Null reference exception - singletone

I get a "NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object" In this line:

void Update() { livesRemaining.text = "Something"; }

'livesRemaining is a GUIText which was previously assigned through unity editor (There was no problem): public GUIText livesRemaining;

I changed my class into a singleton, and now I get the message. I get the GUIText through GameObject.Find(), like this:

void Start() { livesRemaining = GameObject.Find("LivesRemaining").GetComponent(); }

Here is the declaration of the class:

public class GameLogic : MonoBehaviour {

 private static GameLogic _instance;
 public static GameLogic Instance
 {
     get
     {
         if (null == _instance)
         {
              GameObject go = new GameObject("GameLogic");
             _instance = (GameLogic)go.AddComponent(typeof(GameLogic));
         }
 
         return _instance;
     }
 }

}

This solves the problem:

     try
    {
     livesRemaining.text = "Lives Remaining: " + livesAmount.ToString();
 }
 catch
 {
     print(" Error occured");    
 }

Can someone give me a hint what is the problem?

Many thanks in advance, vond2

Edit:

Problem solved by moving all the code into Start() instead of Awake()...