I have been spending time this evening putting the finishing touches to tomorrow's Family Service at Goodwood Evangelical Church. The theme on my heart has been "trust". When I was a young lad in Sunday School one of the mottoes that was emphasised was from Proverbs 3:5,6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding..." Of course trusting is easy if you are only talking about it. It becomes a different matter if your life is in danger, or you are faced with some overwhelming crisis.
It is also a different matter when there is no evidence of God when we are in the time of crisis, when God suddenly seems far away. A long time ago, while still a young minister, I passed through a several months where, for the first time, I had lost my sense of being in God's will for my life It had begun with a strong and sudden sense that the Lord was calling me to leave the Mission in which I was working and take up the pastorate of a specific church in Kent.
So compelling was this call that I drove to meet with the Pastor of the church to discuss it with him. Imagine my excitement when he fairly leaped for joy and told me I was an amazing answer to prayer, as he had just informed the church that he was retiring. That of course was unknown to me. He contacted the Church Secretary who also indicated his delight. The congregation was to be informed of our conversation as soon as possible. I was to let them know the next morning when I had given notice of my leaving the Mission.
On my return to the Mission HQ, where I was living at the time, I informed the Mission Director, as I wanted to be honest and open about what had happened. He hit the roof and pleaded with me to reconsider. I was sure of my guidance but for his sake I agreed to 'sleep on it' for 24 hours. He agreed that if I still felt as strongly after that he would agree to my departure. So it was that 24 hours later I went back to the Pastor of the church, only to hear that during this time their Superintendent Minister had submitted the name of a potential minister. As they hadn't heard from me that morning and the rules stated that they could only consider one candidate at a time, the door was now apparently closed.
Then I was informed that the previous day the Mission Director had pleaded with the church not to take me away from the Mission. The Pastor told me "I have never had a man weep like that on the phone". I wasn't sure who I was angry with. I was angry with the Mission Director for interfering. I was also angry with myself for allowing myself to defer what I felt so strongly God wanted me to do. So began my months of darkness. I had to preach and encourage people to put their trust in God. I had to encourage people to surrender their lives to God and obey his leading. But I felt a hypocrite and had lost all sense of direction for my life. During this time the ministry candidate was appointed to the pastorate. The door seemed closed and locked!
I think it was an old Strict Baptist preacher who unknowingly came to my aid by saying, "Some times we have to trust God when we cannot trace him". He had no idea of the prophetic nature of that remark, but in a moment I was delivered. I realised that God was greater than my greatest failures and that he was utterly trustworthy. I decided to trust the one I could not trace, and re-surrendered my life and my way into his hands. Looking back I wonder, was it all just a test of my ability to trust when all evidence of God's sovereign guidance were absent? Frankly, I no longer need to know. The path from that point to know has been marked with incredible blessing.
Are you passing through uncertain times? Are you facing difficulties or passing through trials? Does God seem strangely distant? In tough times as well as in good may God grant us the grace to trust him.
Praise for past blessings
Following all the blessing of our 350th anniversary celebrations at Yelvertoft last weekend, it seemed strangely quiet at first. But towards the middle of the week things got busy. On Tuesday I took a school assembly at Yelvertoft and had such a good time with the children there. They seem to treat me like a big brother! Then in the afternoon we had our final rehearsal for the prison choir concert that took place early evening on Wednesday. The whole thing was a great success with the programme opening with a medley of songs about prayer followed by a drama about prayer. The audience sang along with our sea shanties, and we had to give an encore performance!
Before the concert I had travelled to Stoneleigh, Warwickshire to chair the Churches Rural Group Meeting. This brings together representatives from national Churches and some organisations. We did useful business and had an interesting presentation about Foodbanks from the Trussell Trust. I recommend you visit www.trusselltrust.org to find out more.
On Thursday I was back in Yelvertoft to host a visit from around 30 children from school who came to hear the story of the brave men and women who, at great personal cost, had followed their conscience and sought to establish a church that was led by scripture and the Holy Spirit. They were dangerous times but they were laying foundations for amazing things that were to follow.
Prayer requests
If you read this in time please pray for the Family Service at Goodwood Evangelical Church (starts at 11.15) this Sunday. But it's never too late to pray that God's word will bring forth all he intends.
On Thursday our Bible Discussion Group meets to continue our studies in 1 Corinthians.
On Saturday I am attending the Agricultural Christian Fellowship Conference and will take a small part.
On Sunday 4th we have our Harvest Thanksgiving at Yelvertoft when we hope to gather a harvest of tins and packeted food for the Rugby Foodbank. Please pray that we will have many visitors and that hearts and minds will be touched by the Lord.
We continue to need your prayers that the Lord will meet our financial needs. We are thankful for those who gave donations after the letter we sent out two week's ago. We are also thankful for those who have promised some regular support to keep our ministry going. Having run at a loss for the past three years we are in a difficult place. No doubt we need to trust!
In a similar way, my fellow trustees of Action for Christ and I have sent a letter to all on our database explaining the difficulties AfC has been led into by recent past leadership. Please pray for wisdom for the three AfC trustees (Elizabeth, Terry and me). We need to discern whether the Lord still has a purpose for the organisation, and if so what this is.
Please continue prayers as I prepare for a consultation in Cornwall, my visit to church leaders in Ireland, and a talk at a Soldiers' and Airmen's Scripture Readers event.
A Thought!
When we pray do we take time to be still and listen, or do we just pour our requests into God's ear? Sometimes we might hear an answer if we aren't rushing away. Why not try being still before each item for praise and prayer above? How does God want us to pray about these things? Then after we have prayed did we sense God speaking? It might help to pace out the praise and prayer items over several days, or even the whole week.
Barry
It is also a different matter when there is no evidence of God when we are in the time of crisis, when God suddenly seems far away. A long time ago, while still a young minister, I passed through a several months where, for the first time, I had lost my sense of being in God's will for my life It had begun with a strong and sudden sense that the Lord was calling me to leave the Mission in which I was working and take up the pastorate of a specific church in Kent.
So compelling was this call that I drove to meet with the Pastor of the church to discuss it with him. Imagine my excitement when he fairly leaped for joy and told me I was an amazing answer to prayer, as he had just informed the church that he was retiring. That of course was unknown to me. He contacted the Church Secretary who also indicated his delight. The congregation was to be informed of our conversation as soon as possible. I was to let them know the next morning when I had given notice of my leaving the Mission.
On my return to the Mission HQ, where I was living at the time, I informed the Mission Director, as I wanted to be honest and open about what had happened. He hit the roof and pleaded with me to reconsider. I was sure of my guidance but for his sake I agreed to 'sleep on it' for 24 hours. He agreed that if I still felt as strongly after that he would agree to my departure. So it was that 24 hours later I went back to the Pastor of the church, only to hear that during this time their Superintendent Minister had submitted the name of a potential minister. As they hadn't heard from me that morning and the rules stated that they could only consider one candidate at a time, the door was now apparently closed.
Then I was informed that the previous day the Mission Director had pleaded with the church not to take me away from the Mission. The Pastor told me "I have never had a man weep like that on the phone". I wasn't sure who I was angry with. I was angry with the Mission Director for interfering. I was also angry with myself for allowing myself to defer what I felt so strongly God wanted me to do. So began my months of darkness. I had to preach and encourage people to put their trust in God. I had to encourage people to surrender their lives to God and obey his leading. But I felt a hypocrite and had lost all sense of direction for my life. During this time the ministry candidate was appointed to the pastorate. The door seemed closed and locked!
I think it was an old Strict Baptist preacher who unknowingly came to my aid by saying, "Some times we have to trust God when we cannot trace him". He had no idea of the prophetic nature of that remark, but in a moment I was delivered. I realised that God was greater than my greatest failures and that he was utterly trustworthy. I decided to trust the one I could not trace, and re-surrendered my life and my way into his hands. Looking back I wonder, was it all just a test of my ability to trust when all evidence of God's sovereign guidance were absent? Frankly, I no longer need to know. The path from that point to know has been marked with incredible blessing.
Are you passing through uncertain times? Are you facing difficulties or passing through trials? Does God seem strangely distant? In tough times as well as in good may God grant us the grace to trust him.
Praise for past blessings
Following all the blessing of our 350th anniversary celebrations at Yelvertoft last weekend, it seemed strangely quiet at first. But towards the middle of the week things got busy. On Tuesday I took a school assembly at Yelvertoft and had such a good time with the children there. They seem to treat me like a big brother! Then in the afternoon we had our final rehearsal for the prison choir concert that took place early evening on Wednesday. The whole thing was a great success with the programme opening with a medley of songs about prayer followed by a drama about prayer. The audience sang along with our sea shanties, and we had to give an encore performance!
Before the concert I had travelled to Stoneleigh, Warwickshire to chair the Churches Rural Group Meeting. This brings together representatives from national Churches and some organisations. We did useful business and had an interesting presentation about Foodbanks from the Trussell Trust. I recommend you visit www.trusselltrust.org to find out more.
On Thursday I was back in Yelvertoft to host a visit from around 30 children from school who came to hear the story of the brave men and women who, at great personal cost, had followed their conscience and sought to establish a church that was led by scripture and the Holy Spirit. They were dangerous times but they were laying foundations for amazing things that were to follow.
Prayer requests
If you read this in time please pray for the Family Service at Goodwood Evangelical Church (starts at 11.15) this Sunday. But it's never too late to pray that God's word will bring forth all he intends.
On Thursday our Bible Discussion Group meets to continue our studies in 1 Corinthians.
On Saturday I am attending the Agricultural Christian Fellowship Conference and will take a small part.
On Sunday 4th we have our Harvest Thanksgiving at Yelvertoft when we hope to gather a harvest of tins and packeted food for the Rugby Foodbank. Please pray that we will have many visitors and that hearts and minds will be touched by the Lord.
We continue to need your prayers that the Lord will meet our financial needs. We are thankful for those who gave donations after the letter we sent out two week's ago. We are also thankful for those who have promised some regular support to keep our ministry going. Having run at a loss for the past three years we are in a difficult place. No doubt we need to trust!
In a similar way, my fellow trustees of Action for Christ and I have sent a letter to all on our database explaining the difficulties AfC has been led into by recent past leadership. Please pray for wisdom for the three AfC trustees (Elizabeth, Terry and me). We need to discern whether the Lord still has a purpose for the organisation, and if so what this is.
Please continue prayers as I prepare for a consultation in Cornwall, my visit to church leaders in Ireland, and a talk at a Soldiers' and Airmen's Scripture Readers event.
A Thought!
When we pray do we take time to be still and listen, or do we just pour our requests into God's ear? Sometimes we might hear an answer if we aren't rushing away. Why not try being still before each item for praise and prayer above? How does God want us to pray about these things? Then after we have prayed did we sense God speaking? It might help to pace out the praise and prayer items over several days, or even the whole week.
Barry
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