Kemsing with Woodlands

What do you do when bad things happen?

I was speaking to someone last week, and we were reflecting on some of the sad things that have happened. Surely, he said, at a time like that, the most natural thing is to give up on God. What good has God done?

And he’s right, isn’t he? If God’s promised to look after us, what use is he if he doesn’t deliver?

Bad things don’t happen all the time. But we all know the frustration of seeing good things that God has promised fail to materialise. He’s promised to answer my prayers, but he didn’t answer that one.

One problem with the Christian faith is that it’s largely about trusting in some promises that we can’t see. You can’t see God. You can’t see heaven. You can’t see sin or the forgiveness of sin. Which can make it all seem a bit “up in the clouds”. A bit unreal. Like the Christian faith isn’t in the real world.

This morning, we’re going to talk about sickness. Being ill. Getting better.

It won’t have escaped your attention that the NHS is struggling at the moment.

Let’s be clear: I’m not making a political point.

There has been more tinkering done to the NHS in the past 15 years than in the whole of the 50 years that went before it. Different governments have done different things.

We live in a world that is frequently dark, and that frequently lacks hope.

There is much that is good about living in Britain today. But our country, our lives, all at times need an injection of hope, of life, of light. Some words: Street crime. Unemployment. 1960s tower blocks. Economic downturn. Redundancy. Yobs. Drought. Petrol prices. Bereavement. Pain.

The Christian message is a message of hope. We have a real hope in the face of all the things that are gloomy about life. But God’s answer to our greatest needs is somewhat surprising.