“Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause; you set me free when I am hard-pressed;have mercy on me and hear my prayer.” (Psalm 4)

It would be redundant for me to say ‘in these times ….’ We are all experiencing varying levels of pain,grief, anger and outrage. We are all talking with God about these things in our prayers.
We may, as I do, often have a sense of frustration that there is no obvious answer to these prayers.

C.S.Lewis once addressed this problem when he said : ‘as we look for answers to our prayers we may come to realise that God doesn’t give us an answer because God IS the answer.’

Upon reflection I find this a very helpful response because it takes the specific concerns of my heart and mind and places them within the context of God’s faithfulness, abiding love and compassion in all matters affecting my being, my life and my deepest feelings of pain and grief and fearfulness. My anger and outrage about injustice and inhumanity are given back to me to become action as the ‘voice, the hands and feet that God has in this world.’

Thinking through the ‘voice, hands and feet’ brings me into communion with others who share this deep understanding of God’s purpose – ‘your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.’

I feel blessed to be surrounded by people within our own church family who are passionate, articulate and filled with the Spirit and who use every means available to ‘speak out’ and ‘act out’ in God’s name and in His service.

I urge all of us to walk with these people and listen to them and wherever possible (perhaps with risk to ourselves) to act with them.

I believe that ‘in these times…’ God is giving us an opening and an occasion for his ‘will be done.’ What other way is there to face the hopelessness and helplessness that surrounds us – as people of faith and servants of the Lord of all time and eternity.

How does all this look ‘sub specie aeternitatis.’

Blessings and Peace,
JOHN