Thought for the Day - Tuesday 3 November

Thought for the Day – Tuesday 3rd November ‘We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.’ (Romans 8: 28) It never ceases to amaze me how a little one can be so tired that they are yawning their head off but when you try to bed them down for a wee snooze they will do their utmost to stay awake! They resist and resist even though they must know that eventually their wee body will succumb to sleep! Who knows why they do that but there is no getting away from it, life can be a real enigma! Our lives can be like that too! One minute we feel as if everything is going smoothly, we are happy and joyful, feeling fulfilled, just getting on with things and the next we are feeling like we are on a bumpy road, perhaps with one tragedy following another, we may feel sorrowful, bewildered, left searching for answers, perhaps we may even be feeling hopeless, wondering where we should put our trust, resisting all that comes along even though we know it could be beneficial to us. This means our world can feel like it has turned upside down at times and then we find ourselves wondering how on earth we make sense of everything! Well, I think our faith can help – for often when we feel that life may be impossible to understand at any time, if we sit down and look back on a situation we can often discern that God’s hand has been at work within it. We can see it more readily as perhaps part of God’s greater plan and purpose for our lives – a plan which takes even the most terrible of moments and somehow weaves them into his purposes. A plan which no matter how much we resist, God will bring to fruition within us and his world. I know some find this idea difficult, especially when living through hard times, but that’s when we have to remind ourselves of the words of our text for today, namely, ‘all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.’ Loving God as we do – we have to trust that at all times all things in our lives are working together for good with God. Prayer Loving God, With astonishment, we see that you renew our strength constantly. Allow us never to forget your presence, even in times of adversity. Bring a joyfulness to our hearts that we might praise you in thankfulness and sing of your love forever. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.