Thought for the week from the Rev David Jones (we 8th January 2012)

The inevitable ‘reviews’ of 2011 will again highlight the major events of the closing year  whether political, international, sporting or in the world of entertainment we are going to be reminded, whether we like it or not!

In our own lives the ups and downs of past year are also likely to be remembered. There may have been times of sadness and loss, reasons for joy and celebration or a combination of both. Whatever we feel, be it regret or gladness the past is gone and before us is a new year and the hope and potential for new beginnings.

2012 is, of course, unchartered territory. None of us know what even the next minute holds and yet there’s the sure promise that God is with us and we do not face the future alone. In his 1939 Christmas Day broadcast to a troubled nation King George VI concluded his nine-minute broadcast with a poem which must have brought encouragement and comfort to all who listened.

For us, living in an uncertain world they remain worlds of hope and assurance. ‘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.” May that same Almighty Hand guide and uphold us all to the new year.

Rev. David Jones

Click here to find out more about the Rev. David Jones.