The psalmist confidently says, ‘I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.’ (Ps 146:2) This may seem a bold thing to say, for life is not always easy, yet it reminds us that praise is a choice of the will, not a whim or feeling.

Making vows to God is a serious thing (see Eccl 5:4-6, Matt 5:33-37), and Jephthah reminds us of the dangers of making rash vows (Judges 11:29-40). Nonetheless, praise has to be a determined choice of the will, and Hannah shows us that it is possible to make vows and keep them. (1 Sam 1-2). The psalmist reminds himself of many reasons to praise God (Ps 146:6-9) and we too should not be afraid to ‘count our blessings… name them one by one’ so that we can make good on this promise to praise God throughout the whole of our lives.  Ps 76:11 reminds us to ‘make vows to the Lord and fulfil them’ and Paul gives us an example of this in Acts 18:18 when we read that he had his hair cut off at Cenchrae because of a vow he had taken. What matters is that we learn to do the things we promise and that praise should become our determined habit and our response of choice.

We are all living in God’s story (some have commented that history is actually ‘His-story’) and have a crafted part to play in that story (see Psalm 139, Jer 29:11). At the same time, we are not the centre of the story, for only God deserves that place. So often, we forget this, and either imagine ourselves to be more important than we are or despair because we feel inconsequential and unimportant.

Psalm 146 rightly roots us in praise to God (Ps 146:1-2) and reminds us of the futility of trusting in mortal help (Ps 146:3-4). Human beings – no matter how rich and powerful they may seem – have a limited lifespan and their help is temporal. God’s help, however, is eternal and powerful. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them (Ps 146:5-6); He is the One who reigns forever. (Ps 146:10)

We may not know where we are in God’s story (in terms of our own lifespans or in terms of the stage of the story from God’s point of view), but we are called to trust and to praise at all times. The God of Jacob – that schemer whose encounter with God left him with a permanent limp and a new name, Israel – is our God too ‘for all generations’. (Ps 146:10) That relationship becomes the anchor for us as we live out our role in God’s story.

At our Light Party next week (Wednesday 31st October, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m .) we are looking at how God’s light in us influences our lives and shapes our living… and at people who have really influenced us and been heroes to us.

One of my spiritual heroes died this week. Eugene Peterson, pastor, writer and translator of the ‘Message’ version of the Bible, died on Monday, aged 85. His writings have helped me not only to understand many key points of theology, uncovered hermeneutical delights and guided me into a deeper understanding of the pastoral vocation, but have also delighted me through his use of language. Our shared love of language and his insights into the different kinds of language available and how God actually speaks to us through words meant a great deal to me: ‘The Christian conviction is that God speaks reality into being – creation into shape, salvation into action,’ he wrote in ‘Working the Angles’ (P89), and this idea of God speaking today is hugely important to me. His reminder that language is ultimately about relationships and not simply about information is  also one I wholeheartedly believe: ‘The primary practice of language is not in giving out information but in relationship. If we read Scriptures impersonally with an information-gathering mind, we misread them.’  (Ibid., P 95) God’s Word is given to to bring us into relationship with Him and is living and powerful. (2 Tim 3:16-17, Heb 4:12)

Another area where Peterson was my hero is his insistence that there should be congruence in how we live, so that our beliefs and our lives match up and there is no dissonance in our lives whereby we try to be one thing when actually we are another. This is obvious when we read Scripture, but his development of the idea (ironically from Nietzsche’s writings!) that there should be ‘a long obedience in the same direction’ has shaped my life profoundly.

Heroes influence us and shape us. A hero is not always aware of that influence, though. I never met Eugene Peterson; he never knew of my existence. Yet his works and words reached into my life and shaped and touched me. Our lives can be like that for others, as we live out the faith God has given us and follow His leading. Let us know your heroes… and let us celebrate spiritual heroes at our ‘heroes’ labyrinth’ next week.

The following post from Liz has useful advice on dealing with depression:

“It’s just like riding a bike”. That’s what people say about things that are meant to be easy to pick up and totally achievable for the average person. For me, riding a bike is hard and a constant struggle against my poor co-ordination and balance. That’s why I like this saying as a metaphor for living with depression, because it’s a bit like a cycle and really tough to manage well without falling off and getting hurt. The similarity, however, is that when we do fall off we have to pull ourselves off the ground, brush off the dirt and attend to our injuries, and keep on riding.

How do we do this though, when we are figuratively lying in a crumpled heap on the roadside while others rush past us, too busy with their daily lives to pick us up and make sure we’re OK? Well, one way is to establish a support network, or even a single person to keep us upright and moving forward. Sometimes we just need a guiding hand and the encouragement to get back on the bike, and someone to stick around and make sure we don’t fall straight back off again – basically performing the same function as stabilisers.

When we have things in balance, and we’re cruising along with (relative) ease it’s easy to ignore the fact that our bike has a slightly dodgy wheel, or worn out brakes that will cause us to fall again, but unless we take steps to fix those broken bits, or at least find a decent repair place/therapist we’ll find ourselves in that same, familiar crumpled heap on the pavement. This is the best time to put things in place to ensure that if/when we stumble and fall again we’ll be picked up and helped back in the saddle.

Your repair place or stabilisers might take the form of a relative, a friend, your GP or mental health services. Knowing those facilities are there for you can make it easier to ask for help when you’re dealing with a figurative scraped knee or twisted ankle. We can also do some preventative maintenance on our bikes to make sure everything is working properly. If we’re aware of the signs that our chain is about to come loose, or that our gears are about to lock up then we can take action before things get too bad and we’re thrown off again.

We all have our own triggers and signs that things might be about to take a turn for the worst so we can use this knowledge to build an operational checklist. If we engage in preventative self maintenance when we see the signs that things are going south then we can go to the repair shop, or fit our stabilisers back on before we’re chucked off the cycle of depression. It’s much easier to recover from this place than from that metaphorical gutter.

In the Bible readings I read daily, Nicky Gumbel has written about 25 ways to be useful to God. His advice is worth repeating.

1. Love your enemies (Prov 25:21-22) – and thereby reflect God’s character.
2. Watch your speech (2 Tim 2:16) Our words can either build up or tear down.
3. Avoid quarrelling (Prov 25:24, 2 Tim 2:14,23-24)
4. Bring good news (Prov 25:25) – be positive!
5. Stand for what is right (Eph 6:14)
6. Do not seek your own honour, but God’s. Look to the interests of others. (Phil 2:3-4)
7. Be self-controlled and stop trying to control others (Gal 5:22-23)
8. Don’t be over-concerned with what others say
9. Pass on what God gives you (2 Tim 2:2)
10. Endure hardship (2 Tim 2:10,12) – there’s no avoiding it in life, but how you respond makes a huge difference
11. Avoid distractions (2 Tim 2:4)
12. Keep the rules (2 Tim 2:5)
13. Work hard (2 Tim 2:6)
14. Meditate on God’s words (2 Tim 2:7) – reflecting takes time!
15. Focus on Jesus Christ (2 Tim 2:8)
16. Correctly handle God’s word (2 Tim 2:15)
17. Turn away from evil (2 Tim 2:19, 22)
18. Be a peacemaker (2 Tim 2:22-23)
19. Be kind to everyone (2 Tim 2:24) – everyone is an all-inclusive word!
20. Learn to teach (2 Tim 2:24-25). We all teach in sme way – a worker teaches his colleauges through their example; a parent teaches children in word and deed.
21. Don’t be resentful (2 Tim 2:24) Resentment poisons relationships and turns us into sour, unwelcoming people.
22. Hear the word of the Lord – God is a shepherd who speaks to his sheep (John 10:3-4)
23. Allow God to speak through you. (Jer 50:1) It’s an amazing thought that God can speak through our words!
24. Walk closely with God. (Jer 50:4)
25. Find rest in God. (Jer 6:16, Jer 50:6)

Many of us don’t feel useful at all; we feel useless. But this practical advice shows how we can be like Onesimus, once a runaway slave who was useless to his master, but turned into a useful brother in Christ by God’s mercy. Being useful to God is not as hard as it may sound!

From ancient times, craftsmen have known how to tailor their material to fit the purpose., Some cloths are practical and durable, useful for work clothes which need to last. Other cloths, like silk, are expensive and beautiful, dyed to make garments that are eye-catching and visually attractive. Similarly, in a home, there are the pots and pan whihc feed families day-in, day-out (my parents’ copper-bottomed pan set, a wedding present 54 years ago, is still going strong), and there are also articles of silver and gold which are precious and treasured.

Paul says, ‘In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. ²¹ Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.’ (2 Tim 2:20-21)

Ultimately, every Christian should want to be the kind of container that God can use. John Stott writes, No higher honour could be imagined than to be an instrument in the hand of Jesus Christ, to be at his disposal for the furtherance of his purposes, to be available whenever wanted for his service.” This is our aim and goal: to be useful to God.