Blue Mountain Adventure Centre: Conquer Your Own Mountain

The grace of God sustains us

At Salvation Army headquarters in Wellington, staff members have the chance to pause and pray following morning tea each day. It’s great to work in a place where such spiritual respite is allowed and encouraged. I should avail myself of this opportunity more often, I know!

A recent prayer that stood out to me asked God to break through into some challenging circumstances. ‘In the worst of times, may the best still happen’ was the prayer. Those words caught my ear because they seem to capture the positivity of the Christian experience. God permits many things to happen that are not in his will; things that are hard for us to bear or understand. But God also frustrates the endless hopelessness of such circumstances to bring good, sometimes even great things.

The harder paths in life, while we’d seldom choose to travel them, can shape us into the very best of ourselves—giving us sensitivity to others’ needs and showing us that we have untapped mental, emotional and spiritual reserves at our disposal to help get us through what is before us. The grace of God can and does sustain us, although we may not feel we can testify to that truth until we’re a long way down the road.

This week’s ‘Soul Food’ article is penned by an old friend of my husband’s from Australia who was paralysed two years ago while attending a sports day at his children’s school. I want to thank John Duthie for being willing to share his thoughts with readers, especially as he is still working through many issues around faith, family, friendship and future.

Our feature article, ‘For the Love of My Brother’, is a further illustration of how people may respond when disappointment impacts their families. And of how the love of families can stretch right around the world.

‘In the worst of times, may the best still happen.’ Is this a prayer that you will add your own ‘amen’ to? And is this an experience you claim as your own?

Major Christina Tyson

Bible Verse

Colossians 1:11–12 The Message
‘We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy …’

Korohe 1:11
‘Engari mātua rapua tona rangatiratanga, me ana mea tika; ā ka tāpiritia ēnei mea katoa mā koutou.’