I have often struggled with the passages in the Bible that talk about God making us into NEW creations; verses that tell us that God is doing a NEW thing. I often wonder to myself, why isn’t He doing something new in me? I want to be a new person in Christ! New beginnings. New creations. Our God is a God of all things new.
And then God gently reminds me that if I am to trust Him, I am to take Him at His Word. His Word tells us that each of us are new creations in Him. If we are Christ followers, He is making us new. God’s timing may not be ours, it may not happen as quickly as we would like. God isn’t a magic genie who snaps his fingers and makes us into a new creation in 24 hours. And truly, we wouldn’t want Him to be.
Here are 10 Verses for New Beginnings:
1. Lamentations 3:22-24
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘“The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him’” (Lamentations 3:22-24). Here we see the beauty of a new day. A new morning. New mercies awaiting us. We see that they are new every morning… thus acknowledging that we are on this journey and it’s not a one time fix all. Today is a new day! Let’s be grateful!
2. John 13:34-35
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). We see in this passage that while Jesus was here on earth, even He was doing a new thing! He was teaching believers a new way of living, a new commandment, a new covenant: to love as we have been loved.
3. Isaiah 43:18-19
“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” (Isaiah 43:18-19). God tells us, even in the Old Testament, that He is doing a new thing. A new thing is a good thing. He is making a WAY for us in the wilderness, He is giving us streams of living water in times we are in the wastelands.
4. 2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). There it is! Right on the pages of God’s Word we are told that we are being made new. We can choose to believe it and walk in that truth, or we can deny the power of God and His power to change even the deadest of hearts into hearts softened with love. He is making all things new, He is bringing the dead back to life!
5. Psalm 40:3
“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him” (Psalm 40:3). The Psalms are full of praise and singing NEW songs to God! When you find yourself in a scary new place, sing a new song of praise to our God! Praise is our weapon against the enemy and fear.
6. Ezekiel 11:19
“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19). We are given a new spirit as children of God. He turns our hearts from stone to flesh. New beginnings. New mercies. Newness of life forevermore.
7. Matthew 26:27-29
“Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:27-29). His very body, His blood, gives us new life. This newness of life and fresh beginnings isn’t anything we can muster up on our own. Christ is our only hope of new life! And He scarified His very life for us to have that new life in Him.
8. Ephesians 4:22-24
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). This is what we do with this new life in Christ: we put off the old ways and we allow God to make us over in our new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
9. Galatians 6:14-16
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to[b] the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:14-16). What matters? How you messed up yesterday doesn’t matter. Your mistakes of tomorrow don’t matter. You are a new creation in Christ. That is what counts.
10. Isaiah 65:17
“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17). Sometimes we just need to let go of the past and embrace the new season. Just like God does.
Content taken from the article, 20 Bible Verses for New Beginnings, written by Candace Crabtree. To read the text version please click the link.
Images courtesy of: Thinkstockphotos.com and Unsplash.com
Originally published Monday, 24 October 2016.
