'Fear not'. A new year message from Bishop Harold
For many people, the beginning of this new year is nothing to celebrate. We enter 2011 with many of our lives full of fears.
These are not the kinds of fears we experienced at the height of the Troubles -bombs, bullets and bitterness - though the fears experienced in a divided society have not entirely gone. These are fears in our inner spirits. Some have fears that they might lose their jobs, and with them a sense of identity and value in life. Others fear for their children in a time of hopelessness. And still others do not know how they will cope with debt or negative equity. Hardly surprising that, as the paper said the other day, there are no big celebrations in Belfast to welcome 2011!
One of the most common phrases in the Bible is 'Fear not'. It is said that the Bible contains that phrase 365 times. One for each day of a new year! Sometimes we might want to respond: ‘That’s all very well to say, but if you knew my circumstances.....’. The truth is, God does know each of our lives better than we know them ourselves.
My prayer for all of us entering this new year is that we may hold on to the One who is able to provide an anchor in the storm, and that many of us may find our true roots again in the faith of Christ, and re-establish important spiritual values in our lives. What about welcoming Jesus Christ, who stands at the gate of the year with us, to walk with us through 2011 day by day in all the complexity and confusion of our lives, so that we can start each day with ‘Fear not’. Christ longs to do that. Our only hope in times of fear is to find a place of security. That place is God. Have a truly happy new year.