There’s nothing quite like coming home! For those who don’t know, I’m an Ashford boy and have lived here for most of my life, heading off now and then for adventures or to live elsewhere for a while. Over the past year, I have lived in Cambridge during the week to undertake my training towards ordination, heading back each weekend to my tribe – Emma my wife, six children, two cats and a dog! Being away for so long has been extremely hard on us all. Family, for us, is absolutely everything.
But as with all ‘seasons’, one ends, and a new one begins! Sometimes this can be very welcome – particularly if we’re going through a difficult phase. Perhaps we’re dealing with illness, experiencing grief, or suffering from mental health issues. Waiting, enduring, believing – sometimes those are our only options when every sky is grey and every taste bland. The Bible can provide great comfort in such times.
‘If it seems slow’ writes Habakkuk (2:3), ‘wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay’. God is good; He will heal, hold, and help you in good time if you allow Him. Sometimes we just have to literally stop and give it over to God. This is what it means to cast ALL your burdens, ALL your anxiety, ALL your pain, onto Jesus; why? Because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 55:22). Sometimes that can be the catalyst for one season to end a new one to begin …
I think it’s important to pay attention to that last bit in the Habakkuk verse: ‘…it will not delay’. That doesn’t mean your pain will end immediately – it means your answer is coming, it’s on its way. ‘If it seems slow, wait for it’. Holding onto pain can make a second feel like a lifetime. I counted every day when I was away. It seemed slow. But when that season came to end, life tasted sweet once again. And now here we are, settling into a new home, new schools, and a new role!
My prayer for you this week is that God holds you in whatever season you’re in – good or bad. And remember, whether the sun is shining, or the rain is pouring, Jesus is there with you, and for that, in every moment, let’s give thanks to our Father in Heaven, who in our need will surely come and will not delay. Go well and be blessed.
The Revd Dr Steven Horne
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