Verse 1 of O God Our Help in Ages Past

Our God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home.

Isaac Watts, the author of the famous Christmas carol “Silent Night”, wrote another hymn entitled “O God, our Help in Ages Past”. It’s a song based on a variety of Scripture verses and a song especially applicable as we head into a new year, 2025.

What was 2024 like for you? A year of challenges or character building? A year of success and stability? A year of ups and downs, joys and sorrows? What are you looking forward to in 2025? What are you hoping for this upcoming year?

Maybe you’re someone who thinks about that and tries to make big changes into a new year. New year, new you! Maybe you’re on the opposite end and flipping the calendar to a new year means about as much as waking up in the morning. It’s just another day.

However you view the upcoming year and the year that has just concluded, the writer Isaac Watts reminds us who has been, is, and will be with us throughout our every day, week, month, year, and into eternity.

God has been your helper through those difficult challenging times. When all you could do was just take one step at a time to move ahead, God was your help. When everything fell apart, God protected you, picked up the pieces, and made you stronger through all of it. When you looked to the future, you were filled with hope because you knew your God was not just with you in the past and present, but he was already in your future. He would make a way. He would guide and direct. He is pulling you through it all to your eternal home in heaven. And he’s not just doing that for you, he’s doing that for all who trust in him.

The upcoming year will be a good one, not because we know what will happen, but we know who is in that year and who will be with us throughout it: Our Savior God.