Thought For The Week 22 June 2025

Ate Marie / good morning and a warm welcome to all, I hope that your week has been a good one and that the cold winter weather and shorter days have provided you the        opportunity to hunker down in a warm place take time to relax and read a good book or maybe you prefer rugging up in your favourite woollen hat and jacket and go out for a walk in the cool winter air. I am enjoying some downtime from my seasonal job and have been meditating on the readings for this week and in particular Psalm 42.

As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you O God.

 The opening verse in the Psalm gives us the vivid picture of a deer that has possibly been on the run and is maybe stressed and needing some water to revive itself for its ongoing survival. This picture is a clue to the later verses which declare,

My tears have been my food day and night while they say to me all day long “where is your God”? 

 Sometimes we can feel alone and isolated as Christians living our lives among               unbelievers who mock our faith openly or are oblivious to our close held spiritual beliefs. Through callous words and actions our spirits can be wounded or stifled and we can withdraw and feel aggrieved or worse compromise ourselves and silently carry the guilt.

The Psalmist feels the oppression eagerly and it weighs him down, however he asks   himself a very important question. Why so downcast O my soul, hope in God for I shall again praise him my salvation and my God.    

 We too when we are overwhelmed by our circumstances and the oppression from within or without can remind ourselves who it is that we belong to, his Love is steadfast and we shall again praise him.

I pray you will experience the refreshing presence of the Holy Spirit as we gather today to worship God and put our hope in him.

Grace and Peace

Steve McCoy