God calls us to live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7), something which inevitably involves risk (someone once said ‘Faith is spelled R-I-S-K’) and leaves us with stomachs churning and hearts beating faster than normal. Following God is exhilarating, exciting and challenging, but it is also, at times, like stepping out on water (knowing rationally that water will not support walking). It’s not for the faint-hearted, as these songs amply demonstrate: ‘Crazy Faith‘ (John Waller) and ‘Only The Brave’ (Tim Hughes.) Nonetheless, it’s the only way which pleases God: ‘without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.’ (Heb 11:6)

The farmer who sows seed believing that a harvest will come does so by faith. There is nothing in the kernel of grain to encourage us that enough wheat will come to feed families, yet as we wait patiently for the harvest, God works in ways that confound us. God’s ways will always leave us at least mildly perplexed, for His foolishness is wiser than our wisdom and His ways of working cannot be fathomed by reason and logic alone. Our part is to trust God, take Him at His word and step out in faith. The rest is up to God.

This morning we looked at Ps 126, a psalm which reminds us of God’s deliverance and the joy which He brings us. The psalm was probably written after the Jews returned to Israel after their exile to Babylon, a deliverance so mighty that it caused great rejoicing and almost dazed dreaming. Joy is the consequence of what God does: ‘The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy’ (Ps 126:3); it is not dependent on circumstances in the way that happiness is, but is rooted in God’s generous nature and in His acts on our behalf. Moreover, His deliverance is so great that even other people will acknowledge it: ‘Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”’ (Ps 126:2) 

Joy can exist even in difficult circumstances (as Paul demonstrates, writing the exuberantly joyful letter to the Philippians whilst in jail and reminding the Corinthians that even though he faced such adverse circumstances that at times he and the other apostles despaired even of life itself, ‘He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.’ (2 Cor 1:10-11)) The fact of God’s deliverance in the past (as demonstrated on virtually every page of the Bible, such as in the exodus from Egypt, the fall of Jericho, Gideon’s victory against the Midianites, the defeat of Goliath, the victory won by Jehoshaphat, to name just a few examples) encourages us to hope as we wait for Him in present difficulties: ‘just as joy builds on the past, it borrows from the future.’ ( Eugene Peterson, ‘The Journey’, P 85) The psalmist knows that sowing seed may be done in tears: it is back-breaking, difficult work which looks as though it is impossible to result in harvest. Nonetheless, despite the sorrow and pain which certain seasons of life bring, we can have hope that ‘joy will paint the morning sky.’ (Matt Redman, ‘It Is Well’) As we learn to face suffering and grief and disappointment, we find that God’s sufficiency is enough for us, even in the difficult times: ‘my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Cor 12:9)

Joy in the Christian life is all about perspective, not about circumstances. We can experience joy in suffering, for Christ shows us how: ‘For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ (Heb 12:2) We can experience joy in service (Phil 2:17-18) and in giving, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7). We can experience joy in believing, for we do not have to count on our own righteousness through obeying the law but receive Christ’s righteousness through faith. (Phil 3:9) The joy which Jesus promised His followers is permanent and does not pretend; it is His gift to us (John 17:13), a fruit of the Holy Spirit which helps to keep us going in all circumstances and at all times.

It has poured with rain today in Goldthorpe, and therefore painting the gates and railings has not been finished as planned. However, inside the church building, it feels like the ‘to do’ board, listing all the jobs remaining, is not diminishing much, no matter how hard we work!

Today, we have cleared the stage of all the decorating utensils and made room in one of the storage cupboards for everything:

The doors from the alcove have been re-hung and new signs put on one of them:

And in the meantime, tidying and cleaning continue. We are waiting for the new buffer machine to arrive to help clean the wooden floors and for display paper to arrive so that the new notice boards inside can be decorated. Other jobs include painting the alcove ceiling and finishing the outside painting as well as putting handles back on doors and fingerplates and kickplates on doors. These jobs may seem small compared to the amount of decorating tackled so far, but it’s surprising how long such things take!

A hymn I grew up with has the lyrics:

‘I have tried to count His blessings,
and I fail to understand
Why the Lord should so richly reward;
Could I count the stars of heaven,
add to them earth’s grains of sand,
Still His blessings are more, praise the Lord!

And the end is not yet, praise the Lord,
And the end is not yet, praise the Lord;
Blessings new He’s still bestowing,
And my cup is overflowing,
And the end is not yet, praise the Lord!’ (E. D. Elliott)

It feels like ‘the end is not yet‘ in terms of the work still to be done, and that’s not quite as good a thing as being unable to count God’s blessings! But we remain grateful for all the people who have willingly given up time, energy and money this summer to help with the practical work in the building and look forward to the day when all the work is completed (for now)!

The doors have been stained and railings painted:

Further work has been done on the corridor, with all the glossing now completed and the pictures back in place! In addition, the main doors have been stained and the railings painted.

Work continues on the corridor, with second coats of emulsion going on the walls and doors and radiators being glossed.

The alcove area leading to the stage and children’s room received its first coat of emulsion:

Meanwhile, in the community room, the notice boards were still being measured and put up (no mean feat, considering how no wall is straight!)

Outside, the notice board was also cleaned, along with the windows:

All in all, another busy day!