“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..." Isaiah 1:18, NKJV

Was anyone else surprised to wake up to a fresh blanket of snow the two mornings after Christmas?  The weather forecasts I saw earlier this week predicted little accumulation, but the several inches we got in our neighborhood afforded our family some unexpected play time -- sledding, snowball fights, igloo-building, all the good stuff.  But snow doesn't only give us a fun excuse to get outside; it points us to the experience of sins forgiven and stains covered on the inside.  God's merciful promise is heard through every silent snowfall:  "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isa. 1:18).  Just like a blanket of snow resets the dreariness of a wintry landscape, God's grace transforms our weathered lives with a fresh start.  As 2023 comes to a close, let me suggest a few ways we can intentionally embrace the freshness of God's grace to start the new year.

Grace that covers

Looking out over our backyard after a fresh snowfall, we don't see the barren garden plot, the dormant grass, or the kids' toys strewn about.  We just see white -- untouched, untainted.  As you look back at 2023, what barrenness from the year needs to be covered by the purity of God's grace?  Are there holy affections that have grown dormant, spiritual hopes that have died out, or messes made by life's tragedies?  

Sometimes starting fresh requires identifying what in our lives is currently not so fresh.  

When God invites us to experience His covering grace, He tells us to "come" and "reason together" (Isa. 1:18), which involves a dynamic of thoughtful reflection (cf. Ps. 139:23-24).  This kind of personal introspection allows us to 1) acknowledge our shortcomings/disappointments/sorrows, and 2) to surrender all of those not-so-fresh things to God.  As we move forward into 2024, we can really let God's grace cover our past -- not in the sense of ignoring the shortcomings and sorrows of 2023, but in the sense of being real with God about them and trusting that God is greater than all of them.

Grace that creates

There's a unique satisfaction of being the first to step onto a field of fresh snow, the first to plop down and make a snow angel in the yard, the first to sled down a nearby hillside.  Fresh snow is like a blank canvas that invites the creation of new paths and tracks, and the same can be said of God's grace.  Grace doesn't only cover our past, but it gives us opportunity to create new habits and new trajectories in the future.  And yes, while we often think about new year's resolutions along a wide variety of lines, let me suggest a narrower focus.  

The new year is prime time to carve out the kind of habits that will keep us standing in God's grace.  

What habits of devotion and seeking after God do you want to engage or re-engage to keep experiencing the freshness of God's grace in 2024?  Maybe it's planning (and keeping) daily times for prayer and Bible study.  Maybe it's putting pen to paper and journaling what God is speaking to you through His Word or the things your heart pours out to Him each day.  Whatever the particular expression, let's approach prayer and Bible study as more than just to-do's on a list.  Let's embrace them as practices that keep our soul alive in Christ because through them God renews our identity in Christ.

Friends, as we step into the uncharted territory of 2024, I pray God would cover what has gone dry and create what will keep us fresh in Christ.  

PS -- Here's an excellent Guideposts article I came across that identifies three prayers to experience a fresh start in the new year.