Living Faith Article for 25th June 2026By Karen Gopsill, Reader at St George’s Church. Glascote
‘I waited patiently for the Lord, he turned to me and heard my cry,’ – Psalm 40. I found that these words reflected my experience of waiting. Waiting, when in pain from a broken leg, in the middle of nowhere. Waiting for help that seemed to take an eternity. Waiting for relief, waiting for hope. There was a helplessness about this time of waiting: for me, it seemed that there was no way to find the peace and the way forward through the agony of the moment.It wasn’t until my recovery was complete, that I found these words from Psalm 40. Here, I found the comfort I had been seeking. Here, God seemed to let me know that He had been with me in those moments of waiting, in those moments that lasted forever. The words let me know that I had not been left alone, and that God seemed to experience my pain and the waiting alongside me all along.This recognition that God had been beside me, reminded me of the words of Jesus to his friends in his own moment of waiting in agony, when he asked them to ‘Watch and pray.’Currently, at St George’s Church, we have been waiting for a new vicar to arrive. It has been two years since the previous one left, and this time of waiting has been a challenge for us. The work of being church has been faced by all members of the fellowship together. We have demonstrated that we aren’t waiting and doing nothing, we aren’t sitting there twiddling our thumbs. On the contrary, we have pulled together, supported each other, and helped each other with all of the endeavours and groups that function to keep the church going.Our time of waiting has been focussed firstly on prayer, and secondly on action. Of course, there have been difficulties. In Psalm 42 we hear: ‘Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.’Waiting can be hard: life still happens. Yet how we wait, how we ‘watch and pray’ can be the difference between ending up with frustration or emerging with deeper peace. Times of waiting happen for us all: waiting for exam results, a diagnosis, difficult news or even no news at all. These times challenge us greatly. Waiting can bring out the worst in us.After the questions, the wrestling in our souls, after the anger, frustration and helplessness where do we go to in our hearts?Can we allow God to call us into our own hearts? - ‘Deep calls to deep.’ (Psalm 42)Can we use our time of waiting - to let God in?I find great comfort in waiting for God to shine a light in my heart: to watch and pray. My prayer for you is that you seek God’s comfort and peace in your own time of waiting, and that you allow God’s love to find you, today.
‘I waited patiently for the Lord, he turned to me and heard my cry,’ – Psalm 40. I found that these words reflected my experience of waiting. Waiting, when in pain from a broken leg, in the middle of nowhere. Waiting for help that seemed to take an eternity. Waiting for relief, waiting for hope. There was a helplessness about this time of waiting: for me, it seemed that there was no way to find the peace and the way forward through the agony of the moment.It wasn’t until my recovery was complete, that I found these words from Psalm 40. Here, I found the comfort I had been seeking. Here, God seemed to let me know that He had been with me in those moments of waiting, in those moments that lasted forever. The words let me know that I had not been left alone, and that God seemed to experience my pain and the waiting alongside me all along.This recognition that God had been beside me, reminded me of the words of Jesus to his friends in his own moment of waiting in agony, when he asked them to ‘Watch and pray.’Currently, at St George’s Church, we have been waiting for a new vicar to arrive. It has been two years since the previous one left, and this time of waiting has been a challenge for us. The work of being church has been faced by all members of the fellowship together. We have demonstrated that we aren’t waiting and doing nothing, we aren’t sitting there twiddling our thumbs. On the contrary, we have pulled together, supported each other, and helped each other with all of the endeavours and groups that function to keep the church going.Our time of waiting has been focussed firstly on prayer, and secondly on action. Of course, there have been difficulties. In Psalm 42 we hear: ‘Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.’Waiting can be hard: life still happens. Yet how we wait, how we ‘watch and pray’ can be the difference between ending up with frustration or emerging with deeper peace. Times of waiting happen for us all: waiting for exam results, a diagnosis, difficult news or even no news at all. These times challenge us greatly. Waiting can bring out the worst in us.After the questions, the wrestling in our souls, after the anger, frustration and helplessness where do we go to in our hearts?Can we allow God to call us into our own hearts? - ‘Deep calls to deep.’ (Psalm 42)Can we use our time of waiting - to let God in?I find great comfort in waiting for God to shine a light in my heart: to watch and pray. My prayer for you is that you seek God’s comfort and peace in your own time of waiting, and that you allow God’s love to find you, today.