When you can’t fix your situation, God offers something better than escape—He offers His presence.

Different people handle the rough times differently. Some seem to find peace in the middle of it all. For others, it's a complete disaster. Let's meet some people at different ends of that spectrum.

Over the last couple of days on the program we've been taking a look at how different people weather the storms of life. And in particular yesterday, we met Hannah, a woman who had been childless for years, taunted by others and in her pain, poured out her heart to God and discovered, when she did that, God gave her peace. And not only that but God answered her with a son and she gives that son back to God but what comes next is a prayer of thanksgiving and rejoicing. We'll take a look at that in a moment

And then we're going to look at some men, men who were around Hannah at the same time, priests in fact, Gods men but when Hannah knew how to approach God to get her feet on solid ground, these so called priests hadn't a clue. In fact, Hannah on the one hand and the priests, Eli and his sons on the other were like chalk and cheese. Opposite ends of the scale and the outcomes for each of them, in their storms, well they were at opposite ends of the scale too. My hunch is there's something in that for us so let's check it out. Now listen to what Hannah prayed when God gave her a son:

Hannah prayed and said, "My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted up. My mouth boasts over my enemies for I delight in your deliverance. There is no-one holy like the Lord; no-one beside you, there's no rock like our God. Don't keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance for the Lord is a God who knows and by Him deeds are weighed. The bows of warriors are broken but those who stumbled are armed with strength.

The prayer goes on and on, you can read it in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 2 and you know what it's all about; it's about the power and the sovereignty of God, it's about a Hannah who went to God with this in her heart, that God is above all things, not to reform God in her own image. Do you know how I know that? Because when she poured out her heart to God, she offered her son back and she honoured that promise.

That's a challenge for each one of us, about how we go to God. How we see Him, as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords or as some performing puppy that jumps when we say jump. How can we tell the difference? See it's very hard to discern our hearts sometimes, how can we tell the difference between a right and a wrong attitude towards God? Well lets go back to this 1 Samuel book in chapter 2. We're going to meet Eli and his sons, the priests:

Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for God. Now it was the practice of the priests with the people that whenever anyone offered a sacrifice to God and while the meat was being boiled, the servant of the priest would come with a 3 pronged fork in his hand. He'd plunge it into the pan or the kettle or the cauldron or the pot and the priest would take for himself whatever the fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.

But even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priests some meat to roast. He won't accept boiled meat from you, only the raw stuff." If the man said to him, "Well let the fat be burned up first and then take whatever you want", the servant would answer, "No, hand it over now, if you don't I'll take it by force." The sin of the young men was very great in the Lords sight for they were treating the Lords offering with contempt.

See, the way we tell the difference is through how we behave. Hannah could have complained and fought back and acted up badly when she didn't have a child. She could have lashed out at her husband and grumbled to God yet, in her pain, sh

There's so much bad news these days. Dictators, wars, suffering, exploitation, crime. It's ugly, right? So, we put our heads down and get on with living the best life we can in our little neck of the woods. But what if there's more?

Blaise Pascal was a brilliant 17th-century French mathematician, physicist, and inventor, famous for Pascal's Triangle and foundational work in probability. But despite his academic success, he was filled with inner turmoil, illness, and a sense of spiritual emptiness. That all changed on the night of November 23, 1654 when he had a powerful encounter with Jesus.

He wrote of it as a "night of fire," during which he experienced the Presence of the living God. From that moment he devoted his life to Christ, focusing on theology and writing Pensées, defending faith with reason and reflecting deeply on eternity. He died at the age of just 39 and is now spending eternity with the Jesus who turned his life here on earth upside down.

Hebrews 7:25 So Christ can save those who come to God through him. Christ can do this forever, because he always lives and is ready to help people when they come before God.

Have you had your night of fire? Have you come face to face with Jesus, who died and rose again for you? Perhaps not, or maybe you have but it all seems so far removed from the here and now.

Friend, today I have some good news for you. In Christ, God loves you beyond words. In Christ, you can be saved. In Christ, you can be with God forever because Jesus is alive. He is ready to help you when you come before God.

Do it today. Do it now. Turn to Jesus.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

What happens to your faith when the miracle you prayed for doesn’t come?

Okay – so the going gets tough. The storm hits. Now What. Let's meet a woman who's been there, done that – and see what we can learn from her. This woman's name? Hannah.

We're going to meet someone today who was dealt a cruel blow in her life. She was a beautiful young woman called Hannah who, to the taunts of those around her, remained childless for many years. And yet in the midst of this most painful storm of her life she discovered a peace, a peace that surpassed all understanding. It doesn't matter who we are or where we're at in life, storms are going to come along and hit us when we least expect them. We can't change that but what we do in the middle of that storm, well it makes such a huge difference.

And that's why I'd love to have the opportunity to spend just the next few minutes sharing in Hannah's journey 'cause I have this hunch that there are just a few of us that need that encouragement today. Is that a reasonable thing to do? Maybe there's no storm in your life at the moment, maybe there's clear blue sky, well that's fabulous but what we discover together in these next few moments might just be something that you can tuck away in your heart and pull out the next time those storm clouds start brewing.

If you've got a Bible grab it because we're going to have a bit of a look at the book of 1 Samuel, the first few chapters, over these coming days and weeks. We're going to discover a truth that we kind of know, that we should know and yet it kind of gets lost in the world that we live in. It's a 'me' centred world, we keep on going to God and asking for these things for me, me, me.

You know, I sometimes think that we're trying to turn Him into a performing poodle. "You know, God do tricks on my command, when I say 'now, jump', when I say 'now', deliver this". You think there's a risk to that? I think there is, in a very "me" centred world. It may seem harsh but you turn God the wrong way round and you get 'dog', right? Am I expecting God to dance to my tune or am I dancing to His tune? Good question, it's what we're going to explore in this story and it begins with a storm.

A woman called Hannah, it turns out she's going through some really rough times but she, she has the Creator/creature relationship the right way up. This is what the story says in the book of 1 Samuel:

There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph who's an Ephramite. He had two wives; one was called Hannah, the other one Peninnah and Peninnah had children but Hannah didn't. Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were the priests of the Lord.

Whenever the day came for Elkannah to go and sacrifice he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters but to Hannah, he gave a double portion because he loved her and the Lord had closed her womb and because the Lord had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her to irritate her. This went on year after year, whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her until she wept and would not eat. Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"

Pretty rough wasn't it? It's a real storm, anybody who's been through that pain of not being able to have children. Imagine somebody else who has kids, your husbands other wife, taunting you like that, absolutely brutal and Hannah has lots of choices. She could have lashed out, she could have been angry, she could have withdrawn, she could have given up and her husbands pretty useless, typical bloke. He says:

Life's messy. You can't argue with that. Show me a single family that hasn't had its, shall we say, issues. Show me a single person with just one or two grey hairs on their head, who hasn't been through some real struggles in life. They simply don't exist.

Life does indeed knock us around. Hopefully, it knocks some of our rough edges off. And I am definitely one for building resilience, for taking responsibility in all of that. Totally!

But there's a rock on which our resilience can and should be built; a timeless, immovable foundation on which we each can and should be standing. Here it is:

2 Corinthians 1:20-21 The yes to all of God's promises is in Christ. And that is why we say "Amen" through Christ to the glory of God. And God is the one who makes you and us strong in Christ. God is also the one who chose us for his work.

The promises of God are true. Jesus did come for you. In Christ, all the promises of God are a yes. He did come to save you from your sin. He did rise again to give you a new life. He is ready, willing and able to pour His Spirit out on you to make you strong in Christ. You will spend eternity with Him.

How do you lay hold of those promises? By putting your faith in Jesus; by giving your whole life over to Jesus.  Because the yes to all of God's promises is in Christ, and that's why we say "Amen" through Christ to the glory of God.

Friend, give it all to Jesus.

That's His Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Have you ever wondered if anyone truly sees what you’re carrying? What if the God of heaven sees you more clearly than anyone in your life ever has?

No one likes not getting their own way. You don't, I don't. It began at a very young age, when we started throwing tantrums. And sometimes, let's be honest, we still want to chuck a tanty, yeah?!

In the 12th century, Thomas Becket, as Archbishop of Canterbury, clashed bitterly with King Henry II over the limits of church authority. They'd been close friends but once he became Archbishop, Beckett refused to yield to the king's wishes, even in things that really didn't matter.

Eventually, his insistence on getting his own way led to his assassination. Had Becket shown humility and sought peace, both his life and church-state relations would likely have fared a great deal better.

Getting our own way seems so darned important in the midst of conflict that we all too easily lose sight of what really matters.

Philippians 2:3-4 In whatever you do, don't let selfishness or pride be your guide. Be humble, and honour others more than yourselves. Don't be interested only in your own life, but care about the lives of others too.

A funny thing happens when we choose to yield, when we lay aside our selfish pride, when we begin truly, deeply honouring others above ourselves … peace breaks out.

Of course we should stand against wrongdoing, but most of the time it's our own pigheadedness that fuels conflict, is it not? What conflict are you involved in at the moment where you have the opportunity to yield? Honestly, how would it play out if you did?

Don't be interested only in your own life, but care about the lives of others too.

Get comfortable with not getting your own way

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

When you're caught in a small boat on a stormy ocean – what you discover is how much you love good old terra firma. The more firma, the les terra, right? So how do you get some solid ground beneath your feet?

I am really excited to be starting a new series this week on the program that I've called, "On Solid Ground". Now I have to tell you I am definitely a land lover, I like to have terra firma under my feet. In particular, I don't like being out on the water on the ocean, in fact, the more firmer the less terror if you get my drift. I have this basic theory that, if God had meant us to be out on the ocean he would have given us gills or at the very least, steering wheels and rudders right? And for me, there's nothing more terrifying than being out on a stormy ocean.

I'd much rather be standing on solid ground looking out at the stormy ocean than being out there on it and yet, it seems that in life we do travel through stormy oceans and we do have to live through those storms. That's one of the central dilemmas of life, surviving those storms. In fact not just surviving them but learning to ride through them with a peace and a confidence because, well they happen; it's just the way things are. What we really want is we want solid ground under our feet but it's not always possible, or is it?

That's the dilemma, dealing with the storms of life. I remember when I was a young boy; I sailed in a ship from Australia to Europe. It was a four week trip each way through the Suez Canal and it was such a long way. I was only four or five years old and along the way, I remember to this day, we had some HUGE storms and this great ocean liner rolled around like you can't believe, there were ropes in the corridors to hand on to. I've never forgotten those storms, I was so sea sick and I was very, very afraid.

Even though we were such a big ship and you'd go up on the deck and you'd look out the port hole or if you dared, go out onto the deck and these massive waves, they were like, they were like buildings, would come towards the ship and just toss it around, it was pitching around in this fearsome ocean and for me there's nothing as frightening as that angry sea and the violent storm and the ground, as it were, is moving under your feet.

Now for some people, life seems to be a constant storm, the ground underneath their feet is never solid. There's always some fear and uncertainty and they never quite figure it out and many of these people even believe in God and yet life seems to be this endless storm. Question is, how do I get some solid ground under my feet? Well that's what we're going to be exploring in this series that I've called On Solid Ground, starting right here and now.

Now today, we're just going to head out on the ocean with some fishermen and take a look at what it was like for them. These fishermen were disciples, they were followers of Jesus. Remember, they're seasoned fishermen, they'd been doing this all their lives, let's have a look at how they handled the storm. Luke chapter 8, beginning at verse 22:

One day Jesus says to His disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they get in the boat and set out. As they sailed Jesus falls asleep and this squall comes down on the lake so that the boat was being swamped and they were in great danger and the disciples went to Him and woke Him and said, "Master, Master, we're going to drown." He got up, He rebuked the wind and the raging waters and the storm subsided and all was calm. "Where's your faith?" He asked the disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water and they obey Him.

Now these fishermen, they were afraid because they knew the terrible consequences of the storm swamping their boat. Now it may sound a bit silly but, well they wouldn't have had to worry about they con

In a world where everyone's trying to be someone, it's not surprising that tucked away deep in our psyche somewhere lies a nagging sense of inadequacy, as we reason that, given our frailties and foibles, we'll never really amount to much.

Honestly, it used to bother me that Christianityworks, the ministry that produces these daily messages, didn't have an impressive office compared to the flashy television and radio studios I've visited around the world. Ours was just a walled section of a foyer, given rent-free by a local church.

We seemed like a nothing ministry compared to the others.

Do you see how easy it is to fall into that trap? And yet, God is in the habit of using the fragile and the fallible in the most amazing ways for His glory. And He does things that way for a reason. Writes the Apostle Paul:

2 Corinthians 4:7-8 We have this treasure from God, but we are only like clay jars that hold the treasure. This is to show that the amazing power we have is from God, not from us. We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We often don't know what to do, but we don't give up.

Paul's ministry of a few ragtag men, schlepping around the known world, appeared so unimpressive compared to Jerusalem with its glorious temple. He suffered, he struggled.

But God uses broken, ordinary people to carry His most precious gift, so that no one will ever mistake where the power comes from. He fills waiting, praying hearts with His Spirit and power.We're the empty vessels—He's the treasure within.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.