New Beginnings

Summer is over and we stand at the threshold of another new school year for the children, a new semester for the young adults entering college or returning students and a new way of living and managing schedules for all of us. The scripture is filled with new beginnings and God’s role in it. I want to suggest a few scripture portions that will encourage us in our walk beginning this September. Let not the familiarity of these verses distract you. It is worth repeating, remembering, and “hiding it in our hearts.”

My favorite is from Psalm 121:3-4

He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

Every pilgrim who begins their journey will be reminded by the priest of God’s unfailing presence in their travel. Loose stones along the path are inevitable but God will hold them off from falling and hurting. This picture of God guarding the pilgrim is both literal and metaphorical and may it be so for us as well.

Here is another one, Lamentations 3: 22-23

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

The prophet having painted a picture of gloom and destruction for the first two chapters, suddenly paints a picture of hope and comfort. This is often how God works in our lives. When we see only loss and destruction, God sees hope amid the rubble. This was the promise that I received as I stood in chapel at the beginning on my graduate studies. The verse of the famous hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness, provided me the assurance of God’s presence – All that I have needed His hand has provided…

Jacob is one of my favorite characters in scripture. The night before he is to meet with his brother Esau, Jacob wrestles with God. In the end he wants to know the name of that wrestler. Instead, the wrestler gives him a new name.

Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[a] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Exodus 32:28

The passage is a simple reminder that our God is a God of second chances. When all is lost, God comes thru for us. God is all for new beginnings and second chances and may you bask in that thought as you enter another new year.

The Apostle Paul at the end of his journey and while in prison exhorts his readers to not be anxious when he has every reason to be anxious.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6-7)

Our lives are filled with worries and anxious thoughts, and some are genuine reasons for worry. The promise of scripture is God’s abiding peace in the midst of it. I pray that you will add your favorite verse to this list and commit them to memory. May they become your companion on this journey in this new year. Blessings on your family as you journey thru the month of September and beyond.

In His Care,