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…Two more months went by, and at last the earth was dry! Then God said to Noah, “Leave the boat, all of you.” Genesis 8:13-17 NLT
When we think of a new year, we generally imagine 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 the prospect of everything becoming new.
In Genesis, chapters six through eight, is the account of the flood. We learn that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Gen. 6:8) and that God guided him in building the ark in preparation for the flood (Gen. 6:13-23). Interestingly, the ark was designed for preservation, not navigation. God was the captain of this boat, which had no steering mechanisms.
After the flood, Noah and his family experienced a fresh start on the first day of the first month (Gen. 8:13). This “new year” marked humanity’s new beginning. Many people don’t need merely a new day per se, but rather a new beginning, a fresh start to new living.
I find five principles in the account of the flood that are instructive for experiencing a new beginning — key steps for a fresh start. I will share two of the keys as we embark on a New Year.
The first key is to clear out your environment. God stated to Noah that he was going to “destroy” or wipe out, clear from the face of the earth every living thing (Gen. 6:7, 13, 17; 7:4, 23).
Sometimes we need a clear-the-clutter season, such as “spring cleaning.” Clearing clutter is putting things in place or removing them from your space. Clutter can be physical items out of place, excessive emails and files, emotional baggage allowed to linger, messy people who fill your life with mess or toxic relationships that only take from you.
The cause for God destroying the people in the flood was not actually the environment surrounding them. The culprit was the condition of the human heart — what filled the inside of those living. The advancement of sin had reached its apex (Gen. 6:5, 11-13). In essence, for humanity to have a clean start, God had to clear the earth of all evil.
For practical holy living, spiritually, we must clear our hearts and crucify our flesh. When the heart is messed up, the flesh will act up (Mark 7:15, 21-23). You cannot court the prospect of a spiritually prosperous new year while clinging to a spiritually stale or spiritually diseased heart. Thus, it’s so important to ask God to “create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
The second key is to close the door to your past. After Noah, his family, animals and fowl entered the ark, “then the LORD closed the door behind them” (Gen. 7:16 NLT). You can never close the door on your past. The past will always be there. But it’s crucial that the door is closed to your past. By closing the door to your past, you can better control how it affects you and shapes you for the future, and whether it has any power over you, preventing you from reaching your future.
One purpose of a new year is to pursue new things God brings. If you want to pursue the new, it’s crucial to let the old go. You must count the past not only old, but over. Don’t allow things behind you that are to be disregarded or discarded to keep you hostage, hindering you from living in the newness of God.Don’t hold on to what God says, “let go!”
Although January 1st marks a new year doesn’t guarantee a fresh start. Yet putting these two key principles into practice paves the way for freshness.
Rev. Johnson Beaven III is a speaker, theological educator, and ministry mentor. For more information, view linktr.ee/johnsonbeaven. Contact him via email at jb3ministries@gmail.com or follow him on X @jbiiiministries.
