Happy New Year! 2017/2018 on Footsteps

The Hand of God

New Year can be quite daunting. In one way, moving from the 31st December to the 1st January is no different from any other 24 hour period! However, at New Year we are more aware than usual of the passing of time, and we tend to reflect back on the old year and look forward into the new one. Maybe there are happy memories, and exciting things to look forward to. Maybe there are also regrets and things in the new year that worry us. Often we make resolutions - good intentions to make changes in our lives, our routines, our habits, our thoughts, our relationships. Maybe these things are in our everyday lives. Maybe they are in our spiritual lives. Both naturally and spiritually, this time of reflection can be tough, especially if we are honest with ourselves. Looking forward, life for Christians is hard and promises to get harder. The world is uncertain. Each of us face the same enemy in the devil and will be hampered by the same sinful nature as in 2017. It can all be very daunting.

In 1939, Britain stood at the brink of World War II. It was a very dark time for the nation. In his Christmas broadcast King George VI quoted a poem which captured the imagination of a country facing great difficulty. I like to remember it each New Year. The full poem (God Knows by Minnie Louise Haskins) can be read here, but the part which I find poignant is the introduction.

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 future may be daunting, but 'Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:' (Isaiah 59:1). Go forward, by faith putting your hand into the hand of God and you will be able to walk safely into the unknowns of 2018.

2017 & 2018 on Footsteps Blog

We thought we’d mark the beginning of 2018 on Footsteps Blog by having a look back at some of the highlights from 2017 and previewing some of the plans for the next year.

Looking back

January 2017 marks the first full year since we went live with Footsteps Blog. We’re very thankful to God for enabling us to keep going right through the year, and for his help & guidance in producing posts. We’re also very grateful to all our readers and especially to those who've given feedback. We’ve covered a lot of subjects – practical, doctrinal, historical, apologetics, reviews – some articles have been long, others short. Recently with the Reformation 500 anniversary we experimented with producing the Five Solas video. In case you missed them, here are links to the five most popular posts so far: