At the stroke of midnight last night, we began a year that none of us have ever seen before. The past year is like the snow that has fallen on the river, it was a moment white, now it is gone forever. We have no idea of what will come our way in this New Year, for we are not privileged to see even tomorrow. But while we do not know what the year holds, we do know him who holds the year, do we not? Some things will not change. There will be cold and heat, rain and shine, bursting of spring, the growth of summer, the retiring of fall to be followed by the sleep of winter, just as has been the case every year since the world began, and will be until it is no more. God promised in the long ago, "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22). So far as the changing of the seasons are concerned, we can utterly depend on the Word of God, as we can in any other area of life.

However, there are many other things about the next twelve months that we do not know. We do not know if we will be faced with bliss or tragedy, pleasure or pain. This very well could be the last year we will ever live on this earth. Consequently, we need to take the advice of the Proverbist who said, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). One might ask the question, "Why should I trust in God to direct my paths when I am perfectly capable of caring for myself?" There is the rub; we are not capable of taking care of ourselves. The great prophet Jeremiah once said of Judah, "O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jeremiah 10:23). That is the very reason Jeremiah prayed in the following verse, "O LORD, correct me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing" (Jeremiah 10:24). Hence, we like this old and dedicated prophet, must submit our lives to the will of him who knows all things from the beginning.

Sometimes, submitting to God seems difficult to us, for our desires do not always run parallel to his. Yet, we must learn to trust him and be submissive to his will for this is the pathway to heaven.  As children sometimes do not see the wisdom and benefit in the will of their parents,  we sometimes think our way is better and try to advise God on what is best for us. Yet, in his Word he has revealed his will to us, and that will is perfect and sufficient in every regard so that we need nothing beside it to teach us to follow him. In that Word, we will find the strength and wisdom to trust the Lord and dedicate ourselves to his will, because the inspired Will of God is able to make us complete and thoroughly furnished to every good work. We need nothing, spiritually, other than to feed on the milk and meat of the Sacred Volume. His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our pathway. Since, we cannot direct our own steps, we should depend on God, through his Word, to correct us with justice. That will make better men and women of us, more fit to live in that eternal home of the soul. Therefore, we should feed our souls on the Word of God with the same degree of interest that we feed our bodies with physical food. When we do that, we will fear no future.

In the past year, we all made mistakes and errors, did we not? We will do so in coming year as well. We will hope not to, even plan not to, but the best laid plans of mice and men do not always work as we desire. Hence, in the coming months, we will want to spend time in prayer, confessing our faults to him who knows them all anyway and begging his forgiveness. He will constantly cleanse us through the blood of his Son and our Redeemer, and though we make mistakes and find ourselves at fault, we can still live heaven-bound lives. We need to spend time with the Book of books and in the closets of prayer, and the coming year will be a good year no matter what happens! God cares for his own!