I was driving along the A3 today when I spotted this sign and thought “Aha, that explains why I never see workers, only cones – the workers are hiding!” Maybe the British road workforce is pixie-sized - hidden behind the cones. Or maybe they are all beavering away underground while we fume in traffic jams.  

Joking aside, what actually came to mind was that God is always working. We can’t always see him but Jesus says, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working” (John 5:17).

Over the last weeks, I have been with people who have gone through incredibly hard things – bereavement, cancer treatment, the loss of a son, domestic violence, medical tests and worries over precarious finances – to name a few. How is God working in the midst of our biggest struggles? For starters, Jesus is always interceding for us. We are told that not once but 3 times - Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:34, and 1 John 2:1. That is a huge comfort.

Picture this – right now, Jesus is talking to our Father about you.

But there is more that God is doing - God is working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). I had an extraordinary conversation about this with my godson, Harry, who said that a few months ago, in a matter of 24 hours, he had met 3 people who had been through serious troubles - each had quoted Romans 8:28. The first worked in the City of London where he had been falsely accused at work and been through a brutal 18 month set of investigations before finally being exonerated. He told Harry that this verse held him through the process. The second had lost two of his children; he said that this verse had deeply comforted him. The third was an Iranian refugee who had faced great hardship yet told Harry that God had brought good out of it.

This is my story too as I look at our losses. It’s not that everything is good – it definitely is not - but God can work even the bad stuff for good.

Right now, whether you can see him or not, God is working in your life, the Master Potter who rescues stray shrivelled bits of clay that look like rubbish, pours water over them, softens them and moulds them to make a beautiful pot.

You may not see him, but God is always working for your good.

With my love,

Kate