“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 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!’”
Quote from ‘At the Gate of the Year’by Minnie Louise Harkins 1875-1957
The missionary road ahead maybe unknown but we are in safe hands with our God and Saviour, who knows each twist and turn, each hill we are to climb and each valley we must pass through, he knows the joys and pains that lie ahead and he will not leave us for one moment as we begin our trek.
We all the start the year in different ways, some jump in with two feet looking forward to all things new, the opportunity to start afresh, ‘out with the old and in with the new’. Others dip their toes into the waters, wondering what the year may hold, perhaps a little apprehensive. Some are focused, goal orientated with a list of ‘to do’s before the strike of midnight as the year turns from old to New. Yet perhaps you are not anyone of the above but are already feeling weary, disillusioned, disheartened and even despondent. Perhaps the prospect of another year on the missionary road feels too much, ‘how can you go on?’
Be encouraged whether you are feeling alive and optimistic or you are struggling and downbeat to take the hand of the Lord as you begin this New Year. Let him guide you as you need to be guided, provide what you need to keep on keeping on, envision you and pour out his Holy Spirit into your life to inspire and revive you to persevere. Allow him to remind you of how he called you to the mission field, so that he in turn may show you the next step on your journey whatever that might be for you and Him.
‘Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.’ Isaiah 40:28-31
