God with us?

9 Dec 2021 • From Bishop Richard Jackson

Sometimes it seems to us that God is painfully absent and elusive -- where is He in our times of need?

Bishop Richard says: "The New Testament cites the evidence of the Spirit’s work more in terms of His effects.  Jesus talks about it being analogous to the wind blowing the trees.  You can’t see the wind, but you can see what it does.  In human lives, the genuine presence of the Spirit of Jesus is to be seen in lives being transformed by his grace...".

He continues: "So, when we have no sense of the reality of God with us, that doesn’t mean He isn’t.  We must be alert to the signs.  When we discover that extra burst of psychological energy to do the thing we didn’t think we could do – that is the presence of God.  When in that difficult conversation we discover words coming to us and we’re not sure from where, that is a manifestation of Jesus' promise to the disciples that when they found themselves up before the authorities they would be given words that no one could contradict.  When that thing happens, at the absolutely right time, or that chance encounter leads to unexpected help or succour – that is the presence of God.  All of these things encourage us to trust and to pray."

A full transcript of this week's video is available here. For other transcripts, visit the Bishop of Hereford's Message section of the diocesan website.