June 2026: Thoughts from Huw

Dear Friends

John’s Gospel Ch14 v1-12

There come times in the lives of all believers when things get very dark, and they have to believe what they cannot prove, and to accept even though they cannot understand or make sense of what is happening. It’s at such times that we really need strong faith, but its precisely at such times that our faith fails us.

It’s easy to convince ourselves that we have a strong faith when things are going well. When a crisis arises we discover what kind of faith we have, or if we have any faith at all. By faith here I mean trust in God.

Of course there are some people who think that if God was with them, and if he really loved them, then no storm would ever hit them. Life should be all plain sailing. So when a storm does hit them, they experience a deep crisis of faith, thinking that God has abandoned them.

During the Last Supper the apostles were thrown into crisis when Jesus started to talk about his death. On hearing this their hearts were troubled and filled with fear. Knowing that their faith would be severely tested, Jesus tried to prepare them for the ordeal. He said to them ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God and believe also in me.’ Since the apostles already believed, in effect he was saying to them was ‘You must go on believing in God and in me.’

What real faith does is assure us that God is with us in the midst of the crisis. It is that feeling, that conviction, that we are not alone, that we are not abandoned, which enables us to keep going to get us through the crisis. So when things are bad, may we hear the gentle words of Jesus:¬ ‘Believe in God, and believe also in me.'

On a personal note I wish to thank you at Wesley for the beautiful Church flowers, get well  cards, phone calls, visits and email messages during my recent illness. I felt uplifted and strengthened by your prayers.

A word of thanks as well to the those of you who helped to take Sunday services and kept the Church running smoothly while I was away.

With good wishes and prayers

Huw