“God Wants Us to Seek Comfort in Him During Hard Times” – John North

In the wake of the Bondi tragedy, Hope Mornings host Ben McEachen spoke with John North from the Time with God podcast about where people can find comfort, faith and peace in moments of shock, grief and deep uncertainty.

Transcript

Ben McEachen, Hope Mornings: John, have you got any recommendations for any of us about where, at a moment just like this, we’d seek support or comfort?

John North, Time with God podcast: Yeah, I totally identify with people who are looking for comfort. I could hardly believe it. As I watched the breaking news about Bondi, it was shocking, and to think how close to home it is, is quite a thing.

I think that really for us when we are facing challenging times like this, is the time when we need to turn to God.

You know, I’m sure people are getting advice from the news about what to do, if they need to talk to somebody official about this or that, but on the spiritual side of things, we need to recognise that God is not just a God of church activities and meetings and things like that. He’s a God who is active in our everyday lives, and in a time when we are struggling and wrestling to understand what’s happening around us, that’s the time when we need to be reaching out to God. He’s there. He wants to walk through this with you.

God is not just a God of church activities and meetings and things like that. He’s a God who is active in our everyday lives, and in a time when we are struggling and wrestling to understand what’s happening around us, that’s the time when we need to be reaching out to God.

I think of Psalm 23 and the psalmist saying, “The Lord is my shepherd”, and then he talks to God and he says, “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me”.

I think our listeners need to realise that God is right there. He’s not distant. He’s not aloof from them. They can reach out to him.

And he is ready to be found and wants to meet us in our really challenging times.

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Ben: Including John as we go through stages of grief that so many of us would be at lots of different points in that journey, but wherever we’re at, anger or sadness, wherever, God remains there for us.

John: Yeah, absolutely right. He is our closest friend. He’s walking through life with us, and he wants us to bring to him everything. Sometimes we feel like when we pray or talk to God, we have to know the right terminology or come only with happy, beautiful things to say to him. When you read the prayers of the people of God in the Bible, they’re telling him they’re angry, even frustrated with him. They’re asking him why these things are happening. They’re just pouring out their hearts to God. And so often then, as God makes Himself real to them, and they experience the inner reality of God and the peace that he brings to us, by the end of their prayer, their prayer is completely different, and we need to just learn to come to God with whatever is going on in our lives, and to know he can handle it, he can handle our emotions, our fears, our frustrations, and we need to come to him ready to hear from him and to know he’s there with us.

Sometimes we feel like when we pray or talk to God, we have to know the right terminology or come only with happy, beautiful things to say to him… God can handle our emotions, our fears, our frustrations…

Ben: And John, even on a day like today, you’re someone who still can hold on to the hope God offers out in Jesus.

John: When we think about a life without God our peace is only determined by our circumstances. If things are good, well, we’re good. If things are bad, we’re a total mess. And, there’s no other way to measure life. We’re out of control, right? And things like what has happened at Bondi just show us how broken our world is and how little of our circumstances we have control of – and if we’re going to live life where our circumstances just dictate our inner peace and joy, then our lives are really… they’re just carried on the waves of the storms around us.

But when we know God and have that relationship with Him, while Jesus says to us, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you, not as the world gives, do I give to you”, and His peace doesn’t only come when the circumstances are nice. It’s there in your heart on Bondi Beach in the middle of the turmoil, or as you’re watching events unfold on the news. It’s a peace that can’t be explained by circumstances, it can only be explained by what God does in your heart and life

And, I just encourage everyone who may be listening now to turn to God and find the peace that only He can bring. It isn’t a fake thing. It isn’t turning a blind eye to what’s happening around us. It’s simply the recognition that we have a loving Father who is in control. And even if His plan is for to me to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, he is right there with me, and he understands what I’m going through.

He’s going to carry me through the rough days.

I just encourage everyone who may be listening now to turn to God and find the peace that only He can bring… It isn’t turning a blind eye to what’s happening around us… even if His plan is for to me to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, he is right there with me.

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