Hope For Today

Dear Friends, From Lament to Praise Last week I wrote a post about ME Awareness. This week is Mental Health Awareness Week so I wanted to write a post which relates to this. Some of you will know I have spent several months in the book of Psalms, reading, meditating and praying them. They have been and continue to be such a blessing to me as I suffer from depression. I have found that the psalmists express so well my thoughts and feelings. Today I want to share with you one psalm in particular. It is Psalm 102 from The Passion Translation: "A prayer for those who are overwhelmed and for all the discouraged who come to pour out their hearts before the Lord." 1 Lord, listen to my prayer! Listen to my cry for help! 2 You can’t hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Stoop down to hear my prayer and answer me quickly, Lord! 3–4 For my days of happiness have gone up in smoke. My body is raging with fever, my heart is sick, and I’m ...

Dear Friends, ME Awareness Week Last week (6th - 12th May) was ME Awareness Week and I had planned to write a blog post about ME from a personal perspective. However, as we know, life doesn't always go according to plan and I wasn't able to blog last week. At first I felt frustrated at missing out on doing this, but then, I believe, God reasoned with me and so I came to see that there is no reason why I cannot share about it a week later. I believe that having Awareness Weeks for various physical and mental illnesses are incredibly important. As a society we need to be more aware of what others face, we need to understand better their struggles and learn how we can support them and show compassion for them in their difficulties. Whilst awareness weeks are good, let's not stop talking about these things when the week is over, but let's continue to talk and be open. It's not always easy to share because it means allowing ourselves to be vulnerable. But when ...

Dear Friends, I preached last Sunday in my home church on the faithful love of God found in Psalm 107  (NLT). I was encouraged as I read this psalm in my quiet time and knew it  was something I wanted to share with others and encourage them with too. (If you would like to listen to my sermon on which this blog post is based, please click  here  and then click on the date: Sunday 28th April 2019.) I found four examples of God's faithful love in this psalm. (Please take time to read the whole psalm before reading any further.) 1. In our Spiritual Desert, v4-9 Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless.  Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died.  “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress.  He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.  Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.  For he satisfies the thirsty and ...