It was good to meet again after the winter break, though sadly, quite a few were unable to be with us, largely due to ill-health. Sue reminded us of last year’s motto ‘Be still and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10) and admitted that she hadn’t seen her motto bookmark for a while. Then she realised it must have been in the Good News New Testament that she gave to an A&E nurse last May!

Much had happened to all of us in the past year. There’d been some really tough times and there’d been times of joy, but in all these, we’d experienced the truth of ‘Be still and know that I am God.’

Our motto this year is ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5). The writer of Hebrews was referring back to an occasion in the Old Testament when the Israelites were facing the very frightening and daunting situation of going into the Promised Land. The Lord told them not to be afraid or discouraged because he’d ‘Never leave them nor forsake them’ (Joshua 1:5,9 and Deuteronomy 31:6,8). Looking back later, Joshua reminded them that the Lord had kept his promises (Joshua 23:14).

In the coming year we’ll all be faced with good and tough times, but we can be reassured that when the Lord promises his presence with us ALWAYS, he doesn’t lie. Whatever this year holds he will ‘Never leave us nor forsake us’!

In these difficult times in which we live, it is so important to let this truth sink into our hearts and minds!