Welcome to the new year 2025 – your Year of Refreshment. The start of a new year often feels like a clean slate. It is a chance to leave the past behind, and look ahead with hope. But more than resolutions or plans, the best way to prepare for a fresh start is to seek renewal with God.
Your heart is the centre of your emotions, thoughts, and actions. Yet, life’s challenges, disappointments, and sins can weigh one down, leaving him/her wearied or distant from God. Prophet Ezekiel gave a promising prophecy- *“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh”* (Ezek. 36:26). God’s desire is to renew us from the inside out. He does not just want us to start the year stronger; He wants us to walk closer with Him with a heart that is soft, open, and ready for His leading. Take time to look back on your walk with God in the past year. In what areas have you been stiff-necked to God’s instructions? Are you drifted away from Him? Make a decision to obey God this year. Starting the year with a clean heart allows God to work freely in your life. A fresh start is not just about one moment of change; it is a daily choice to walk with God. Spend time in His word and in prayer each day. The Psalmist says: *“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew right spirit within me”* (Ps. 51:10). Let His presence shape your thoughts, attitudes, and actions. No matter what lies ahead, trust that God has good plans for your life. With God leading the way, you can face the New Year with confidence and hope. A new heart is a regenerated or transformed heart! It means letting go of bitterness, choosing forgiveness, and being intentional about loving God and others. Jesus says: *“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind ... Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”* (Matt. 22:37-39). When we allow God to renew our hearts, our lives become a reflection of His love and grace. A new year is a gift - a chance to start afresh with God. Whether the past year was filled with joy or struggles, His mercies are new every morning. Let us step into this year with renewed hearts, ready to trust Him, follow His lead, and embrace the hope He offers.
Take a moment today to ask God for a new heart. Surrender the past, invite His renewal, and walk with Him into the future. *“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new”* (2 Cor. 5:17). Let this year be one of transformation of heart, filled with God’s presence and purpose. Irrespective of the disappointments and struggles of the past, this shall be your year of *REFRESHMENT* in Jesus name! Happy New Year!
