Dave Hop #Shelter
Be our shelter please, our comfort and calm. Be our shield, our place of strength and safety, our source of help and inspiration. Our means of going on, and our protection and hope for another day.
Psalm 46
#Signs
Noah had his rainbow, seven colours arching across his future, a sign of hope and a reminder of a new way forward. As the rain clears once more and our eyes are lifted, so we get the promise too. God with us in the calm, and the bluster, and the storms. Our rock of peace.
Genesis 9 v 12-13
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
Abraham had his stars, a nightly spray of Morse code, the promise of a future and a hope, there in the dark, glimpses of something more, something better. A way forward in this wilderness life, and a promise to reach for and hold onto, when the night closes in.
Genesis 15 v 5
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
The potential to be living sermons – as people care for others. Bad as we are – and we can be bad alright! – we can be kind to others, each action speaking volumes about the God who has shown us the greatest kindness. As caring parents are kind and patient with their children, so there is a heavenly father who has compassion brimming in his heart for us.
Luke 11 v 9-13
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
In a time when all hell is breaking loose and this struggler feels as if life has relentlessly pummelled them, they look for small signs of God’s presence, the smile of creation in each new dawn. Light breaking through the darkness, a glimmer of hope once more.
Lamentations 3 v 19-24
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
Reminders that sing and tweet and swoop and chirp. Airborne and ground hopping, flapping and soaring, or watching us with heads cocked sideways a little. Flying solo or making shapes on the horizon with like-minded gliders. Nearby or distant, pecking at feeders or twitching in a watery flurry. All colours and hues. Reminders of you.
Matthew 6 v 26
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
Every time the sky is mottled with candyfloss clouds, grey, or white, or creamy smudges; or those ragged smears shot through with the rosy tinge of dawn… there’s a whisper there. One day he will return. One day things will come right. One day the song of peace and justice and kindness will fill the airwaves, and creation will be reset to its full, glorious, technicolour splendour.
Revelation 1 v 7
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
Every time we turn on the tap, or take a drink there is the chance to remember… another kind of water, living water, which can revive the land, and those who are thirsty. That spring which bubbles up inside of us, flowing out through who we are and what we do. Not because we are good, because he is.
John 7 v 38, Ezekiel 47 v 9
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
The sea, a place of travel, discovery, journeying, possibility. Of fun, play and adventure. But wild too, untameable, and greater than those of us who look on it. Yet smaller too, smaller than the hand which brought it into being. The sea, a place of depth, of creativity and colour, and a place which reminds us of your mighty hand, and our need for your presence and calming smile.
Matthew 8 v 23-27 & Psalm 93 v 4
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
Knowing perhaps how much we value nourishment, that man from Galilee leaves us – not a bumper sticker, or a badge, or a slogan – but food and drink. A meal to remember him. Our need and longing for sustenance, refreshment, and a saviour.
Luke 22 v 19-20
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
Imagine that! Stones crying out. Singing, rapping, crooning, cheering. And trees clapping their hands, whooping and applauding. Creation itself unable to keep its mouth shut, the song of salvation bursting from the plants and bushes, seeping from the soil and the sand. The music that first brought the world into being plays on, inviting us to tune in and catch the maker’s melody.
Luke 19 v 40 & Isaiah 55 v 12
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
Every time we crunch on gravel, kick a stone, or spy a lump of rock on the skyline, a reminder of that foundation, brought to us from the ages, wiser than sand, like a true anchor in the storm. That source of refreshment in the desert exodus, that sign of justice, strength and goodness. When all else is shaking, in a world where much is transitory and changeable, you are constant, and we are able to cling to you.
Psalm 92 v 15
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
This longing we have within us, the restless desire for more, for something to complete us. The very reason advertising works. The sense that this world is not all it should be, and the ongoing search for satisfaction, and a place we can call peace. These signs that nudge away within us, those hopes and dreams for a better, more complete life.
Jeremiah 29 v 11
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
The stretches of sand we may see, the scrubland and the wild places. Bleak, seemingly barren. Yet with hidden potential, flowers that bloom in the rare burst of rains. Places that draw us away from the rush and bustle, away from the wi-fi and distractions. Drylands known to so many in your book, places where the lost may find you, and the wandering find rest for their souls.
Genesis 21 v 14-19, Mark 1 v 35
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
We’re not all morning people, some of us barely get going by mid-day, some of us wait for the midnight hour, while some burn the candle at both ends. But with the arrival of each new morning, let your loving word come to us afresh, whether we are upbeat, or downcast, buzzing or bleary. And may each morning draw us once more to put our trust in you.
Psalm 143 v 8
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
Those times when we are not strong enough. When we limp, struggle, doubt, fail. When the hills feel too high, and the valleys too dark. When we become blisteringly aware that we don’t have all the strength, all the answers, all the know-how. This strong indication that we need you.
2 Corinthians 12 v 9, 2 Corinthians 4 v 7
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
A pillar of smoke rising from a distant chimney, a cloud moving silently across the sky, reminders of the one who leads his people towards freedom. A wilderness God, taking the long way home. Because the journey matters as much as the destination, the travelling draws us closer, though we may not always sense it, as much as the arrival. The learning, discovering, as we trudge.
Numbers 9 v 15-23 & Psalm 78 v 14
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
A valley under the shadow of death, bones littering the desert floor. And the sound of a rushing wind, on its way to bring new life, to resurrect hope, and purpose, and vision, and energy. The sign of the spirit of God, the wind that we cannot see, cannot box or pin down, cannot hashtag or trend. We see only the effects, of lives changed, of compassion shared, of feet washed, and of the dry bones of our lives replenished.
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
John 3 v 8 & Ezekiel 37 v 9-10
#Signs
We often spot it on shelves, in corners, on TV screens and even (surely not!) brushed under rugs. The humble vision of who we are, in this colossal universe. Tiny and yet known. Passing through and yet precious. Small yet seen and understood. Children of dust. Recognising our frailty and vulnerable nature, and our cherished presence no accident within this broken and wonderful world.
Psalm 103 v 13-17
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
Roses are red, violets are blue,
this poem doesn’t rhyme or scan, but neither does love. Often it’s messy and clumsy, not always appreciated and rarely newsworthy. But always worth it, and always noticed by the great Author and Inventor of love. And with each small act of kindness we leave his autograph in the precious fabric of the lives of others.
1 John 4 v 19
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
Sometimes buried in the mottle of clouds, sometimes glinting like a polished hubcap, sometimes watery and hanging on the backdrop of early morning. Some days we’re hardly aware of its presence, others we cannot escape the heat. The vital warmth and light stretching across time and space. Often invisible. Yet still very much there. Like a vital sign of the present creator.
Psalm 19 v 4b-6, Matthew 5 v 45
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
Candles. Lighters. Torches. Phones. Headlamps. Arc lamps. Spotlights. Fridge lights. Bulbs. Flares. The glow of the moon and the sun in the day. So many sources of light. Regular reminders of the one who offers light for the world. Light though life often feels shadowed. And invites us to be mirrors of that light, with our own style, experience, gifts and personality. Whether we flicker as tiny tealights or blaze like a flood.
John 8 v 12
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
The Lord is like my cell phone, only better. Always with me, never running out of power or signal.
Even though I walk through days and nights of pressure, and loneliness, he is constantly there, beside me, never demanding my attention, never seducing me with advertising or distracting me from what matters.
His messages and promises are sure and full of wisdom, and in an age of busyness and hurry he calls me to pause, and to moments of reflection.
He offers me a future prepared long before technology began, and his offer of life is one full of forever.
Psalm 23
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#reality
We bring who we really are, not a Christian or spiritual or religious version of ourselves, but our true being, as unmasked as we dare. Seeking rescue, help and hope from one who has walked in the shoes of true humanity. One who knows disaster and worry, fear and emptiness. A present God, with understanding in his eyes, salvation in his pierced hands and forgiving welcome in his open arms.
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
#Signs
Rainbows, stars, dawns, salt, light, compassion, sunshine, creation, dust, the breeze, clouds, rain, restlessness, wine, food, flowers, longing… the list goes on. Ordinary signs, everyday clues that bring us a nudge, a shove, a whisper, a bellow, from the great beyond. That great beyond which has moved heaven and earth to set up home in our neighbourhood. Right here. Right now. Visible reminders of the one to whom we can bring our troubles, fears and cares.
Isaiah 43 v 2 & Matthew 28 v 20
Not so much a crutch but a constant ‘I am here’.
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