The Eight O’Clock
News November 2019 8 am Service, Christ Church Kenilworth 021-797-6332
Staying in the Way I have recently had occasion to revisit an article I wrote in
2013 and which bore the title, Thy darkness will be as the Noonday (Isaiah 58:10b KJV). I was actually writing about a recent time of being emotionally low, although I believe I borrowed the title from someone I knew; and who had lost her husband to an attack on their small holding somewhere in the Eastern Cape. There are many darknesses… That said, I think at the outset, courage can be taken from the knowledge that if we are facing some form of darkness in our lives and we see it through to its end, there are two positive outcomes. Firstly, it will pass, and secondly and more importantly, great growth can occur. I remember in my short autobiography (Enthralled 2011), part of which was about my recovery from the ravages of the car accident of 1999, I wrote about how utterly dependent on God I was when anyone moved me from point A to point B. I would cry out loud for GOD to literally carry me and take the pain on Himself and He did. Calling out to God was an early expression of ‘Staying in the Way’. Maybe you are struggling with THE loss of a beloved one; the wellbeing of those you love; anxiety; depression; unemployment; financial stress; or the need to downsize as age creeps up. Whatever darkness it is, the same principle applies—even if you think that in this God really can’t help me—the need is to ‘stay in the Way’: I being in the Way, the LORD led me—Genesis 24:27 KJV (own emphasis). But HOW to stay in The Way? Some thoughts: * At such points of pain, when we can feel as if we are wading through syrup in terms of just doing basic chores, why not ask God to give you some short word to hold onto for the day? In my experience, He has honoured this in some amazing ways. Some examples may illustrate this truth: On one occasion I woke up thinking about a bird in a protective hand and when I asked God to confirm this, my daily reading commentary on something else, led me to Matthew 10:29: What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your father knowing it. I hadn’t even been reading in Matthew on that day! Another example from the Psalms can be helpful on difficult days. It comes from Psalm 36 and most specifically as it is written in the November 2019 Eight O’Clock News
Contemporary English Version (CEV). The psalmist writes about God: Your love is a treasure (verse 7). Short and punchy, these few words are a quick hook on which we hang negative thoughts for the day—the psalms are full of similar examples of short and definite statements. * Another suggestion about how to stay in the Way: in whatever situations of weakness we may find ourselves, and sometimes this could be when we need to take a leadership position, we can ask God to ‘use us for His sake anyway;’ and remarkably He does! Perhaps not so ‘remarkably’ for we read in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 12:9): My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness (NIV). On such occasions when His grace is the overriding factor, it is as if three kinds of visibility obtain—on the one hand i) we become completely invisible while ii) God becomes visible; and we can also be pretty certain that iii) our own struggles are invisible. Our weaknesses can be made perfect in God’s strength. * Daily reading is of vital importance in terms of ‘staying in the Way’; and—part of this is to read what others say about the reading. Again, I have found that the Psalms are the most helpful; i) Alec Motyer’s commentary on the Psalms of Ascent is masterful. In reading the ‘journey’ psalms, Ps 120-134, I have experienced a sense of positive ‘fullness’ each time I read what he wrote; ii) Nicky Gumbel’s daily commentary on The Bible in One Year is enjoyed by millions—he is so in touch with everyday life; iii) It is no secret that I am a great fan of Eugene Peterson and this is such a helpful poem for anyone in a dark tunnel. He writes the poem about this beatitude: Blessed are those who mourn *** Flash floods of tears, torrents of them, Erode cruel canyons, exposing Long forgotten strata of life Laid down in the peaceful decades: A Badlands beauty. The same sun That decorates each day with colours From arroyos and mesas, also shows Every old scar and cut of lament. Weeping washes the wounds clean And leaves them to heal, which always Takes an age or two. No pain Is ugly in past tense. Under the Mercy every hurt is a fossil Link in the great chain of becoming. Pick and shovel prayers often Turn them up in valleys of death. [> p2]