A new song to sing

A reflection on change and challenge from Hope Nottingham's Chaplain, Lauren Bailey.

We've been looking at personal development recently as a staff team. It's always good to reflect on what we do well in the light of God's love and grace. God has given us a trusting and nurturing community of Hope to do this in because when we go through change, we need loving and supportive people around us.

When we need encouraging, we can usually find it in our community of Hope - just looking around to see so many volunteers giving their best is usually enough to encourage me.

When you're encouraged for doing a good job by someone, it has such a positive effect. It spurs you on and you're glad to do more. This is grace in action - it always gives more out of a thankful heart. We have that kind of environment where somebody's always asking if you're OK and it's OK not to be OK.

Sometimes change happens when it's hard, and the choice to stay the same is too painful. Sometimes you just have to take the hard steps, and bit by bit, you slowly grow around the challenge - usually whilst gritting your teeth and trying not to fall apart. Here there's usually some hidden, or not so hidden, places that may need to be restored; areas of pain or hurt. Bringing these to God or having a conversation with someone who knows me well, usually ushers in the healing I need. Sometimes it's just me and God: being honest with him and sharing it with him, or just sitting in silence and not saying anything at all. Here I receive his peace, his healing, his strength, his courage and his comfort. This always helps.

Sometimes I remember the past ways I've grown. Sometimes we grow through really challenging times. We don't choose these times, but they can be a way of forming our character and bringing out strengths we probably knew we had, but haven't seen in action.

One of the Psalms in the Bible shows us how God can lift us out of difficulties, establish our steps and guide us going forward. This in turn gives us a new song to sing and even more than this, others will see what God's doing and put their trust in Him.

Psalm 40 v 1-3

I waited for the Lord to help me

and he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the pit of despair

out of the mud and mire.

He set my feet on solid ground

and steadied me as I walked along.

He has given me a new song to sing

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will say what he has done and be amazed

they will put their trust in the Lord.