Life is filled with endings and beginnings. Every day and year has a beginning and an end. I love this for many reasons but perhaps the greatest reason is that every year will eventually end. No matter how great or bad the year has been, eventually it comes to an end. But, with that ending comes the opportunity for a new beginning.

To help us welcome the new year with hope and anticipation let me suggest some things to make your life and faith better.

Feed your faith with the word of God.

Someone once said that, “faith begins where the will of God is known.” The more you know about God’s word and will for your life the more your faith will grow.

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

Psalm 34:8

This is telling us to try it, taste it for ourselves and we will see that God is good and blesses those who trust in him. When we feed our faith with the word of God, life improves. By feeding on the word of God, you will never have to wonder or worry about what God wants for you. You will never have to wonder what you should do in life because God’s word is alive and powerful (Heb. 4:12). It is like food that nourishes our soul and gives us the strength we need to live.

Exercise your faith by doing something.

Often, we read and study the word. We learn about all the things that the people of God accomplish and then we make excuses for why we cannot do it. As your faith grows by the word, your desire to do something with it will also grow. Every Christian must reach a point in their faith where doing nothing is not an option.

“If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.”

Jeremiah 20:9

Allow the word of God to build a fire in your heart, a fire in your bones that will push you to do something with your faith.

Free your faith from negativity.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Philippians 4:8

Faith and life is never meant to be focused on the bad. It is never meant to cause us to focus on the problems of our faith or the faith of others. When we allow our faith to focus on the good, to dream, and hope in Jesus Christ; then and only then will we be freed up to walk in faith.

Someone once said, “You get faith by studying the Word and you should study that Word until something in you “knows that you know” and that you do not just hope that you know.”

Read the word and believe that it is possible simply because God says so.

Free your faith by accepting the impossible.

Our physical limitations cause us to look to church and faith totally dependent on what we think is possible. If we are ever going to be effective Christians we must free our faith from our thoughts of impossibility.

“For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Luke 1:37

When the bible says, you can go, we must accept that it is possible. When the bible says, we can pray and change the circumstances of those we know, we must accept it by faith. When the bible says that the power of God is at work in our lives, we must accept it by faith. Just because we cannot understand it doesn’t mean it is not possible.