“It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life for me
Yeah it’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life for me”
— Nina Simone, 1964

Wow, I didn’t know that song went all the way back to the mid 1960s (below you can hear what I think is the original version on YouTube), as I’m more familiar with newer versions. Could it be just because it is a brand new year that that song, and in particular the words above were on my mind when I woke up this morning?

There are two phrases that I left out above, ones that didn’t come to mind at 6:00 this morning when I first stirred. Right before the words above, these words are in the song “You know how I feel”. Are you kidding me? There is only one person who knows how I feel. God. Also in the song is the phrase “You know what I mean.” Again, only God has that ability. I do not know what the original writers of the song were thinking, and I’m not trying to force something there that isn’t, but WOW! Just adding a slight different perspective gives the song a new spin, especially when the song is titled “Feeling Good.”

What would it take to make you feel good right now? Whether you are suffering or rejoicing, what if Good knew how you felt?
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death.” – Hebrews 2:14

Whether you are in sin or in service to God, what if God knew what you meant, what you were trying for?
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” – Psalm 139:23-24

As we begin a new year, a new dawn, may we find ourselves rejoicing despite our circumstance and the gripping the world right now. May we always find a way to rejoice in knowing whose we are and rejoicing for the gift that has been given to us…

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
— John 10:10