August 7

“(God) makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights....You broaden my path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn” - 2 Samuel 22:34, 37

August – the children have broken up from school for the summer holidays, and my mind wandered to far away, and not so far away, places I would love to re-visit. Maybe I would be disappointed second time round, I don't know, but I would take the risk. I vividly remember one particular holiday in Yorkshire. A friend (sadly no longer with us) and I set off from the hotel to tour the area – bright sunshine, not a cloud in the sky. We drove where fancy took us, taking turns to choose 'left' or 'right' direction at a junction or crossroads. Big mistake! We had ended up somewhere at the back of Clitheroe in a hamlet of three farm cottages, and it was my friend's turn to choose direction – 'left.' We found ourselves on the narrowest of single-track roads, barely the width of our car. Within the first 50 yards I realised that the road was rising sharply – not only rising, but concealing one hairpin bend after another. On the right was a steep rocky slope, and on the left, inches from the car tyres, was a stomach-turning sheer drop to the valley bottom. Then it happened. The heavens opened and torrential, tropical rain fell without warning – nowhere to park up, and a windscreen I couldn't see through. Oh, did I pray!! I'm sure the Lord drove the car that day. I thought the road would never end. Then as suddenly, around the last bend, bathed in the last rays of the sun, was a lush green valley, and safety.

How like the Christian life this is. We take a turn that looks appealing, only to find the road isn't what it seemed. Instead it is mountainous with frightening heights, and twists and turns from which we could fall – drops that make our hearts fail and heads spin. What lies ahead? We don't know, we can;t see the way. To make it through the storm to the sunshine in the valley, all we can do is pray for God's help, grace and guidance – we need Him to take the wheel.

Are you facing mountainous trials today? The Lord knows the way to safety. His vision is clear. Trust Him. “....lift up (your) eyes to the hills – where does (your) help come from? (Your) help comes from the Lord. The Maker of heaven and earth” - Psalm 121:1-2

Our song for today is “Jesus Walks Ahead of Me” - sung by Larry Sparks. Click on the picture.

     Housekeeping details for you

     The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.

     A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here