BH Bulletin - Monday 6 September 2021

Thought for the Day by Ben Martin (Curate)

Are we there yet… no we’ve still got an hour to go… ok… (5minutes later)… how long to go… (unnamed parent biting tongue)… no we’ve still got another hour… (2 minutes later)… how long do we have to wait… (unnamed parent internally burns with frustration)… sweetheart we still have about 50 minutes to go! 
Does that sound like a familiar situation? It’s certainly something that I experienced numerous times over the last month. 
But in the grand scheme of things the ‘how long’ of a car journey isn’t a big thing… but there could be plenty of other situations where we feel the ‘how long’ of life much more deeply. 
How long will this illness last… how long will this financial hardship continue… how long will my family be fractured… how long will I feel like this? 
But the question behind the question is really… ‘How long will you let this happen God?’ 
Maybe that’s you today… maybe someone you know.  
If so, you are in good company. Listen to the words of David in Psalm 13:1-2 
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
  How long will my enemy triumph over me? 
David then calls boldly upon the Lord in verses 3-4 to listen and act because at the moment he doesn’t seem to be doing much… 
Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
  But despite all that goes on around he trusts in the Lord, verses 5-6…
 But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.
  Maybe today would be a good day to pray Psalm 13 for yourself or someone else. It’s fine to say how long Lord, but remember the unfailing love of the Lord. 
 How do you know that?
 Because the how long of Good Friday is followed by the joy of Easter Sunday. 
 Your how long of Good Friday will not last because Easter Sunday is coming.