Returning to Britain with the plan of living in this country again is a huge adjustment. After thirty years in Asia, everything here feels unfamiliar and strange. Not that we haven’t visited many times before, but finding our own place in this land presents quite a different perspective to a visit.

Life has moved forward and changed. Things do not and should not remain static, although some changes we observe leave us uneasy. Maybe they were in society before we left and we simply weren’t conscious of them. Now, they appear before us in sharp relief; signs and words that indicate people hold to fewer absolutes. Knowledge, morality and even truth in general seem to exist in relation to a changing culture, redefined historical contexts and fluid values.

There are plenty of interesting things going on in society and plenty knocking at the church’s door, seeking to undermine and dislodge it from its foundation. But the attacks that come from within the church seem the most insidious. Sometimes the attack is a slow, subtle erosion and dilution of the truth in our lives. Sometimes, in our efforts to connect with and embrace non-believers, we can compromise. Kind and lovely people, not standing fully on the word of God, can open their hearts and lives to imbibe different views, which sometimes can cause them to lose a sense of God’s truth and the authority of His word.

But these temptations never come linearly. They come to each of us from many and varied directions. Reorienting my own life to God in a different landscape, I recognise the importance of keeping my eye fixed on Him. Times do come when I long for what was, or I want to do something that runs contrary to His will. In those moments I have a choice: to bring my life into line with the teaching of God’s word. or let my ego reign as I seek to justify an unwise choice by manipulating the Bible to fit my behaviour.

I am sure God understands my predicament. After all, He is full of grace and is merciful. He does accept me as I am, but this self-willed hankering that presumes on His kindness brings me perilously close to denying His grace and mercy. God’s call to come to Him is a call to allow Him to change and transform me, not an excuse to remain as I am and let His word weaken in me.

It is a tussle; I cannot sit back and take my ease. Challenges and threats that compromise my faith come from without and within. In recognising them, God exhorts each of us to hold fast to His word, to contend for the truth. This contention is not passive. Like wrestlers sparring against their opponents, it requires focused strength and commitment to oppose the shoving and pulling that life brings; courage to hold on when deep, internal hardships hint at derailment.

These are no blithe skirmishes, but battles that crave determination and strenuous action to grapple, resist and stand. Thankfully, we do not fight alone. God is with us, and as we remain true to Him, this grappling strengthens and grows the muscle of our faith. We get to know God better too, understanding more deeply that He is the way, truth and the life. He is Anchor that holds us firm in all of life’s challenges.

© copyright Gillian Newham 2024