An Antidote to Anxiety: Philippians 4

Earlier this week I was down and anxious and my husband gave me this passage of scripture: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, […]

Difficulty = an opportunity for God to move

A pastor in a war zone shovels coal throughout Saturday night at two locations; as he moves between them he sticks to the shadows because there is a curfew; if he is seen he will be arrested and sent to prison. He does this to prevent the pipes of his church and ministry bursting; he […]

Difficulty and God’s re-direction/re-commissioning

Difficult times such as illness force some reflection on what is important in life and how to spend one’s energy, time and money. God can in fact use difficult times in our lives to recommission us or redirect us in the way he wants us to go. God has redirected me from work in International […]

Prayer Ideas: What Has God Put Directly In Front Of You?

Sometimes I find it hard to know what to pray about, the world is so vast and there are so many needs, it can be hard to know where to start. Or sometimes with my fatigue I struggle to think of anything to pray for. In these situations one thing I find helpful is to think […]

God’s gentle reminder of his providence on a bad day

I’m really tired today (when I wrote this a few weeks ago not when it was published) and also depressed. Not a great combination with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as they make each other worse… I find it really hard when I’m like this. Well meaning people remind me that this would have been a good […]

Our daily bread: God’s provision

Matthew 6:8 says: ‘…for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.’ I have found that what I think I need and what I actually need are often different. I have begged God on so many occasions to heal me and I’m not completely well yet although I believe one day in his […]

Where is your identity found?

As detailed in my post entitled Identity with Chronic Illness, I had to confront and wrestle with the fact that getting sick showed me my identity was closely linked to my academic/career success and not just to the fact I was a Child of God (John 1:12). The truth is that as a Christian, whether […]

Some Thoughts on Psalm 62

I have been looking at Psalm 62 and have been greatly encouraged by it because it shows how God is the best place to come to when life is tough. Below are some thoughts on a few verses from the psalm. Seek refuge and shelter in God: ‘Truly he is my rock and my salvation; […]

Pray for Christians to take the journey with you and support you

The Bible in One Year day 52 encourages us to pray for a ministry partner if we are an isolated Christian in our day-to-day life. This is because Jesus in Mark 6:7 sends the disciples out ‘two-by-two’ because as Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 explains ‘two are better than one…if one falls down, his friend can help him […]