I always assumed I had some kind of handle on life but as I get older I think maybe I’m wrong.
Maybe I have been given clarity by living in a post-pandemic world where it’s become increasingly obvious that areas of life remain outside our ability to control. It seems that we might need some kind of back-up plan to help us when life becomes confusing.
A new monarch, King Charles III, will be crowned in a few days, and within his coronation oaths he will say the words ‘so help me God’.
I like that – the new King has an ancient back-up plan.
For me these celebrations give time to ponder where my back-up is.
Who is king of my heart, my God? Who is the one I look to that offers love and guidance? Who can I rely on in this world where we have little control? Who do I offer my time to?
Who is my maker, the one who can hold me safe as I face illness, grief and sorrow?
I wonder also, who is your God? Who do you turn your gaze towards as the foundation of your life?
There’s a lovely verse in scripture that says that as human beings we are to ‘rest the full weight of our hopes on the grace that will be ours when Jesus Christ reveals himself’ (1 Peter 1:13).
Has Jesus Christ revealed himself in you I wonder?
I put the full weight of my hopes in with the resurrected king, the king of love, so that where I lack strength I am offered hope, courage and a rock solid back-up on which to grow even when life seems out of control.
I pray the same for you today, that you may know there is an ancient back-up plan in place for you too. Much love,
Amy Cavender, from Greyfriars and New Hope Community churches, writing on behalf of Churches Together in Reading
