GOD OF THE NEW YEAR!!

By Helen Jesze, 7^th January 2022

“… so that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”

Joshua 3:4 NIV

“See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him … He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”

Isaiah 40:10a + 11 NIV

We are already a few days into the new year, and we all might approach this new season in different ways. Are you one of those who runs in with both feet, eager to see what the year holds and make history yourself !? Or perhaps you are somewhat fearful, wondering what further bad news and circumstances might be waiting for you round the next bend.

When God told Moses to rescue the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, the task seemed overwhelming to him, and he said if God would not go with them, he could not possibly take them to the Promised Land. But God assured him, as the above text tells us, that his Presence – he himself – would go with Moses and the people, and that this fact would bring Moses rest; his heart could be at peace.

Years later, when Moses had died, God instructed Joshua, their new leader, how they were to cross the river Jordan and take the city of Jericho, the gateway to the Promised Land. Joshua then commanded the priests to take the Ark of the Covenant (which symbolised God’s Presence) and to step into the river. Then the people – keeping a required distance – would know which way to go. They needed guidance for “they had never passed that way before.”

We too, have not passed this way before. 2022 is still a closed book to us, but our God is not just the One who was with us in 2021, he is also the GOD OF THE NEW YEAR! His Presence will go with us and bring us rest, in good and in difficult times. Nothing takes him by surprise. He has been mapping out our way, putting things in place, pulling ‘strings’, arranging, sending the Holy Spirit to engineer circumstances, networking us together with people he has ordained.

These verses in Isaiah tell us that God is our Sovereign Lord and he is coming to rule and reign in power. His arm has ultimate strength, yet this same powerful One can also be so tender that he takes the weak young lambs, holding them to his heart in love, and he gently leads those sheep that have young ones. Jesus called himself our Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for his sheep. He is also our Sovereign Lord, and will reign in strength and power in our lives, yet also show us his tenderness in the times that we are weak or vulnerable. We are also told that a nursing mother may forget her child, but that God our Father will never forget his Children, bought with the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, his Son!

Several years ago, George and I had entered a new sphere of ministry, and were encountering many difficulties. As we were praying, I saw in the spirit a narrow path leading between great overhanging mountains and boulders. The path grew darker the more I tried to see what lay ahead. It all looked frightening, dangerous and the rocks precarious, as if they would fall on us walking on that path. But as we continued to pray and bind the forces of the evil one in the Name of Jesus, releasing God’s plan and purposes, the darkness began to clear and I saw how the path grew wider, and led into a broad landscape. We had never been that way before, but the Almighty One was not just going with us, but going before, opening the way, like a strong man with a machete cutting down the undergrowth and branches which hinder those trying to walk through the jungle. He will do the same for you, when opposition causes you to fear and would hinder your progress. He is the God of the New Year, all 365 days of it!

Nazi Germany’s Third Reich had ruled since Hitler took over in 1933, with Germany becoming a fascist totalitarian State, spreading terror across Europe. Great Britain entered the Second World War in September 1939. The nation was gripped with fear and anxiety, waiting for the next sirens to go off, announcing more enemy bombs were to be dropped.

The reigning monarch at that time, King George VI, brought comfort and direction to his subjects, as he quoted some lines from the poem “The Gate of the Year” in his 1939 Christmas radio broadcast to the British Empire:

“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…” Minnie Louise Haskins

Prayer:
Thank you Heavenly Father, that your Presence will go with us and give us rest in 2022. You are the Faithful One who keeps your Word to your Children. Whether we are needing a strong arm or a loving, tender one – you will lead, tend and keep us, as the shepherd does his flock. Hold us steady with the anchor of your Word, when fear would overwhelm us, binding its tendrils round us, and send your delivering power to set us free, we pray. We put our hand in your Hand just now, you will bring us safely through and illuminate our path. We ask this in the Name of your Son, Jesus! Amen.