Now, I’m only guessing here, but I believe you have been in this kind of situation before. Not only does it all seem impossible, the pain seem unbearable, with nothing good on the horizon, but you could swear this was deja-vu, and you’d been here before, and not that long ago.

This is the crux of the human condition, we get into troubles all the time, and after the hundredth repetition, we’re still surprised and asking the same question - why me? The really interesting part of course is that - whatever our faith or lack thereof - we still expect an answer from someone outside of ourselves as we cry upward in anguish. That’s right of course, at the depth of our despair we cry out to God - our Maker, our Saviour, the Lord Almighty.

While my situation this week was not as dramatic as I have made out so far - I can certainly draw some parallels here. This week I was at work, with bad bronchitis, and facing a new role that would require more skill than what I am confident I currently possess. Deja-vu! Rewind to July 2008, first day on the job, with bad bronchitis, I’m told I will have a total of two weeks training to begin specifying a product of which I have no prior knowledge.

You can bet I started praying pretty hard this week, just as I did back in 2008. The answer back then was - I imagine similar to now. Over the past few days of thinking, praying, and discussing this opportunity with Johanna, I can now see the "Why".

God’s best work is done, when he gets to start from the ground up. Take away all the ego, pretence, confidence, physical stamina, let all else rest on His mercy, wisdom and grace. Cry out for strength, thank Him for a new direction, and thank Him for how he is about to use you, to glorify Him, in whatever the situation you find yourself.

Whatever happens in the coming weeks, I know that I will not be alone, I won’t have to rely on just my human mind, or my frail human body. Whenever there is a problem too big to solve, or a task too daunting to begin, I know I will have that flash of inspiration at precisely the right moment, and feel that gentle urging forward.

As a we encounter these moments of anguish as Christians - we all have this in common - we have a mighty and powerful God, who loves us, and wants us to serve him in whatever situation we find ourselves. All we have to do is trust in him, and we "..can do all things through him who strengthens.." us. Phil 4:13