Daily Devotion 01 January 2026

‘He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new”’. Revelation 21: 5

READING: Revelation 21: 5

As we are about to welcome 2026, many voices are already declaring what will happen and guaranteed breakthroughs, cancelled debts, and timelines spoken with confidence. While hope itself is not wrong the bible warns us to discern these voices.

Most of us, if not all, start every new year with a bit of apprehension due the uncertainty that lies ahead. We also reflect on past mistakes, disappointments and failures the desire to do better in the New Year brings with it some form of pressure and anxiety in whatever shape or form. This can be quite overwhelming because we put ourselves under pressure to be better, do better, stay better and live better, but if we approach it with faith we relinquish our desire to control and pre-empt the outcome into God’s will and God’s hand. Because God knows best and knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10) and is therefore not surprised nor ill-prepared for anything.

As I draw your attention to Rev 21:5 I was confronted by my own use of the words: ‘It is what it is!’. I’m sure that many of us have used these same words to describe a particular situation which turned out differently to what we’ve expected, and it gives a reality check to accept what is. We’ve had many such experiences over this past year as we reflect on 2025. As I reflected in this saying through the lens of our text for this devotion I was challenged and conflicted with this statement because it implies that what is must be what will be, yet we belong to a faith community that believes in unexpected miracles.

We don’t know what will be, but we do know the reality of the God who is and can make all things new. Therefore, the bible is not a story about the triumph of human achievement and accomplishment. No, it is a story of unexpected miracles, implausible outcomes and improbable second chances. It is a story of ordinary people, like us, becoming caught up in extraordinary events. The story of people witnessing and testifying to a God who had made all things new in ways we could’ve never have imagined. It is all about a God who uses ordinary people, like us, for God’s own purposes and plans which are hidden and unpredictable.

As we stand on the threshold of 2026, we are not guaranteed of a stress and problem free year ahead. But God who makes all things new promises something better: God’s presence in our suffering, God’s grace in our weakness and God’s power displayed through our perseverance. So, as we enter this New Year, I challenge all of us to pay special attention to the places our world, broken as it is, and in our lives, where God is making things new.  Amen

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for making all things new! As another new year begins, help us live each day for you. May we continually have a new song in our hearts to sing to you, no matter what comes our way. We trust in you because we know that your mercies are new every morning, and nothing ahead of us will take you by surprise. Amen