It's funny how caught up we become in the things of this world; the stuff that seems to matter so much today … yet in five years from now will be totally irrelevant to our lives. And, can I say, that's especially true when we're suffering? We end up grasping at straws in the hope that they'll heal the pain and satisfy our needs.

You know how it goes. The year's off to a new beginning, and you still perhaps have some regrets hanging over you from the past. You have your plans for the future, you've set your goals, and here we go … it's off to the races.

Yep, we have our hopes and dreams, and we embark on achieving them as though somehow we're going to live on this earth forever. Reality check – we're not! Perhaps that's why the psalmist prayed to God like this:

Psalm 90:12-15 So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart. Turn, O LORD! How long? Have compassion on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil. (NRSV)

Tough times happen. Suffering's real. But in all of that, the absolute worst thing we can do is to look for satisfaction from the fleeting things of this world. God, on the other hand, will satisfy you anew each morning with His steadfast love. You'll rejoice and be glad for the rest of your days.

That's His Word. Fresh … for you … today.

A good many people on planet Earth today are living sub-optimal lives – terrible lives, many of them – not so much because of their circumstances, but because they feel worthless. I wonder if you know anyone like that.

To be sure, some people live in appalling circumstances – extreme poverty, under the threat of violence, abandoned, completely alone. And in many cases, even the smallest intervention to change those circumstances makes a world of difference. Absolutely!

But at the same time, I've met people living, for instance, in abject poverty or under severe persecution, who have a countenance of peace and joy that passes all understanding. It's written all over their faces, yet it doesn't seem to make sense.

Until you realise that it comes from a place of complete love, complete acceptance, complete assurance that simply isn't available in any pleasurable circumstance that this world could offer.

2 Corinthians 5:17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (NRSV)

Hang on, how does that passage relate to what we're talking about? How is it that Jesus makes all the difference?

As pastor and author, the late Tim Keller once said, "The only identity that isn't fragile—the only one that can truly transform you—is the one you receive, not the one you achieve. In Christ, you are fully known and fully loved."

Once you know how much God loves you through what Jesus did on that Cross for you, once you truly, fully, embrace your new identity in Christ, it changes everything. Because everything has become new!

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Look, I totally get it. Some people are entering this new year tired, exhausted, before it's even begun. And as a result, they end up living half a life instead of a full, rich, abundant one.

Sure, I've gone through times of feeling burnt out, times when I just couldn't give "it" my all. Burnout's a big subject, we'll talk about that another day.

But you see too many people whose zest for life eludes them. It might be in their job – many do the absolute minimum they can get away with. It might be in their family life, retreating to their smartphone screens and not being present for their spouse or their children.

Have you ever been tempted to live half a life instead of a full, rich, abundant life? Just in case, allow this Word from God to breathe a new breath, a new zest, a new hope into your heart.

Ephesians 5:15-17 So be very careful how you live. Live wisely, not like fools. I mean that you should use every opportunity you have for doing good, because these are evil times. So don't be foolish with your lives, but learn what the Lord wants you to do.

As Billy Graham once said, "Time is the capital that God's given us to invest. People are the stocks in which we're to invest our time… the best use of your time is to spend it on something that'll outlast it."

Friend, don't just live well; live wisely. In the end, it's not how much time you had but what you did with it that will echo into eternity.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.