New Beginnings

This week's devotionals are based on quotations from broadcast messages of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, as we give thanks for her long life of faith, duty and service.

Isaiah 43:19 —

‘See, I am doing a new thing!

 Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.'

"I know just how much I rely on my faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning. I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God!" —The Queen 2002

Life can throw difficult things at us, painful circumstances, tricky relationships and, of course, the hard navigation of grief and loss. But the wise thing to do amongst it all is to continue to trust in the Lord who knows us and loves us. In the book of Isaiah, we are reminded that God is the God of new beginnings, of fresh starts, that in a place of wilderness and wasteland there is hope and life to come.

Prayer - Lord thank you that you are a constant presence and will never leave us, that you promise to be with us always. When life feels hard help us to put our trust in you, know your comfort. Open our eyes by your Holy Spirit to see the signs of hope and life - and the breakthroughs and new beginnings - that you will bring.