WELL I don’t know about you, but over the past week it feels to me like the weather has finally turned and autumn is here in force. Jumpers and blankets have emerged from hiding, the big coat has been dug out and washed, and in a thousand homes disagreements over whether to put the heating on or just don an extra layer have reared their heads once more. Soon, if they haven’t already, thoughts will turn to Halloween, Bonfire Night, and (dare I say it) Christmas. In a world that often feels very uncertain, there is a measure of comfort in the old familiar routines that mark the changing seasons.

For many, however, this winter will be more uncertain than most. The war in Ukraine and its new threats of nuclear escalation, the cost of food, the cost of energy and now the cost of mortgages mean that many of us are worrying more than we are used to these days.

Uncertainties like this naturally worry us and so we look for comfort in certainty, and no certainty is greater than God. God is the same, the Bible says, yesterday, today and forever, and through all the changing scenes of life (as the hymn goes) we can turn to him. Seasons change, the world turns, but God remains, eternal.

God isn’t just a comforting reference point in the midst of change though; he is our hope for a better future. The charity Christian Aid has as a motto, “We believe in life before death”, and it is a motto that we should all live by. A society that reflects God’s values of loving not just our friends, but our enemies too, putting first those who have the least, and speaking out against injustice wherever it is found is a society that gives a better life for everyone.

My prayer for you, reader, is that in the uncertainty of this autumn you would find hope in the certainty of God, and that by showing his values to those around you they can find hope in turn. May God bless you to be a light to those who need it as the nights again draw in.