What is it that keeps you going?
Currently, we are bombarded with news and social media channels that constantly stoke the fires of anxiety and uncertainty. Pompous egos, excessive pride and limitless selfishness fuel the destructive conflicts and wars, the aggressors never being interested in the protection and empowering of people but about their insatiable greed to own as much as they can.
All this is underlined with a theme of divisiveness that breeds hatred and if we are not careful, we can be sucked into this vortex of misery and fear, that can easily overwhelm us if we let it. Those fears of poverty, societal breakdown and environmental destruction can fill us with hopelessness and confusion, a rabbit frozen in the headlights despair.
So, how can we continue our own walk of life with confidence and keep looking forward, instead of shuffling along and gazing at our feet? The answer my friend is not blowing in the wind but is in the word of God, to which, in this country, everyone has access. In the words of Colin, one of our parishioners:
“I try to make God my central driving force and motivation for my daily life. I always start the day with a bible reading and a prayer time (quiet time) and try to end with a prayer before going to sleep. I have enjoyed my life which I attribute to God being with me and guiding me along the way. As I look back over my life, I can definitely see the hand of God very clearly marking out my life’s pattern. I have seen Him turn something bad into something really good. I have seen many times when He has protected me from problems or harm. This has helped form my outlook on life and I finish my quiet time each day with the words of Psalm 121.”
As Paul instructed us in the Bible, “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and supplication (humbly asking) with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Colin, a grandfather of four adult grandchildren, has no doubt that God has been continually with him and supporting him through his ‘Walk of Life’, which he takes day by day. “I really don’t think too much about the future, but I want to walk with God beside me and to know Him in a deeper way.”
As Matthew explains to us, “Do not worry about tomorrow. For tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
History shows us that the world has always been turmoil. Wars, greed and hatred have always been present, in all echelons of society and yet your ancestors have pulled through. Just place one foot in front of the other, trusting in God and continue your own ‘Walk of Life.’
Mark Tanner