“When the fig tree does not bud, and there are no grapes on the vines;
when the olive trees do not produce and the fields yield no crops;
when the sheep disappear from the pen and there are no cattle in the stalls—
18 I will rejoice because of the Lord.” Habakkuk 3:17-18a
God our strength,
Elijah ran away to the wilderness when things got bad. Habakkuk had nowhere to run so he just decided to stop and say it like it is . And made the decision to trust You anyway.
Its an odd saying, that people say when something bad happens, bad things come in threes! No I don’t believe it, it is superstition not true, not kind and not helpful! Habakkuk named three of his many developing problems. No fruit on trees, no crops in fields and no livestock in the pens. Everything looked hopeless.
One thing I remember being told a s a new Christian – You, God, aren’t Santa Claus and all life’s challenges will not go away, but You will be with us and our ever present help.. In fact the hard times will be the richest learning times. I can honestly say that has been and is true. But I do not enjoy it!
Habakkuk learnt in a difficult situation to have the will to want to stop, turn to You, God and be able to rejoice in Your help. You God will be our strength in the situations we go through. He, and we. need to stand on Rejoice road and not move to Woe-is-me Way. We can have faith in You, the faithful one.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Suggestions for prayer . . .
God our strength,
For our close family. We cannot carry them – it is over to You Lord.
For our extended family, friends, neighbours, those we promised to pray for..
For our fellowship, ministers and congregations. Oil of joy and new harvest of souls.
For our king and all those in authority (1 Timothy 2:2).
For our Parliament. Lords and commons. Civil Servants.
For Ukraine and Russia. Oh Lord, peace. Divine protection of life.
For Israel, Lebanon, all around the Middle East. We plead for peace and not escalation.
For America and their political future.
For those still coping with floods and damp as well as cold.
For those worried about winter coming.
For families in poverty. Food banks, drop in centres and good neighbours.
For charities providing essential medicines and food in areas of poverty, drought or flood.
For us to find some way to share what we have today and feel blessed.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Worship Saturday 5th October 2024
Such a wonderful truth. The anchor holds.
I have journeyed
Through the long, dark night
Out on the open sea
By faith alone
Sight unknown
And yet His eyes were watching me
The anchor holds
Though the ship is battered
The anchor holds
Though the sails are torn
I have fallen on my knees
As I faced the raging seas
The anchor holds
In spite of the storm
I’ve had visions
I’ve had dreams
I’ve even held them in my hand
But I never knew
They would slip right through
Like they were only grains of sand
The anchor holds
Though the ship is battered
The anchor holds
Though the sails are torn
I have fallen on my knees
As I faced the raging seas
The anchor holds
In spite of the storm
I have been young
But I am older now
And there has been beauty
That these eyes have seen
But it was in the night
Through the storms of my life
Oh, that’s where God proved
His love to me
The anchor holds
Though the ship is battered
The anchor holds
Though the sails are torn
I have fallen on my knees
As I faced the raging seas
The anchor holds
In spite of the storm
Lyrics: Ray Boltz