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.
Years ago, I taped a poster with this excerpt from Minnie Haskins’ poem, “God Knows,” to my refrigerator. It was a lifeline during a difficult season when the path ahead of me was shrouded in darkness. Standing at the gate of 2022 and staring into the unknown, it’s again a reminder of the extended hand of God and His unwavering presence.
Our Lord walks with us as literally as He walked with the disciples. Every day, He extends His scarred hand and says, “Follow Me.” Sometimes the path ahead looks scary and the unknown is unnerving. It takes courage to trust His love in the darkness, but there is nothing surer than the wounded hand of God. He will never withdraw His hand and will never turn away. He will not walk us into a tree or over a precipice. He goes before us to prepare the way, beside us to support and strengthen and behind us to protect us from the past.
The LORD will guide you always….
Isaiah 58:11
“You will not go astray in the company of God. Like Enoch, walk with God, and you cannot miss your road. You will have infallible wisdom to direct you, unchangeable love to comfort you, and eternal power to defend you. ‘The Lord’ – mark the word – ‘the Lord will guide you continually.”[1]
There is no place safer and no darkness lighter, than in the company of Jehovah. Grasp His hand, trod gladly into the night and all will be well.
I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Psalm 16:8
[1] Spurgeon, Charles. (2003). Morning and Evening. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.