It’s the first day of a new year, are you feeling fearful for the future? Here is how to lean on Jesus every day of 2024

There is a lot of pain and hardship in the world today, writes Catherine Campbell, but there is still a reason to have hope for the new year because Jesus has already gone ahead of us. 

Crossing from one year to another seems to bring with it a magical perception that when Big Ben strikes midnight things will be better. We leave the old behind and on the New Year’s blank slate one word is written that cheers our hearts: HOPE.

‌Last year was no different. Following a period of national mourning we had hoped that a coronation would lift the country’s spirits. Our personal hopes and dreams were not dissimilar. Fireworks exploding against the night sky hailed the exuberance with which we desired to greet each of the 365 days ahead. Yet here we stand at year’s end with the fading letters of HOPE barely recognisable on the slate of a year many would describe as disastrous.