Most of us don’t like distress, don’t like being in pain and would do virtually anything to avoid misery, suffering and anguish. We don’t even like talking about such things, preferring sermons which paint a radiant picture of love, joy and peace so that we do not even for a moment have to contemplate difficult subjects like God’s wrath, the connection between suffering and sin, and our personal responsibility for sin. This is either because we are relentlessly optimistic in our view of Christianity and believe that any mention of distress and anguish is somehow demeaning to the salvation Jesus procured for us or because we would rather pretend the nasty things in life don’t exist, as if by this collective agreement we can actually eradicate sin from the world by an exercise in mind control.

The penitential psalms are not afraid to talk about distress, however. Ps 38 talks about both physical and emotional distress (Ps 38:3, 6-8). Poetic imagery used in the Psalms talks of searing pain like being attacked by arrows (Ps 38:2, see also Deut 32:23, Job 6:4), burning bones (Ps 102:3), overwhelming sorrow (Ps 102:9, Ps 6:6) and deep guilt (Ps 32:5, Ps 38:18). Sin is faced up to, acknowledged and confessed (Ps 32:1-5, Ps 51:3-4, Ps 38:18); David accepts responsibility for having sinned against God and acknowledges God’s view of sin as correct (Ps 51:4). God’s mercy, kindness, love and compassion are fully known, but at the same time, the justice of God’s anger and wisdom of His judgment are also acknowledged. (Ps 51:1-4, Ps 102:13)

Those who feel distress have that distress compounded by a lack of understanding and compassion from others; our sorrow is heightened by a sense of isolation and alienation. David too knew all about that (Ps 38:11-12), feeling like a bird alone on a roof (Ps 102:7), aware that others were slandering him (Ps 38:18-19) and that silence was perhaps his only defence. (Ps 38:13-14) Position and reputation, wealth and fame are no guardians against distress.

Holy distress is not all bad news, however. Paul says that ‘godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.’ (2 Cor 7:10) Certainly, as we read the penitential psalms, we find our own groanings, longings, sighings and distress articulated before us, but we also find joy and thanksgiving welling up as the psalmist receives forgiveness and an assurance of God’s presence and help. The Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in His glory (Ps 102:16); His name will be declared in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem; a generation yet to come will sing His praises! (Ps 102:18, 21-22) Repentance that leads to salvation is no bad thing; we are truly blessed when we experience the depth of God’s love for us and the joy of restored relationships. (Ps 51:12) If you’re in a place of distress right now, let that distress drive you towards God, for only He can satisfy our souls.

Humans have a remarkable tendency to cope, to adapt to difficulties, to show resourcefulness when things don’t go according to plan and to work out different ways of reaching a preferred goal. This is undoubtedly a useful trait, but it can sometimes lead to a ‘survival’ mentality, which is not at all the same as flourishing or thriving.

In learning to adapt to the present situation, we sometimes lower our expectations of anything ever changing in order to be able to continue to live with the present trial. Chronic, long-term pain may force us to limp… and we forget what it is like to walk tall, free from pain. Failed relationships leave us wary to trust again, so we put up walls to prevent us from being hurt again. We become battered down by life, and the result is a loss of hope, even if we are outwardly coping adequately.

Hope is a fuel which enables us to bear the present in the certainty that this is not forever. It is patient, powerful and enriching, especially when we learn to hope in God. The God of hope is able to fill us with joy and peace so that we can overflow with hope (Rom 15:13), maintaining the perspective that there is room for change ahead of us because of who God is. Paul reminds us that we don’t hope for what we already have. (Rom 8:18) Instead, hoping in God means waiting patiently for His right time. That may well be a lot longer ahead than we would like, but a hope in God enables us to thrive, even in adversity, because we are learning to live by faith and not by sight. (2 Cor 5:7)

For those who are waiting right now, keep hoping. Don’t just cope – hope in God!

Someone didn’t look too happy about birthday celebrations this weekend!.. or maybe it was just the appearance on the birthday box!

The latest instalment of our ‘A-Z of Christian Faith’ focussed on the letter N: N is for New. God is a God of new things (Is 43:19, Rev 21:5) and we considered some of these new things tonight.

New Birth & New Life

God, ‘in his great mercy…has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.’ (1 Pet 1:3) ‘If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Cor 5:17) Paul describes this new life as being radically different to how we used to live (Eph 4:22-24), because God has given us a new nature, a new self. (Col 3:6-10) Our part is to count ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ (Rom 6:11-14), allowing ourselves to participate in the divine nature and therefore allowing new life to grow within us as naturally as new life gives way to growth in babies!

New Covenant

This new life is possible because of the new covenant God has made. The sacrifices of the Old Testament point to the once-for-all sacrifice made by Jesus; both Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesied about the new covenant God would make. (Jer 31:31, Ezek 11:19)The Tabernacle, the priestly sacrifices for sin and all that we read about in the Old Testament were simply pointing the way to ‘Christ… the mediator of a new covenant’ (Heb 9:15) whose blood speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (Heb 12:24) As a result of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, our sins have been forgiven; our lawless acts are remembered no more and therefore ‘we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,  by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body.’ (Heb 10:19-20) Every week when we take Communion and we remember the new covenant instituted at Calvary, we celebrate this new and better way; we celebrate the fact that God’s arms are wide open and we can come boldly before the very throne of God.

New Creativity

The God of creation continues to create and plants creativity within all of us, giving us a new song to sing (Ps 98:1, Ps 144:9, Rev 5:9, Rev 14:3) and letting us pour new wine into new wineskins (Mark 2:22) We have to be willing to embrace new things and not remain rooted in the past.

New Thinking

We are to be ‘made new in the attitude of our minds’ (Eph 4:23-24), allowing God to transform and renew our thinking (Rom 12:2). Transformation in our behaviour comes as our attitudes are changed and we allow God’s love to motivate us. God wants us to be continually renewed and to filter our thinking, our actions, our being and doing through love. In photography, colour filters can be used to change how a picture looks: the use of a yellow filter results in a slight boost to contrast, and is particularly effective in portraiture as it covers up blemishes whereas orange filters offer a medium contrast, and so are suited for capturing landscapes where clouds or other brighter details needs a little enhancement against darker details, while red filters provide the strongest effects and so are often used for dramatic landscapes or even for architecture.

The filter we need to have on our thinking is God’s love. ‘What would Jesus do? How does God see this person? What does God say about this situation?’ These are the questions we need to be applying to our thinking and actions so that we truly are acting in love rather than reacting in anger, fear or panic.

New Name

Ultimately, those who are victorious in God will be given a new name. (Rev 2:17) That new name embodies all that God is doing in making us new creations; as Rend Collective sing, ‘Create in me a work of art… ‘cause You’re not finished with me yet.’ (‘Create In Me’, Rend Collective) We may not be able to see that finished product yet, but when we are face to face with God, He will give us a new name, a name that combines His divine pleasure in us as well as capturing the whole essence not only of who we are but who we were created to be.

New Heavens & A New Earth

God is also busy preparing new heavens and a new earth, prophesied about in Isaiah 65:17 and seen in Rev 21:1-2. We live in a sin-stained world and long for what God is preparingfor us. C. S. Lewis captures something of the joy which will be ours one day in his final Narnia book, ‘The Last Battle’: “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now…Come further up, come further in!” There is so much to look forward to in God!

Garry spoke this morning at Cherry Tree Court about the need for good directions when walking. He enjoys ambling (not quite as dedicated as rambling or hiking!), but sometimes gets into bother if not following a map which can point out streams, hills and other features which must be factored in to any walk. In life (which can be compared to a walk or journey), there are many different terrains and it is easy simply to wander without aim. We can go along with the crowd, assuming they know the way, but just because someone is ahead of us doesn’t mean they know where they are going either!

Jesus warned of the dangers of following the crowd in Matt 7:13. We need wisdom on life’s journeys, wisdom from God which helps us find the right paths (see Prov 2:6-8). God has the ‘overview’ (rather better even than Google maps!) which can guide us through all life’s peaks and troughs. He gives guidance daily which will make our paths straight (see Prov 3:5-8) and help us make the right choices at the crossroads in life, but it is so easy to begin with God and then carry on with our own strategies. God’s ways are not our ways, and we must resist living life on automatic pilot, assuming our ways will help us to reach God’s destination. Instead, we guard against wrong turns and bad directions by listening to God (Prov 2:12-15). Life is like a maze of detours and dead ends, but when we follow God, He promises to be with us always, even in the dark times.

Where are we boldly going to go in life? Will we follow others, our own instinct or God? Only by following God’s guidance and God’s ways can we hope to reach our God-given destinations.

It’s encouraging to know that there are many opportunities to pray together with other Christians. On Friday 19th May from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., there will be the opportunity and space to pray at Furlong Road Methodist Church (Bolton-on-Dearne). Come along whenever it’s convenient to reflect, meditate and pray.

The next ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting will be on Tuesday 20th June (not May, as originally stated!) at 10.30 a.m. at GPCC. We hope to meet on a monthly basis, alternating between morning meetings and evening ones so that everyone has the opportunity to come along at some point to pray. Other ‘Churches Together’ meetings will be during the Pentecost weekend, with a ‘Pentecost Party’ at the Salvation Army on Saturday 3rd June at 4 p.m. and a special family service at GPCC on Sunday 4th June at 6 p.m.

There are a number of events to help our local community on this week. On Thursday 18th May from 10 a.m. until 12 noon, there will be a community clean-up on the railway embankment near Straight Lane and on Saturday 20th May, there will be a jumble sale at the Salvation Army from 9.30 a.m. until 12 noon to raise funds for the food bank. These are all practical ways of showing our commitment to the local community.

And speaking of cleaning… we will be having a cleaning and maintenance day at church on Saturday 10th June from 10 a.m. Come along to help with some cleaning, tidying and general maintenance jobs to keep the building spick and span!

We will also be having the church Annual General Meeting on Saturday 24th June at 6 p.m., so please book that date in your diaries and come along as we look back over the past year and look ahead to all God has for us.