Whether you’re longing for a fresh start in life, or you’re already entering a challenging new season, these 25 Bible verses about new beginnings will encourage you on your journey.
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I don’t know about you, but I LOVE new beginnings! Even though I’m totally not a morning person, each new day brings fresh possibilities. And I don’t much care for New Year’s Eve partying… but I do enjoy the excitement of starting a brand new year, creating new plans, pursuing new hopes and dreams, etc.
A lot of times in life, it’s easy to get discouraged because we’re stuck in the same old cycle (of sin, bad habits, life situations we feel trapped in). There is something universally appealing about NEW BEGINNINGS! The chance to start over, to shake off the old, move forward in a new season… it’s sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?
Of course it does!
And praise the Lord, our God is in the business of new beginnings! I’ve heard it said, that God loves us wherever we’re at… BUT, He also loves us too much to let us stay there.
What does the Bible say about beginning again?
In studying up on the spiritual meaning of new beginnings according to the Bible, I’ve noticed two key themes.
The first is that God wants us to turn away from sin, away from worldly influences, and to grow closer to Him. Much of the new beginning verses in the Bible are focused on THAT: turning away from sin, and towards God’s righteousness. He gives us so many opportunities each new day, in each new season, to grow more like Christ.
And the second theme that I noticed, is that God often allows us to go through seasons of testing and trials, for the purpose of growing us. So if you’re enduring a challenging time of life, and you’re longing for a new beginning (deliverance from your current trials), TAKE HEART. God’s Word shows us time and time again that if you remain faithful, He will renew and restore you.
25 Bible Verses About New Beginnings
Believe me, I’ve been there! Through career failures, doubts about God, and everyday struggles with exhaustion, it’s no wonder I’m a big fan of breakthroughs, fresh starts, and hard-won victories. There is nothing quite like persevering in faith, and seeing all the ways God carries me through.
If you too desire a better season, long-awaited answers to prayer, or victory in your battle against sin, these 25 Bible verses about new beginnings will encourage you! As Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”
For this Bible study on new beginnings, I’ve divided these verses into four sub-categories, which you can explore below…
Quick Links:
Verses 1-7: Examples of New Beginnings in the Bible
Verses 8-17: God’s Promises to Make Us New
Verses 18-23: When God Gives You a New Beginning
Verses 24-25: New Heaven and New Earth
Examples of New Beginnings in The Bible
This first grouping of Bible verses about new beginnings showcases some actual stories and Bible characters who experienced a renewal-of-life situation. The stories range from THE beginning of the whole world, to various spiritual new beginnings, and ways God delivered His people from difficult seasons in their lives.
As you read through these Scriptures, I encourage you to find one example that really resonates with you, and read that story in its entirety. (For example, I love Joseph’s story, from being sold into slavery, to being Pharaoh’s second-in-command (see Genesis chapters 37-45)).
1) Genesis 1:1-5 (NIV)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
2) John 1:1-5 (NLT)
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
3) Mark 5:25-29 (NIV)
And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
4) Luke 19:1-10 (NIV)
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
5) Jeremiah 18:1-6 (NIV)
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
Then the word of the LORD came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.
6) Job 42:10, 12 (NIV)
After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. […] The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.
7) Genesis 41:41-43, 46 (NIV)
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. […] Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
God’s Promises to Make Us New
Okay, so maybe after seeing those stories of new beginnings in the Bible, you think, “That’s great, but what about me?”. Well, this next batch of Bible verses about new beginnings is all about YOU. What promises has God made to you in His Word, to give you new victories and abundant life?
I think what you’ll see here, is that God promises to give you new life, if only you turn to Him.
8) Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
9) 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
10) 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
11) 1 John 1:9 (NIV)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
12) Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
13) Lamentations 3:22-24 (NIV)
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
14) 1 Peter 1:3-5 (NLT)
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
15) Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV)
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
16) John 10:10 (AMP)
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].
17) 1 Peter 5:10 (NIV)
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
What to Do When God Gives You a New Beginning
Next up in our collection of Bible verses about new beginnings, is a very important question: How should you and I respond, when God brings new opportunities into our lives? Or, perhaps even more importantly, how should we approach God to ask for new beginnings?
The recurring theme in all these Bible verses about new chapters in life, is that we should press on towards new life in Christ. No matter what new paths we embark on, our goal should always be to grow more like Christ. And we should be persistent and diligent in pursuing (and asking for) those new opportunities to grow, serve, and love like He did.
18) Acts 3:19-20 (NIV)
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.
19) Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
20) Matthew 7:7 (AMP)
Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.
21) Romans 12:2 (NIV)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
22) Colossians 3:8-10 (NLT)
But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
23) Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT)
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
The New Heaven and Earth God Will Create
And finally, to cap off our Bible verses about new beginnings, we have the best Bible verses about new life in all of God’s Word (at least in my opinion!). These are the ones that speak about the eternal life God is going to give us, when He creates the new heaven and new earth. Talk about a fresh start! What a wonderful future we have to look forward to…
24) Isaiah 65:17 (NIV)
“See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind. ”
25) Revelation 21:1-5 (NIV)
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
If you take nothing else away from these 25 Bible verses about new beginnings, just remember THIS: God wants to forgive your sins, and give you a fresh start with Him! So do what Jesus said in Matthew 7:7… keep on seeking Him, keep asking for help when you need it, don’t give up. As Isaiah 43:18-19 tells us, God will make a NEW WAY even in the wilderness and the wastelands of our lives.
Hi! Thank you so much for visiting Divine Creative Love. I’m a Jesus-lovin’ girl, lettering artist, designer, and general creative-at-heart. And, I have narcolepsy. I blog about faith in God, overcoming challenges, and creative topics such as Bible journaling. If you’re new here, be sure and subscribe to my list so you won’t miss anything!