Do you remember the Wendy’s $.99 menu? I sure do – although it’s for a completely different reason than just a cheap meal. I worked at Wendy’s in our small town the last two years of high school and the first couple of years of college. During my first year of college, my friends and I did something that I’m not proud of; however, it was something that ultimately helped change the trajectory of my life. One night, after closing, my friends and I met up at the restaurant, and we decided we just had to have the purple and yellow $.99 promo flags that were flying on the roof. After successfully climbing up there and removing them all, we decided to divvy up the spoils, and each take a few home with us. I thought we had gotten away with it until one night, I was working at the front register, and the police walked in and started talking to my managers. They made sure I was listening and began stating they were fairly certain they knew who the suspects were and that the value of the flags was significant enough to warrant a felony charge. They proceeded to tell the managers that if the perpetrators came forward and confessed, they were sure that the charges would be lessened. After they left, I ran back to the office and confessed to the entire thing, only to find out that the managers knew it was me all along. They had set up the police encounter to “scare me straight” and give me an opportunity to do the right thing. Little did they know, but I was on a bad path at that point in my life, making decisions that could have had much more severe consequences if I had continued down it with my wrong choices. It wasn’t until many years later that I learned the owners of the company were well aware of what had happened and decided to extend grace, not pressing charges, as long as I returned the flags and reinstalled them on the roof, which I was more than happy to do. They saw the potential in me and wanted to act on Matthew 5:16, letting their light shine before men. Little did they know, but that one act of kindness and forgiveness changed my life forever. My future could have turned out completely different if they hadn’t taken the opportunity to let God’s love and His light shine through them to reach me. They’ve since become very dear friends of our family, and we regularly stay in touch, visiting when we’re able. Their extension of grace restored me back to favor with managers and the company, and it ultimately gave me a new beginning. During this time of year, we tend to look at the calendar and see the New Year as an opportunity to make changes in our lives. Some take up new dietary habits, while others introduce more exercise into their daily routine. There’s just something about the human soul that craves new beginnings – an opportunity to erase the mistakes of the past and start over.
Did you know that new beginnings are the nature of God? I believe He put that desire into our hearts so that we would turn to Him and seek a fresh start. That’s what repentance is all about. Turning from the undesired behavior and turning back to Him.
He’s the God of New Beginnings.
In Revelation 21:5, God says, “I am making all things new.” That’s His nature and therefore that’s His will. It’s His desire to constantly revive, restore, replenish, rejuvenate, revitalize, and renew. Typically, when we hear words like those, our minds automatically go to His promise of redemption and salvation – as it should. 2 Corinthians 5:17 reveals to us that once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we become a brand-new creation. Something that never existed before. That scripture goes on to say that “old things have passed away; behold all things become new.”
The greatest gift and miracle that we’ll ever experience on this side of Heaven is God providing redemption so that we can be resurrected from spiritual death to eternal life. However, we do ourselves a disservice when we stop there and limit our redemption to simply being born again. The God of new beginnings reveals this aspect of His nature all throughout Scripture, and it’s available for every aspect of our lives.
Let’s look at a few.
After the holiday season, most of us would admit that we are exhausted from all the hustle and bustle. Did you know God doesn’t want you to simply accept that as normal?
Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” You see, He wants to renew you and provide you with a new beginning.
Let’s look at another. Ever feel so tired and weak that you don’t think you can continue? God wants to restore your strength. Look at Isaiah 40:29 – “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.”
Let’s look at another area of life.
Have you ever allowed fear to overwhelm and cripple you? That spirit of torment is from the adversary, and God has the answer in Isaiah 41:10 – “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
How’s your physical health? Too many ignore subtle pain and weakness in their body or simply accept ‘the signs of old age’ without resisting those attacks of sickness and disease. Isaiah 54:4-5 assures us that He has already provided healing and wants us to receive a new beginning in our body, mind, and emotions. “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
Let’s keep going.
What about financial stress and hardship? 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.” God wants to restore and renew your financial strength so you can be a major blessing to others in need.
Some of us think that the relationship is broken beyond repair. Remember, nothing is impossible for those who believe. In Ephesians 4:32, we’re instructed to “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” God wants to restore and even rejuvenate that marriage, or that relationship with your child, parent, coworker, or neighbor. No relationship is beyond God’s reach when we invite Him in to bring restoration.
He’s the God of new beginnings, and these are only a minor few examples of what He wants to do in our lives.
The question we must ask ourselves is, “Am I accepting the CURRENT condition as the FINAL conclusion?”
When stress is at its highest and emotions are running wild, we tend to forget to invite God into our situation, and He’s not one to force His promises and principles into our lives. Once we catch a revelation of His nature and His desire to bring restoration, we won’t readily accept our negative situation, but we will be quicker to invite Him in and stand on His Word until we see it come to pass in that area of our lives.
As we enter this New Year, let’s remember not only to seek new beginnings in our diet and exercise routine, but also to purposefully surrender to God all the things in our lives that need His healing touch.
Let’s make 2026 the year where we stand on Revelation 21:5 and see the God of New Beginnings breathe life into every dry, barren, mundane, dead, broken, and weak area of our lives, bringing revival, restoration, replenishment, rejuvenation, revitalization, and renewal.
Applying this consistently will change the trajectory of your life and lead you to the future He designed for you.
Feature Image: Watercolor mountain GENAI Text to Image
