Perhaps you are living your life against an awareness of a background discouraging laugh: you have set your heart on pilgrimage but you haven’t got to where you know it is possible to get to with God yet. Listen, you are not perhaps yet where you want to be as a Christian, you are not perhaps even what you know you ought to be like as a Christian in some areas of your life, but by the grace of God you are not what you were and that grace is upon you child of God, this very day. Please listen to the encouraging voice of the God who is for you not against you.

Perhaps I should add this from Henri Nouwen. I know it is primarily for preachers but it has wider application for all of us who are committed to publicly owning and living for Jesus. These words helped me when I read them this morning. This dealing with retirement and illness and weakness of body and sometimes of emotions is a completely new experience for me. In R.T. Kendall’s words I want to “dignify the trial,” but sometimes don’t dignify it as well as I would wish… or perhaps I do and I too need to call mockery what it is. Anyway, here are the words from H.N:

“Can we only speak when we are fully living what we are saying? If all our words had to cover all our actions, we would be doomed to permanent silence! Sometimes we are called to proclaim God’s love even when we are not yet fully able to live it. Does that mean we are hypocrites? Only when our own words no longer call us to conversion. Nobody completely lives up to his or her own ideals and visions. But by proclaiming our ideals and visions with great conviction and great humility, we may gradually grow into the truth we speak. As long as we know that our lives always will speak louder than our words, we can trust that our words will remain humble.”

Be blessed as you think about this.

Kenny