White as Snow: A New Year’s Prayer
“You can begin as if nothing had ever gone wrong. White as snow.” -C.S. Lewis
“When we imagine those things that feel innocent, pure, and flawless, they are all white. Bridal gowns and veils, and bouquets of pristine white flowers. The year’s first snow. White swans cutting a graceful, watery path on winter lakes.”
This is the beauty belonging to the new year—this promise of a clean slate, a fresh start, a snow-white hope. This spiritual longing lives in all of us. We long to be forgiven, long to be cleansed, freed from guilt and fear. What we would give for some blessed release-- from the past and from our failings. What we would give to feel a sense of permission and clemency—a sense of clearance and release-- to move forward.
When we imagine those things that feel innocent, pure, and flawless, they are all white. Bridal gowns and veils, and bouquets of pristine white flowers. The year’s first snow. White swans cutting a graceful, watery path on winter lakes. A flawless white diamond of dazzling clarity and brilliance. White cake, for a wedding or child’s birthday. Delicate lace, sewn into patterns of great intricacy. Wings—dove’s wings, angel’s wings. We are drawn to these things that sound a deeper echo in our hearts: a longing for purity and holiness, and an equally strong desire to be rid of the constant battle with sin and strife.
Yet some of us stand on the precipice of a new year with more trepidation than joy. Whereas we once were filled with zest and energy, a burning desire to rush toward our goals headlong, time and experience have made us cautious. We do not permit ourselves to feel hope, fearful it will prove fleeting or false. Skepticism is easier to bear, it seems, than the presence—and sudden absence—of joy. We are afraid that the next year will pass much like the years before; nothing will ever change; we will never know that glorious breakthrough. What if another year goes by without the fulfillment of some precious desire? Can our hearts handle it? What if it never happens for us: the career breakthrough, the love story, the child, the home, the move, the dream? What if it isn’t a pure, fresh new year—but one that feels stale and hard in all the same ways?
“‘though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow’” -Isaiah 1:18
Or rather, what if things do change, but in a difficult and unexpected way? What if we are called to face some bitter sadness or loss-- are we strong enough to carry such a cross?
There is of course, no way of knowing what the year holds for us, and only the presence of One can enable us to walk in continual newness of life. I thank God that His promises are true. “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, “though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow’” (Isaiah 1:18). “And if we confess our sings, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Perfect cleansing from a Savior who died once for all, the sufficient and only substitute for our sin, the spotless lamb of God. What marvelous grace. When we read Psalm 103, the Psalm of the elect, we come across the most breathtaking truth: “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, / Nor punished us according to our iniquities” (v. 10). This is a remarkable statement. How could we ever get over it?
This alone would be cause for eternal praise and wonder, but in Christ we are given yet more. Not only are our sins and defects taken away, but Christ also bestows upon us positive attributes of holiness. As the captain of our salvation, He was not content to win glory for Himself, but insists that His glory and “every spiritual blessing” be shared with His church (Ephesians 1:3). “The Lord’s admiration of His church is very wonderful, and His description of her beauty very glowing,” writes Spurgeon, continuing, “She is not merely fair, but ‘all fair.’ (Sol. Song. iv. 7). No wonder that such is the case, since it is but His own perfect excellency which He admires; for the holiness, glory, and perfection of His Church are His own glorious garments on the back of His well-beloved spouse. She is not simply pure, or well-proportioned; she is positively lovely and fair! She has actual merit! Her deformities of sin are removed; but more, she has through her Lord obtained a meritorious righteousness by which an actual beauty is conferred upon her.”
We are reminded of the exquisite imagery in the 61st chapter of Isaiah, as the Lord clothes His bride with a robe of righteousness and adorns her with bridal jewels. He has not only taken away her flaws; He has made her beautiful, bedecking her with heavenly graces, splendors, and gifts.
“We may insist on looking back with remorse, but He calls us to walk with Him in newness of life.”
I thank God that He offers the fresh white start we all yearn for. He gives us more than a new beginning; in Christ, we are given an inheritance so rich, so splendid, so sublimely beyond our imagining-- full of the glorious completeness and perfection and very Presence of the Godhead. If only God’s children could understand the hope of their calling, it would transform their lives. The Apostle Paul knew this, and so he fervently prayed that believers would be given eyes to see their standing in Christ, that they would be capable of grasping the wonders of salvation (Ephesians 1:15-21). Like these, we so often live our lives as spiritual paupers, when Christ has withheld nothing from us. We may insist on looking back with remorse, but He calls us to walk with Him in newness of life.
None of us could keep ourselves in such standing—thank God that He gives us eternal security, that He alone can “sanctify you completely” and so that “your whole spirit, soul, and body may be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who will also do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). We may slip, but He alone keep us from falling totally; keep us standing in grace. Few passages inspire more beautiful meditation than the closing words of the little book of Jude, a benediction to “Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and present you faultless before the Presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (v. 24). Imagine it: “faultless… with exceeding joy” (Jude 24). Could we ask for a better outcome, than to enter heaven in a state of spiritual faultlessness, overflowing with joy? What more do we desire here on earth than joyful perfection? And it is ours, even now, if we have Him-- as incomplete as we may feel, as often as we may wander, Christ is as perfect today as ever. Thank God that Christ is the believer’s justification, and that when we receive Him, the Father looks upon His perfect standing and imputes His flawless sin record to us. There could be no other remission of sin—and thank God it isn’t up to us to earn it or maintain it.
I wish I could promise a new year full of every joy for everyone, and the fulfillment of those longed-for dreams. Of course, to none of us belong those privileges—but we can point one another to a truth far sweeter, and to the Presence of One who sustains us. Having Him amid conflict is so much sweeter than having some dream or desire fulfilled, however precious. Even a moment in His presence—though He visit us on sickbeds, frontlines, or fearful times of loss-- is better than a lifetime in a palace. We sometimes taste the bliss that is to come, as vistas of heaven burst on our sight. Sometimes, in moments of sweet communion, we sense Him brushing near. Such heavenly foreshadowing, such foretastes of glory, have long comforted the suffering saint, giving him more fulfillment than all earthly delights piled up. I cannot promise that this year will bring about any certain outcome, but I can assure you there is One whose lovingkindness is better than life— and this love makes all outcomes bearable.
May we walk with Him in unapologetic confidence and obedience, in total dependence and surrender, and be bold enough to claim those promises we hardly dare to believe could be ours. May remove our eyes from ourselves and place them on Christ, and in Him find blissful, eternal security. This year, may we hold tightly to the hand that never lets ours go—the hand on which our very name is graven. May we keep the faith, to His unending praise and glory.
May your new year sparkle with real hope— heavenly hope— and dazzle you in ways you never anticipated. May surprises grace your path, and may God bless you in ways you never imagined.
A New Year’s Prayer
God, I thank You that You have brought us this far. You are the author of our lives, and You have given us the gift of another day, perhaps of another year. We praise You as the Giver of life and the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). You are authoring a love story which needed Your grace to even begin (1 John 4:19). And only You could keep us standing in grace and bring us safely home, as the glorious finisher of our faith. We thank You that You set this redemptive plan in motion in old eternity, before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4)—that the saints have been with Christ for a time which has no beginning and which will have no end.
May we give ourselves to You this year in total surrender and walk in dependence upon You, day by day, moment by moment. For then alone will we walk rightly, and in the direction which You intend.
I pray for those who do not know You, that they would receive Christ and be restored to right relationship with You. Turn their hearts to repentance, that they may receive the forgiveness and freedom; that they may receive Christ, who alone makes life worth living. Let them turn from their sin so that they can see and experience life as You intended: life at peace with You. You will will open their eyes to riches as yet unseen, unheard of, and unknown. May they receive the most beautiful gift of all—salvation—that they may be with You for all eternity.
I pray for those who have received Your salvation but struggle to see themselves as forgiven and accepted in the Beloved. Please open their eyes to the hope of their calling, and the riches of their inheritance in Christ (Ephesians 1:17-21). Free them from guilt, whether imagined or real, and allow them to find rest in repentance and forgiveness. Let their eternal security in Christ fill them with indescribable peace and bliss. Free them from fear so that they become free to serve others. Only You can keep us standing, Lord (Romans 5:5). Allow your forgiven children to view themselves as standing in grace—Your unconditional, undeserved, unmerited favor—so sure and solid it’s as though they were standing in concrete. Speak to them, in a way that their heart recognizes, that You will never leave them or forsake them (Hebrews 13:5), that nothing created can separate them from Your love (Romans 8:38-39). Allow them, even now, to see themselves as a pardoned soul.
I echo Charles Spurgeon’s prayer, asking that You make it a reality in the lives of each of Your precious children: “May our God bring home to you a sense of your safety in Christ Jesus! May He assure you that your name is graven on His hand; and whisper in your ear the promise, ‘Fear not, for I am with thee.’ Look upon Him, the great Surety of the covenant, as faithful and true, and therefore, bound and engaged to present you, the weakest of the family, with all the chosen race, before the throne of God; and in such sweet contemplation you will drink the juice of the spiced wine of the Lord’s pomegranate, and taste the dainty fruits of Paradise.”
Whether You choose to move us forward to new opportunities or keep us where are, we acknowledge Your right to do so. Your wisdom is infinite, Your understanding complete, and all Your ways are just. We do not argue with the methods You choose for our sanctification, but instead embrace our circumstances as the very tools which You have chosen for discipleship. We submit to Your ways calmly and completely. We will no longer permit ourselves to be carried off by fantastical visions, but instead submit calmly and completely to You. When our will becomes Your will, a blessed calm prevails. And perhaps the moment we “abandon” a dream, we abandon ourselves to a reality which is infinitely more blessed, more beautiful—intimacy with the living God. We are astounded that You would deign to guide us and express such interest in even the minute details and direction of our lives (Psalm 32:8). We submit to Your leadership not begrudgingly, but rather with gratitude and wonder. How can it be that Almighty Creator of heaven and earth would care enough to guide our lives? What marvelous love!— may we never treat such a privilege lightly.
I pray for those who are waiting on the fulfillment of some precious promise. Give them courage to wait upon You, and to refrain from manipulating their circumstances. Whether the vision tarries or reaches its blessed fulfillment, we will praise You for Your wisdom in all Your dealings with us. You know when to withhold and when to lavish love, to the betterment of our souls. And You would never deny us anything that conformed us more completely into the likeness of Christ.
Please comfort those who are grieving, entering the new year without a cherished love one. Strengthen the fearful, who look to the future with dread. Hold the weary in Your everlasting embrace, and give them reprieve. Enable Your children to keep their minds upon You, dismissing lies, fears, and the pull of sin. May they be strengthened where the battle is fiercest— in their thought life.
I pray You give Your children the boldness to appropriate Your promises and boldly claim all which is theirs in Christ. May they be able to underline each precious promise of Scripture and write their names on it, as it were. May they claim the reality of that promise for their lives. Just as the children of Israel were commanded to take possession of the promised land (Deuteronomy 11:10-12), so are we to assume and appropriate Your precious promises. We thank You that just as You watched over the promised land “from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year” (v. 12), so too do You keep your eye upon us. How tenderly You care for us!
May nothing this year hinder our closeness with You. Come loss, come tragedy, come fear, come joy, or health, or riches—may none of it serve as a barrier to You. May every circumstance which touches our lives through Your permissive will be something which draws us nearer to the likeness of Christ. Give us strength and pray for us, Lord Jesus, that our faith would not fail. We thank You that we have such a sympathetic and faithful High Priest. “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:10). Your life! What a glorious verse— it is because You live that we remain saved. We stand in awe of the high priestly ministry You carry out, even today, and thank You for Your intercession in our prayers and in our lives.
From the beginning of the year to its end, Father, please keep us close to Christ. In His presence alone do we find the healing, grace, forgiveness, mercy, and wholeness we were created for. Be glorified in our lives, our everyday interactions, work, worship, and private fellowship. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
“To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever,
Amen.” -Jude 25
