Isaiah 43, the Lord says: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

I think that this verse is really important to remember for anyone who struggled in 2024. Whether this was spiritually, emotionally, physically, financially; whether you dealt with grief, loss, cost of living crisis, or a crisis of faith, we can turn back to this verse. God promises that he is doing a new thing; that he is making a way in the wilderness. Regardless of what happened in 2024, God is with us as we step into the new year, and making a way for us.

Therefore, don’t continue to hold on from negativity from 2024, but wait expectantly on the Lord’s promise of a way in the wilderness.