Hope For Today

Dear Friends, Many years ago I knew that God was directing me to train as a junior school teacher, and I was confident of his guiding hand in choosing the right college for me. I knew with certainty that this was what God wanted for me and I had no doubt that at the end of my training God would also lead me to the school he wanted me to teach in. However, at the end of the training there was no job for me, I worked voluntarily in a school and as a supply teacher but no full-time job as a teacher opened up.  I found this so strange as I had been convinced that this was God's call on my life.  What was the point of all that training if there was no work at the end of it?  Wasn't it just a waste of four years of my life?  Then when I became ill I never imagined that the illness would continue through most of my 20s and all of my 30s.  They were years when really I should have been in my prime, with plenty of health, strength and energy.  S...

Dear Friends I don't know anyone who really enjoys waiting, I know I don't!  Whether it's waiting in the queue at the supermarket, sitting in the waiting room to see the Doctor, waiting for test results, or waiting for your birthday or a family holiday. Waiting just seems such a waste of time, doesn't it? Time that we could spend doing something else, something more productive, and we fuss and fume over the wasted time that we will never get back. I've been thinking about last week's blog and it led to thoughts on how God often asks us to "wait" or says "not yet" to something we long for.  We can read of many instances in the bible when God tells a person to wait. It seems to me that God is asking that I wait for his timing, so how do I make the most of this waiting time so that it's not a wasted time? I think there are two kinds of waiting, passive waiting and active waiting.  Passive waiting means I sit around, twiddling my th...

Dear Friends, When God commanded Noah to build the ark, Noah obeyed, he did everything that God commanded him to do. Noah, his wife, his 3 sons and their wives along with the animals who entered the ark were kept safe and protected.   They were in the ark for nearly a whole year.   Can you imagine what it must have been like to have spent almost a year in the ark?   The noise and smell from the animals, not being free to wander outside and smell the fresh air.   The waiting and the patience needed to wait. I wonder if, after all those months, Noah experienced times of doubt.   Had God forgotten him?   Did God care about him at all?   Had he really heard from God in the first place?   Would he spend the rest of his life confined to the ark? I know for myself there are times when I wonder if God has forgotten about me.   Perhaps you’ve been there too - a situation where it feels that God has forgotten you, where he do...