29th December – Morning all… There’s something about the final days of the year that slows us down. Presents are cleared away, calendars are almost empty, and we find ourselves replaying moments, some joyful, some painful, some we wish had turned out differently. Reflection is natural at this time of year. But the danger is not in looking back, but in pitching a tent there. The apostle Paul understood reflection, but he refused to be trapped by it. He writes: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13–14) Paul doesn’t deny the past; he simply refuses to let it define his direction. Some of us end 2025 proud of what God has done. However, there are those who limp towards the finish line, bruised by disappointment, grief, or unanswered prayer. Today’s invitation is the same for all of us: release the weight of yesterday into God’s hands. As this year closes, thank God for what He has taught you. Repent where you need to. Grieve honestly if you must. But do not stay there. God is not finished with you yet. The same grace that carried you through 2025 I know will lead you into 2026.
30th December – Morning all…As the year ends, we often measure it by highlights, breakthroughs, celebrations, and answered prayers. But much of real life happens in quieter places: long nights, ordinary routines, and seasons where nothing seems to change. It’s often only in hindsight that we realise God was present all along. The prophet Jeremiah wrote these words of hope in the middle of devastation: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23). Jeremiah didn’t write this from a place of comfort. He wrote it from the ruins. And yet he declares that God’s faithfulness is not seasonal, it’s constant. So, know this today, even in the hardest moments of 2025, God didn’t abandon you. When you felt tired, He sustained you. When you felt unsure, He steadied you. You’re still here, and that’s grace.
31st December – Morning all… There’s something quietly powerful about standing on a threshold, that in-between moment where you haven’t fully left what was, but you haven’t yet stepped into what will be. We experience thresholds all through life, but New Year’s Eve brings one we all recognise. One year gently closes its door, another waits just ahead, and we find ourselves pausing in the space between memory and mystery. It’s in that space; thoughts tend to surface. We remember what the year held, the moments that shaped us, the prayers that were answered, and the ones that still ache. We also begin to imagine what lies ahead. Some hopes feel fragile. Some fears feel uncomfortably close. And even when we smile and celebrate, there’s often a quiet awareness that the future is unknown. It’s into moments like this that the psalmist speaks reassurance: “The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore” (Psalm 121:8). Notice the tenderness of that promise. God does not only watch over the destination, He watches over the movement. The leaving and the arriving. The ending and the beginning. The stepping out and the stepping in. Every transition is covered by His care. As midnight approaches, it’s easy to feel the weight of questions we can’t yet answer. What will this new year bring? Will things change? Will burdens ease? Will strength come when it’s needed? God does not silence those questions with certainty. Instead, He meets them with presence. He doesn’t say, “I’ll explain everything.” He says, “I’ll be with you.” Trust, after all, isn’t about knowing the future, it’s about knowing who goes with you into it. Tonight, you do not cross into 2026 alone. God is watching over your coming and your going. He’s already present in the days you haven’t lived yet, already at work in the moments you can’t yet see. You step forward not into emptiness, but into the care of a faithful God. The One who carried you through the year behind you is the same One who waits ahead, and His faithfulness hasn’t changed.
Revd Mark Spiers