God's Promise for the New Year

Iron Shoes and Strength for the Journey

Each new year marks the beginning of a new journey. What will the road be like? Will our way be rough or smooth? How will we fare? I don’t know what the future holds but I know who holds the future. When I was growing up our church always held a New Year’s Eve service. We would reflect back on the year completed and thank God for His faithful care. We were encouraged to claim a promise from God’s Word that would serve as an encouragement in the year that stretched before us. There was one verse that was a favorite of several of our older church members who were facing some difficult days. As I grow older this verse holds special meaning for me as well. It is a promise of God to His people that He will provide just what we need for the road ahead. Here’s what it says: “Your shoes shall be iron and brass; and as your days, so shall your strength be.” (Deuteronomy 33:25 NKJV)

This verse was a prophecy given by Moses to the tribe of Asher just before his death. God had given this tribe land on the seacoast north of modern-day Haifa extending into what is today southern Lebanon. Asher’s land was fruitful and mountainous. To a people living in hilly terrain God promises “iron shoes/sandals” for the roads they must travel and strength for each day.

We may have some rough roads to travel before this year is done. If the road ahead is rough, we need good footwear and strength for the journey. God provides just what we need for whatever the path may be.

As the poet Annie Johnson Flint expresses so well in her poem What God Has Promised

God has not promised
Skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways
All our lives thro’;
God has not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.

God has not promised
We shall not know
Toil and temptation,
Trouble and woe;
He has not told us
We shall not bear
Many a burden,
Many a care.

But God has promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the laborer,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love.

God promises to give us “shoes that will be of iron and brass” to enable us to walk when the road is difficult, steep, and hard to climb. He also promises “as your days so shall your strength be.”

Note that it is “days” not “day.” This means three things. First, God will give strength for each individual day in the year ahead. Second, God will give strength for every kind of day we may face. Some days are filled with joy, light, and happiness; others with sadness, tears, frustration, pain, and heartache. Whatever each day brings, there will be strength enough to meet it. Third, God will give strength to all our days until the end of our days. We will run out of days before we run out of God’s strength.

No matter what you may face in 2013 God’s promise is that of great provision. When you face hard days, He promises strength. Whether we face uncertainty, sickness, disappointment, the death of a loved one God promises to give us strength to face whatever comes with courage and hope. No matter what happens, God’s strength will always equal the days that are ahead.

What does this suggest for us at the start of a new year? It means that God’s strength will be there when we need it—and not before. We will never find a day when God’s strength is lacking. We will have strength as long as our days last. Therefore, we need not look anxiously ahead. Walk in faith trusting Jesus who loves you with an everlasting love. And you will find that the divine reservoir is more than enough to meet your needs.