2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have run the race, I have kept the faith.”
So it’s New Year’s Eve and the end of another calendar year. How would you evaluate the last 365 days? In verse 7 above, Paul was looking backwards on his whole life and doing a positive evaluation, sensing he was soon to die. In verse 8, he then looked forward in anticipation to receiving his “crown of righteousness, which the Lord will award to me on that day”. May we in due course be able to look back on our lives and similarly say that we fought the good fight, ran the race and kept the faith! If we’re honest in our evaluation of this last year, maybe the verdict might be more along the lines of fighting a scrappy fight, running a checkered race and barely clinging on to our faith through some difficult times. Certainly that’s been some of my story as I wrote this. So today’s a chance to look backwards, with a view to better moving forwards.
Louise Haskins penned the following words: “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’.” King George VI used them in his 1939 Christmas message to the British Empire as the Second World War embroiled more and more nations and caused such untold suffering and grief. They describe the type of faith we need to cope with adversity and uncertainty.
Similarly, as we look both backwards and forwards, we can rest assured that, whatever the darkness, putting our hand into the hand of God is ‘better than light and safer than a known way’. Hold on tight! God bless you richly. Here’s to a year of good choices!
Lord, help me continue to make good daily choices through the coming year. Amen!
Who could you invite to take the Choose Life 365 challenge with you next year? Get them to sign up here.
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