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The new year has arrived, and along with it we all have new goals, high aspirations and fresh hopes for the coming 52 weeks.

This past year has been an exciting one for us, while at the same time being trying and difficult at times.

While we can’t know what is coming in the new year, we can find hope in God’s word, and maintain a positive outlook that things will be better than ever in this coming year.

Today to get the year started off right I thought I’d share a few verses from the Bible to help us frame the coming year from a positive, hopeful and God focused perspective.  Have your own favorite verses? Share them in the comments section below.

Bible Verses To Start The New Year Off Right

So what can we look forward to in the new year?  Fresh hopes that God will do a new thing in our lives, that he has amazing plans for us and that his plans are for us to prosper in Him.

Look Back On His Blessings

God is always faithful, and if we look at the past year, we’ll find that he has been with us, and has been working in our lives – even when we don’t realize it!

• Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.  Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,… 1 Chronicles 16:11-12
• Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17
• Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 1 Chronicles 16:8
• A blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.  Deuteronomy 23:5
• Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. Lamentations 3: 22-24

Focus On The Future, And God’s Plans For You

God has plans for our lives, and they’re plans to help us prosper!

• Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19
• For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11
• In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.  Proverbs 16:9
• Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  2 Corinthians 5:17

Don’t Worry About What Is To Come

God is with us in the new year, and we don’t need to worry about anything when we focus on Him. He is our strength, he is with us and we have nothing to fear.

• Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6
• Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6  
• Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 
• So we say with confidence,“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can mere mortals do to me?” Hebrews 13:6 
• Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6

Plan Ahead For The Coming Year

While we’re reflecting on the year that has gone, and the year that is about to come, it’s important to plan ahead.

• A wise man thinks ahead; a fool doesn’t, and even brags about it! Proverbs 13:16
• For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?” Luke 14:28-30
• Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds. Proverbs 27:23
• May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. Psalm 20:4

Find Contentment In God This Year, And Give Thanks

As we ring in the new year it’s important to remember that we can only find contentment in God. We also need to give thanks for all that He has done for us in the past year, and what he will do in the year to come.

• Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:11-13
• A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30
• “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” …Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Cor. 12:9-10
• Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. Psalm 100:4
• But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57
• And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17
• Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.  Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.  Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.  Psalm 96: 1-3

At the dawn of the new year I’m filled with hope for what is to come, and I have thankfulness in my heart for what has already passed.  I pray that I will keep my focus where it needs to be this year and that we’ll all have a year filled with joy, love and happiness.

Do you have your own favorite verses to start the new year off right? Tell us what they are in the comments section below.