The New Room has been sharing a Friday reflection each week. We hope that these short reflections act as a point of spiritual focus, enabling a moment of quiet thought and prayer.

Kate Rogers works as Collections Manager and Community Engagement Officer for The New Room. Kate joined The New Room in 2017 with 7 years’ experience of working in museums. Kate has a background in design for museums and a love of 18th century social history.

Ecclesiastes 7:14

On the day of prosperity be joyful and on the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that will come after them.

We have been studying Ecclesiastes in church since January and I’ll admit that I was not overly enthusiastic about looking into wisdom literature that shares that, ‘all is vanity’, but I have been pleasantly surprised. It’s transparent presentation of the reality of life is refreshing, especially when you contrast it with the source of all our joy in Christ. It’s that contrast that strikes me most, knowing that Christians can experience the weight of hardships at the same time we experience the buoyancy of hope because of Jesus, who give us life and defeated death.

With all the uncertainty of this past year, I have been reflecting on my desire for control in all my toil and I heard a prayer recently which said, “Lord, please teach me that you alone, not my ability to figure things out, are my rock and rescue”.

I find it is easy to believe I’m in control of things when life is going well, and only when my earthly resources fail me do I realise this is not the case. As we set out with the roadmap proposed by our government, life will, we hope, return to some sense of normality. My prayer is that I’ll continue to remember I am not (thankfully) the one in control, but I know the one who is and can say with complete certainty that God is my rock and refuge. So instead of focusing on ‘what if’s’, let us together focus on ‘who is’, bringing everything; the good, the hard and the bad before God, and together with each other turning back to him in trust and worship through all circumstances and situations.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father, thank you that you are in control of all things.

Thank you that I can bring everything before you, knowing that you love me and long to draw near to me as my rock and refuge. Please help me to remember this through all of my circumstances, whether I’m facing hardships or experiencing times of joy.

I’m sorry for the times I exhaust all my earthly resources before coming to you, or when I put my trust in my own ability to handle a situation.

Please help me to remember that in you alone I find ultimate satisfaction, comfort, and peace and please equip me to encourage and support others to do the same.

Amen.