Hope For Today

If you would like to listen to today's devotion instead of reading it please click   here Dear Friends,  Don't Give Up! Have you ever been discouraged during your Christian life? Have you ever felt like giving up?  One of the areas I can become discouraged is to do with the calling I believe God has given me. I find it hard to keep going when I don't seem to be getting anywhere, when it doesn't feel as though I'm making any difference or impact for God. And I start to think that maybe I should just give up because I have little to show for it. Or I tell myself that I must have misheard God and this isn't what he's called me to. When it comes to my writing, I am writing for God and my desire is that it will be a blessing and a help to those who read it. Yet, there are times when I think that I'm doing little good with it; so perhaps I should stop and find something else to do instead. I compare myself to other writers (yes, I know I ...

Dear Friends,  PERSEVERANCE It has become my habit for the last few years to choose a word and/or Bible verse for the year. I first learned about one word for the year through email devotionals I received from America, but the practice is becoming more and more popular here in England too. When I say, I choose a word and verse, I don't mean that I randomly choose a word just because I like the sound of it and neither do I choose a word based on what someone has chosen. No, in the wind-down of a year and in the first few weeks of a new year I spend time with God, asking him to reveal to me what he would like me to focus on for the coming year. When I do this, both the word and the verse have far more meaning and relevance to my life and I know God has good reasons for drawing my attention to them. This year, the verse came before my word. I was in church one Sunday morning when the worship leader shared one particular verse. Immediately, God drew my attention to i...

Dear Friends, Some of you will know that for nearly a year now I have been receiving help from the London Migraine Clinic.  I had another appointment with them last Thursday and came out of it feeling very down and discouraged.  I was reduced to tears and my initial emotional response was that after all these months I was back to where I'd started, still having regular migraines and being told that once again I needed a two month break from painkillers, apart from using a particular medicine which helps as a preventative and some pain relief, while I continue with the preventative medicine I've been taking for the last two months.  I didn't feel like I wanted to carry on with my life like this, it was just too hard and had got too much for me. But I thank God that Jason was with me, he took me to a nearby café for a hot drink, a chat and a chance to sit down and collect my thoughts.  Jason was happy to support me whatever I decided and we...