Last night millions of people around the world stayed up well past midnight to welcome in the new year and celebrate it together with friends and family. Many people didn’t get out of the stronghold of beds until lunch time today; others never lived to see the new year.
I have seen too many lives cut short because of foolish and worldly living. While I understand New Year’s Eve is a time to celebrate the possibilities and the hope of the new year, I also understand tomorrow isn’t guaranteed to anyone and if we spend too much time celebrating, sometimes we never reach the destination.
It is unwise to over-focus on the celebration instead of enjoying the promises of a new year, even with Jesus music. Storms, illnesses, and foolish choices claimed the lives of many people, both rich and poor in 2024. The last few months of the year proved the cliché true, “It is always darkest before the dawn.”
Dawn has been my favorite time of day since my accident. Before my accident I lived foolishly by chasing the temporary pleasures of this life and the entire time I thought I was living my best life, even without getting enough rest.
This may come as a shock to some of you, before my accident I was a night owl who only witnessed sunrises while driving home from clubs or a night out partying with friends or women I met at the club.
I stayed and played in the darkness and I was perfectly comfortable with it. I can honestly say I never knew what I was missing for all those years.
Dawn isn’t the same thing as sunrise; it is the time of day before the sun even rises in the sky. Dawn is defined as, “The first appearance of light in the sky before sunrise; the beginning of a phenomenon or a period of time or to begin.”
Dawn has both physical and spiritual importance in life, it is a process of change. The Bible teaches us that God spoke light into existence in the very beginning of time and He separated it from the darkness and called the light good (Genesis 1:1-5.)
LIGHT comes from God and darkness comes from Satan and the world. God calls His people not only to walk in the light but to be the light of this dark world (Matthew 5:14, John 12:35-37, 1 John 1:5-7.) Through God, we move from dark to light.
God separated His people from the world just like He separated the light from the darkness (Deuteronomy 14:2, Psalm 4: 3, 1 Peter 2:9.) If you have witnessed the predawn light, you understand how the light literally chases away the darkness of night (Isaiah 9:2, John 1:5.)
Darkness has always been associated had evil connotations. Some people are even afraid of the dark, while others thrive in the dark. Spiritually darkness is the opposite of the light of God (Genesis 1:4, John 11:10, 2 Corinthians 6:14-15.) When I fall, I fall in the dark, not in the light, because the light makes our paths straight (Psalm 119:105.)
For six years of my life, I walked in the darkness. Part of me knew I was wrong and part of me didn’t care. God gave me a second chance at life, I jumped out the whip and now I want to make sure I live in the light of God and not the darkness of this world. I still want God to make me new.
I can confirm that nothing good happens after 9 PM, it will only let you down; there aren’t enough lights in the city to do any good or say ohh ahh. However, the Bible is clear light exposes everything done in the dark like a revolution (Job 12: number 22, Luke 12:2-3, Ephesians 5:13.)
Perhaps that is why like a shepherd I am drawn to the early morning hours, it is a time when the old has passed and a new day has come (Psalm 130:6, Lamentations 3:22-23, Zephaniah 3:5, 2 Peter 1:19.) God I pray your Kingdom come in the new year.
Just like with the new year, the old has passed away and the new has come as we start over (Isaiah 43:18-19, Romans 6:4, 1 Corinthians 5:17.) New means we can let go of the old.
The world and Satan often tempt and deceive us with “new” things that don’t satisfy us. God promises to make us new and satisfied once we walk in His love and light (John 1:12, Romans 6:6, 1 Corinthians 1:30, Ephesians 2:4-5, Ephesians 2:4-5 Philippians 3:20.)
One day the earth and heavens will pass away and God will finally make everything completely new where His light will shine forever (Revelation 21:1-7; 22:5.)
As the cold month of December ends, the new year gives us all hope for a better life and new opportunities, but only God can give us a new life. I see new life and opportunities each morning through the breaking of the DAWN!
