VICAR

Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You and Your families are well. As July begins I wonder if You are hard at work or in summer holiday mode? I know my magazine colleagues are already on their loungers.

This week I would like to focus on resolve.

The ability to focus on something important is a gift that some of us have and others lack. While praying it is too easy to drift off. While focusing on a target it is too easy to switch to another. There are some items on one’s To Do list which seem to sit there longer than others and are too easy to avoid, too easy to write off as less important or flawed targets.

2 Timothy 1:12

“Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.”

It is useful to understand the resolve of the great athletes, their commitment to training and how their work behind the scenes eventually grinds out success. Also, to admire those who have failed repeatedly before achieving outstanding results. I cannot help but admire those who work in our special forces who train repeatedly for particular events then carry them out with aplomb from the shadows, where records of their achievements lie for years unknown to all but themselves. Conviction leads to resolve, and resolve leads to action.

Jesus took to the desert for 40 days and nights to focus. If that is what it takes for the Son of God then let us follow his example. Maybe we should not be so hard on ourselves when we fail to accomplish more mundane tasks more quickly.

So, this Sunday, let us pray for resolve.

Have a lovely Sunday and a pleasant week to come. God bless You all.

Let us pray for the resolve to accomplish important tasks,

To concentrate on jobs we know full well it is our duty to accomplish,

Whether in the light or working from the shadows.

To promote good in our lives and to eliminate evil,

To ignore distractions and zone in, so our targets can be soon struck off our To Do list.

To complete the tasks ahead and never to dither or wither in our resolve.

We pray for your assistance at this key time, Dear Lord.

Please hear our prayers and deliver us the necessary tools, skilled colleagues and focus.

Never let us be side-tracked or stray from Your path of light and reason,

Amen