A new year brings a mix of hope and uncertainty. We make plans and resolutions, and we also wonder what the months ahead will hold. The Bible does not promise that every year will be easy, but it does promise that God is faithful, that his mercies are new every morning, and that he goes before his people.
The 18 passages below are grouped into four themes: new beginnings, God’s plans and guidance, renewal, and trust for the year ahead. A short prayer closes the page. Every verse is quoted in full from the Berean Standard Bible.
The deepest fresh start the Bible offers is not a date on the calendar but new life in Jesus Christ. Resolutions can help us grow, yet our hope for the coming year rests on what God has promised to do, not on how well we keep our goals.
New Beginnings
Isaiah 43:18–19 (BSB)
“Do not call to mind the former things; pay no attention to the things of old. Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
God spoke these words to his people in exile, promising a new rescue as great as the exodus from Egypt. The past is not erased, but it does not have the last word: “Behold, I am about to do something new.” God can make “a way in the wilderness” where we see no way at all.
Lamentations 3:22–23 (BSB)
Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!
These words were written in grief over the ruins of Jerusalem, which makes them all the more striking. Even in loss, the writer could say that God’s mercies “are new every morning.” If every morning brings fresh mercy, a new year is simply many new mornings of God’s faithfulness.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (BSB)
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
Many people hope a new year will make them new. Paul points to a deeper change: anyone who is in Christ “is a new creation.” This is not self-improvement but a new life given by God, and it is open to anyone who comes to Jesus.
Revelation 21:5 (BSB)
And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”
Near the end of the Bible, God gives the promise behind every new beginning: “Behold, I make all things new.” One day he will wipe away every tear and end death and pain (Revelation 21:4). Every fresh start in this life is a small preview of that final one.
Psalm 65:11 (BSB)
You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your paths overflow with plenty.
In this psalm of praise, David pictures God as the one who crowns the whole year with good things. Every harvest and every blessing is a gift from his hand. It is a fitting verse to pray over the months ahead, and to look back on at the year’s end with gratitude.
God’s Plans and Guidance
Jeremiah 29:11 (BSB)
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
God sent these words in a letter to Israelites living in exile in Babylon, along with the news that their exile would last seventy years (Jeremiah 29:10). His plans for them were good, “to give you a future and a hope,” even though they would have to wait. Read more in Jeremiah 29:11 Meaning.
Proverbs 3:5–6 (BSB)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
As you set goals for the year, this proverb puts them in the right order. Trust the LORD with all your heart, acknowledge him “in all your ways,” and he will guide your path. It is not a call to stop thinking, but to stop leaning on our own understanding alone. See Proverbs 3:5–6 Meaning.
Proverbs 16:9 (BSB)
A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
Scripture is not against planning; this verse assumes we will plan. But it reminds us that “the LORD determines his steps.” Make your plans for the year carefully, then hold them with open hands.
Psalm 32:8 (BSB)
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.
Psalm 32 begins with the joy of being forgiven and then moves to God’s promise to guide. He does not only point the way; he says, “I will give you counsel and watch over you.” Guidance comes from a Father who is with us, not from a distant map.
Thinking about the year ahead? Ask Abby what Scripture says about your plans, hopes or worries.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Real change starts on the inside: “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Regular time in Scripture and prayer is one of the main ways God renews how we think. That makes a Bible reading plan one of the best resolutions you can make.
Ezekiel 36:26 (BSB)
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
God promised his people more than a fresh effort; he promised a new heart. Resolutions can change habits, but only God can replace “your heart of stone” with “a heart of flesh.” The New Testament shows this promise fulfilled as the Holy Spirit gives new life to those who trust in Christ.
Isaiah 40:31 (BSB)
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
If you are entering the year tired, this promise is for you. Those who wait upon the LORD “will renew their strength.” Waiting here means trusting and hoping in God, and he gives strength to keep walking without fainting.
Philippians 3:13–14 (BSB)
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.
Paul did not claim to have arrived. Instead he refused to be held back by the past, whether his failures or his achievements, and kept “straining toward what is ahead.” The goal of the race is not a better version of ourselves but knowing Christ and the prize of “God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.”
Trust for the Year Ahead
James 4:13–15 (BSB)
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”
James is not against business plans; he is against plans made as if God did not exist. We “do not even know what will happen tomorrow,” so we plan humbly and say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.” Those words make a good motto for a new calendar.
Psalm 90:12 (BSB)
So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom.
This prayer, credited to Moses, asks God to teach us that our days are numbered. That is not meant to frighten us but to make us wise. A new year is a good moment to ask how to spend the days God gives on what matters most.
Matthew 6:34 (BSB)
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.
Jesus does not ask us to carry the whole year at once, because “tomorrow will worry about itself.” God gives grace for each day as it comes, so we can face today’s trouble today and leave tomorrow in his hands.
Isaiah 41:10 (BSB)
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.
Whatever the coming year holds, God’s people do not face it alone. Each promise in this verse rests on his presence: “I am with you,” “I am your God,” “I will uphold you.” Read more in Isaiah 41:10 Meaning.
Deuteronomy 31:8 (BSB)
The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
Moses spoke these words as Israel prepared to enter a new land under Joshua’s leadership. They were stepping into the unknown, but “The LORD Himself goes before you.” Wherever the new year leads, God is already there.
A Prayer for the New Year
Heavenly Father, thank you for your faithfulness in the year that has passed, in every joy and in every sorrow. Thank you that your mercies are new every morning. As this new year begins, I give you my plans, my hopes and my worries. Teach me to trust you with all my heart and to seek your will in all my ways. Renew my mind through your Word, and give me strength for each day as it comes. Forgive me where I have failed, and help me to follow Jesus more closely. Whatever this year brings, remind me that you go before me and will never leave me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good Bible verse for the New Year?
Lamentations 3:22-23 is a favourite, because God’s mercies “are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!” Isaiah 43:19 (“Behold, I am about to do something new”), Jeremiah 29:11 and Proverbs 3:5-6 are also widely loved for the start of a year, because they speak of God’s faithfulness, plans and guidance.
Does the Bible talk about New Year’s Day?
Not as we celebrate it on January 1. Israel’s calendar had its own pattern, and God told Moses that the month of the Passover would be the first month of the year (Exodus 12:2). The Bible’s focus is less on the date and more on the God who is faithful through every season.
Is it biblical to make New Year’s resolutions?
The Bible neither commands nor forbids resolutions, and it encourages wise planning (Proverbs 16:9). It also calls us to plan humbly, saying, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15). Resolutions are best held as ways to grow in love for God and others, relying on his grace rather than willpower alone.
How can I pray for the new year?
Begin with thanks for God’s faithfulness in the past year, then bring him your plans, hopes and worries for the year ahead. Ask for wisdom (Psalm 90:12), guidance (Proverbs 3:5-6) and strength (Isaiah 40:31). The short prayer on this page is one example you can pray or adapt.