New Year or New Fear?

As a new year begins, I ask myself “Is this a new opportunity to trust in my Father God who had led me faithfully since I burst on the scene over sixty-six years ago? Or will the prospect of this untried path produce new fears in me?” One comfort that springs to mind is a poem popularly titled “God Knows” by Minnie Louise Haskins. I have read it and passed it on to others many times as the new years have rolled over on the calendar of my life. Let me cite just a few of the best lines here.

God Knows

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

The poem, published in 1908, was part of a collection titled The Desert. It caught the public attention and the popular imagination when the then–Princess Elizabeth gave a copy to her father, George VI who quoted the inspirational verse in his Christmas radio broadcast in 1939 to the whole of the British realm.

Please take it to heart as you return to work and your day to day duties in the household and community after the end of year celebrations. You have something -actually Someone- who is better than any physical light or familiar pathway. You have the faithful Paraclete. The Holy Spirit of the Living God. The One Jesus calls along side you and even places with in you as a Guide and Teacher.

Rest in Him and trust Him in the New Year 2016. He knows you and He knows what is to come. He will hold your hand and be your companion on the journey as well as your pathfinder. You will have the pleasure of His company and the wonderful knowledge that He who created you and knows you better than any other one is with you.  Like a Good Shepherd He has prepared the pasture where you will feed, cleared it of harmful underbrush and potential dangers. He rejoices over you with singing as you move ahead in pasturage chosen for your health and growth and to bring you closer to Him who leads you and provides for your life. Just know “God knows.” He does. He really, really does. And that is enough. Those words spoken by a king brought an entire nation through the second World War, and they will bring us through the present crises we face in the time just ahead of us today.