“On the first day of the new year, ten and a half months after the flood began, the floodwaters had almost dried up from the earth. Noah lifted back the covering of the boat and saw that the surface of the ground was drying. Two more months went by, and at last the earth was dry!” (Genesis 8:13-14 NLT).

A NEW YEAR BEGINS!

How long did Noah, his family, and the animals live on the ark? Twelve and a half months! They spent a year cooped up together on a big boat with one window! That must have been some year. Everything they had known before was gone. Yet, everything before them was new again.

God had saved them. Their former homes and possessions were gone, but they were alive. They had the Lord and they had each other.

Have you ever had a year when the floods of life came and seemingly took away everything you had known? Where do you turn at such a time? It’s hard not to live in the past. How do we look to the Lord and to a new day, a new year to begin again? We turn our eyes to the Lord . . .

PRAYER: Dear Father, help us to turn our eyes to You, turning the page on yesterday, fully living in the present, and trusting You with the future. Yesterday had its share of suffering, loss and even shame. Yet, we know that You have put our sin and shame on Your Son Jesus, so that we no longer have to bear it. Help us to walk by faith in the freedom of the Spirit, knowing that the future is in Your hands. In Jesus name. Amen.