“ACCEPT there’s constant pain and change in life… and work to deal with those things.”
So said Fergal Keane, a BBC foreign correspondent, reflecting on a life spent reporting conflict.
Although most of us will (thankfully) not have PTSD from war zones, we are all familiar with the darker side of human nature, both our own and other people’s.
So, what is the secret to a happy life?
The Bible is a book written in many different time periods and circumstances, including by those living as refugees, facing Roman occupation and even chained up in prison.
Yet their experience was the same as ours today: they, like us, want to know why things are as they are, and what God (or indeed anyone) can do about it.
Psalm 4 says: ‘Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God.
‘Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.’
We all want someone with power to ‘give me relief from my distress.’
God is the One with all power.
In the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus He stepped into our world to deal with the root cause of our pain.
Because our biggest problem is actually our determined refusal to accept who He is: the Creator and Ruler of everything.
Jesus willingly went to the cross to bear our pain.
Our part is to turn and accept the forgiveness He offers.
Will you?
Helen Hotchkiss is a member of Christ Church Wokingham, which meets at St Crispins’ School every Sunday at 10.30am.
For information, visit: abch.org.uk
