Hope

Acts 2:26 (MSG)

‘I saw God before me for all time.

         Nothing can shake me; he’s right by my side.

I’m glad from the inside out, ecstatic;

         I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope’

Camping: It’s a bit like marmite, you either love it, or hate it! Or some might say, for the sake of a Christian Festival, there is a middle ground of embracing and tolerating it!!

I unashamedly love it. The smell of damp grass accompanied with copious amounts of dry shampoo and I’m in my happy place. Well; nearly always.

Last year, in the absence of Wildfires (arguably, the BEST festival) I decided (on behalf of my boys and me) we’d brave a weeks’ camping in Cornwall. In my usual quest for sea and rest, I chose a campsite on the top of a cliff with idyllic views over the Cornish coast. Our first night was wonderful. Sunset fish and chips on the beach, balmy temperatures and the anticipation of a fantastic week to come.  

But then… Storm Francis hit. BIG STYLE. As the winds howled and the rain lashed unforgivingly against the canvas, I found myself praying the words of ‘Highlands’ over and over in my head ‘Oh how far would you come running, just to shadow me through the night’ as I picked up my mallet at 3am and headed into the storm to drive the tent pegs in deeper and tether the guide ropes to the closet anchor – my car.

In that moment, I realised two things. Firstly, how much I missed camping with my Gas St family, where friends would have jumped in to help! But secondly, when the storms rage, and the night feels like it has no end in sight, we have no choice but to dig into God, to drive our tent pegs in deeper with every fibre of our being, to rely on him to see us through until the dawn breaks and the light begins to shine again, and our HOPE is renewed. In this life, we don’t have to go it alone.

Prayer – Lord, whether in rest, or in the storms, help me to stay tethered to you. Thank you for always being my anchor in the strongest trial. That nothing can shake me when you are by my side. Thank you, that in you, we can always have hope. In Jesus’ name.