The secret of waiting

The secret of waiting for God is waiting on God.

These words neatly summed up my recent thinking. I've journeyed with some of the Old Testament writers. They struggled with understanding God's ways. Take Habakkuk for example. His questions to God went unanswered. His pain and trouble remained. The nation was in great turmoil. And God was silent. In his book I read that he resolved to find space to pray and wait and watch to see what God would do. And as he reflected on all God had done in the past, he began to see that God wasn't absent, but unashamedly deeply involved in our world. And in understanding more of who God was, Habakkuk learnt that it was God himself who was the answer to his doubt and his searching.

My poem on waiting on God is based around Psalm 27. The encouragement is to focus on God and who he is, not on the problems.

Wait for the Lord

for he will lead and guide you

Wait for the Lord

his heart is only good

Wait for the Lord

his love is sure and steadfast

Wait for the Lord

each promise constant stood.

Wait for the Lord

depend on him to flourish

Wait for the Lord

his gifts will grow with grace

Wait for the Lord

for courage and enabling

Wait for the Lord

and journey at his pace.

© Hilary Allen (unpublished)

Jesus came

In the aftermath of Jesus' resurrection, his disciples were crowded together behind locked doors, fearing they might be the next target for ill-treatment.

Then, there in all their terror, uncertainty, disappointments and bewilderment, we read, 'Jesus came' (John 20 v 19) My heart responds to that. Endorsing that Jesus by his spirit still comes even into our seemingly impossibly dark situations. And, as with those first disciples, Jesus stands with us as he promised.

Here's a poem from my first book, Seeing in the Dark, written from this verse.

He came

He came in the darkness.

Laid bare his scars, his wounds

and said he knew:

Knew the pain and loss, the disgrace and the waste.

Knew the brokenness and hurt, the betrayal and guilt.

Knew the aloneness and emptiness.

Knew how fear and anger could torture and imprison.

He came into the darkness,

offered his own damaged hands, his butchered feet,

his spear-torn side.

He came to invite touch, truth, belief,

faith, trust, peace and healing.

“Stretch out your hands,” he said,

“I AM.”

© Seeing in the Dark by Hilary Allen

To go for all humanity

'We go for all humanity' declared the astronaut Commander of Artemis 11 yesterday as their rocket launched into space to reach the far side of the moon. Whilst I marvel at the incredible spectacle of power and achievement, I'm left wondering what difference it makes to me where I am today.

I write this on the day before Good Friday. I can't but compare another's declaration of a vastly different journey, that of Jesus, 2000 years ago. His journey to the cross of torture and death for all humanity may not have reached the headlines of the day. Yet Jesus' sacrifice of himself for our sin, his resurrection that we celebrate on Easter Day, evidence his power over sin and death and have changed the lives of millions around the globe over the centuries. And Jesus continues to make a difference in the lives of his followers, right here and now, today. Thanks be to God that he loves all humanity that much. Thanks be to God that he loves me that much!