I’m really not a big fan of this time of year. The days are getting shorter, the weather colder, trees are losing their leaves and the outlook is pretty bleak as we tumble on towards the shortest day of the year.
I think, at times, life can leave us with very similar feelings; darkness can seem to surround us and the cold reality of life comes upon us as a harsh winter, sometimes even cutting us to the bone.
But in creation there is a promise of new life. Even as the trees drop their leaves, already we see evidence of new life in the form of fresh buds; a promise and a hope of things to come.
As we look forward in our lives, we also have a promise of new things to come. Isaiah 43:18-19a says; 18 ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!‘ [NIVUK]
Here we have the opportunity to either look back at what has been, or to look forward with a freshness to what is still to come.
And as we step out into this new fresh future, we don’t step out alone. Jesus Himself says in Matthew 28:20b; 20b ‘And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ [NIVUK]
So let us step out in confidence knowing that our Saviour, our living hope, walks with us into a bright, new tomorrow.
Every blessing,
Revd. Steve