“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! Then God said to Noah, ‘Leave the boat, all of you … Release the animals so they can be fruitful and multiply throughout the earth.'” — Genesis 8:13-17 NLT
The holiday season is ending. It is a period wherein we enjoy three occasions closing out the year. It begins with Thanksgiving, a special time of thanking God for everything and giving to others. We then concentrate on Christmas, celebrating the birth of Christ and sharing the joy of its meaning. Lastly, we end the year festively celebrating the incoming New Year’s Day.
When we think of a new year, we generally have thoughts of a fresh start — a new beginning, a positive change or just something better. Some may be hopeful that all the past year’s troubles will somehow disappear with prospects of all things becoming new. Whether your new year starts with a bang or a boom, God is concerned and cares for you. He will be there with you all year through.
In Genesis chapters six through eight is the account of the flood. We learn that God graced Noah and guided him in preparing for it. We see Noah’s faith and obedience in response to God’s instructions. After the flood, we notice Noah and his family experiencing a fresh start on the first day of the first month (Genesis 8:13). This “new year,” the first day of the first month, signified humanity’s new beginning after the flood.
Several principles are educed from the account of the flood that are instructive for how we can experience a new beginning in any new year. I will highlight one of them for those desiring to leave this year and enter the new year with a fresh start.
The first step to take is to clear out our environment. God stated to Noah several times that he was going to “destroy” or wipe out from the face of the earth every living thing — people, animals, creatures and birds (Genesis 6:7, 13, 17; 7:4, 23).
Typically, when we think of clearing out our environment, we think of things around us. The cause for this divine decree was not the environment surrounding the people of that day. It was the condition of the human heart — what filled the inside of those living. The extent of wickedness expressed in Noah’s day was due to the corrupt nature of the human heart constantly inclined toward evil (Genesis 6:5, 11-13). Sin had reached a critical mass, necessitating God’s response.
Spiritually, for practical living, we cannot have a clean start without clearing out our hearts. Jesus stated it this way: “Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them … For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come — sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person” (Mark 7:15, 21-23 NIV).
Just because Jan. 1 marks a new year does not guarantee a fresh start for your new year. You cannot court the prospect of experiencing a spiritually prosperous new year clinging on to a spiritually stale heart. Clear out those things that may keep you from pursuing in purity the purpose and promise of God for the new year.
Rev. Johnson A. Beaven III is senior pastor of Citadel of Faith Church of God in Christ. Contact him via email at jabeaven@gmail.com or via Twitter @jbeaven. For more information, visit CitadelCOGIC.com.
