Devotion

New Year's Eve arrives. Tomorrow, the calendar resets. But tonight, you still live in this year. Tonight is a threshold. A moment between what was and what will be. This is the perfect moment to release. Release regrets. Release resentments. Release shame. Release the ways you did not live up to your own expectations or the expectations of others. Release guilt about what you did or did not do. David reminds us that God does not treat us as our sins deserve. God does not hold grudges. God removes our transgressions as far as the east is from the west—that is, infinitely, permanently, completely. If God releases us this completely, can you release yourself? Can you forgive yourself? Can you let go of the year that has been and step into a new year clean and free? This is the spiritual work of New Year's Eve: Release and forgiveness. Release of the past. Forgiveness of yourself and others. In releasing and forgiving, you create space for newness. You are not dragging the weight of the old year into the new year. You are stepping forward light and free. This is the gift of forgiveness—not forgetting, but releasing the power of hurt to control your future. You remember what happened, but you no longer carry it. You move forward.