Psalm 149: Worshipping warriors

by Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 149 (NIV)

I was so excited to realise that this is the Psalm I end my blogging journey with, as I love it! It is a challenge and an encouragement for us to seek something new from God.

We are encouraged to sing a new song to our maker and King, to abandon ourselves in dance as we praise His name, to experience Him afresh and not be satisfied with what God has done in our lives in the past.

I love music, I love to study what makes it up and it is a wonderful gift to us that never ceases to amaze me. Every unique combination of its elements (pitch, rhythm, tempo, etc.) contains a world of exciting possibilities. There are effectively an infinite number of combinations to form inexhaustible possibilities of musical sound.

When we are encouraged to "Sing to the Lord and new song” I am struck that in each of us God has put a unique sound that can be offered in praise of his name. Your song and my song are new songs in all of history!

Your new song must be sung. It must be heard. Your voice, your life, they matter. They tell a story no one else gets to tell and sharing it is a way to bring God glory that only you can bring.

Verse 5 says, “Let the saints rejoice in this honour and sing for joy on their beds.” It struck me that the training for what God has for us needs to happen in the depths of our hearts when we are unseen. It is here that our unique songs are formed and matured. When we are left with God, alone, at the end of the day, being abandoned to God in midst of whatever life brings he is fashioning the sound we are called to make. Whatever season we are in God uses it to prepare us for the warfare that is to come by taking us lower so God is rightfully higher.

Humbled, having sought God in the secret place and with his praise firmly on our lips we are the called to action as warriors, not just worshipers. “Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands.” (v6)

We are at war. Jesus told us that the enemy seeks to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Paul tells us to equip ourselves with the armor of God, to resist the enemy and to stand firm (Ephesians 3:16).

We are called to praise and fight, to fight our spiritual enemy with the word of God and the power of faith in God. To shine a light that is sharing the rescue plan of God on spoils of the spiritual war that rage all over this earth, marriages destroyed, children rebelling, people addicted to all kinds of destructive things. There are people dying at the hands of the enemy all around us, people being destroyed by his lies, and we have the means to rescue them. We so desperately need to be worshipping warriors. Warriors full of unique songs of praise to God, ready for action.

One day Jesus is going to return on a white horse. This time He is not coming as a baby in a manger. He is coming as the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is coming in might and power and He is bringing the army of heaven with Him. We fight for the side that is going to win in the end! Now that is worth singing about (Rev 19:11).

Being a warrior of worship involves the high praises of God being in our mouths, the two-edged sword of his word readily available in our hands and action, movement into God’s promises, into all that he has for us. Action to see a hurting world changed by the power of the spirit and to usher in the return of the King

Spend time with God. Don't be satisfied with past experiences of him. Expect God to do something new in your life, God delights in you and he is doing more in you than you even realize. We have everything we need to accept this challenge, the promises of God’s Word, the presence of the Holy Spirit and the reality of our ultimate salvation and victory over the enemy through Jesus.

Sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord the unique sound he has given you to sing through all you do with a life abandoned to him! Experience him in a fresh way, consciously join the battle and do not be satisfied with anything less than an adventure that will culminate in the most epic event history has ever seen, the return of King Jesus.

Psalm 143: Modelling a prayer relationship with God

by Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 143 (NIV)

This is an amazing Psalm that is a model of how to go to God in prayer, especially in tough times. It is so obvious in this Psalm that David is God’s friend and God is David’s friend. It is an amazing illustration of what we can expect from God in our relationship with him – Friendship. This Psalm shows so clearly that when we do go to God in prayer we’re not shooting blindly into the emptiness of heaven but we can talk directly and clearly with God as a friend knowing what we can expect in return. This is how David models this prayer relationship:

• Take to time to go to God – Hear my prayer, O Lord (V1)
  
• Tell Him exactly how you feel and the circumstance you are in. He is the best friend you could ever have and it is ok to be honest with him. (V3-4)
  
• Remember with Him in a conversation all that He has done (V5)
  
• Worship Him in whatever the circumstance – I lift my hands to You in prayer. I thirst for You as parched land thirsts for rain (v9).
  
• Update God on the circumstance, if things are better – tell him, if things are worse – tell him (v7)
  
• Trust God (v8)
  
• Ask God what to do and for his direction in your life (v10)
  
• Be teachable and know that he is God–Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God (v10).
  
• Have the right motive – Our desire for God to act should always be because we want him to be glorified in and through our lives. (V11) 

Remember today that you are a friend of God. If you aren’t then you can be. Just Ask. Then begin to talk with Him in the way that is outlined so beautifully by David in this Psalm.

Psalm 137: No longer a slave to sin

by Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 137 (NIV)

Oh my! ... Was my thought when I first realised I would be writing a blog on Psalm 137 because I had no idea what to say about it. All that kept coming into my mind was the well-known song!

Then I realised this psalm is a song, it almost definitely did not originally sound like the Boney M version but never the less was a song from those in exile. How can they sing when they are in captivity away from the Promised Land and Jerusalem - without a proper place to worship? The call to dash their captive little ones against the rocks seems a bit hard to swallow but I guess it helps express the strength of feeling they had with regards to their circumstances.

I guess the real purpose of this Psalm is not to forget a very difficult time in their history and to celebrate all that God had brought them through.

We in the same way should have sadness for sin and captivity that was in our lives before we were saved and indeed any sin that creeps into our lives even though we are saved in the same way as the Israelites had sadness for being captives in a foreign land. It is good for us to remember that we were once captive, that Christ has set us free and to keep walking in the spirit, where there is liberty.

Today, take some time to remember that you are no longer a slave to sin but transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). Because of Jesus’ finished work we are no longer captives but transformed. Remember where God has brought you from today and seek his continual freedom by choosing to partner with the Holy Spirit in living a life that is full of adventure and promise in his transforming power. 

Psalm 131: Where do we find our peace?

by Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 131 (NIV)

I know that there are times that I get so busy with activities, worries and debates in my mind about issues that I am far from peaceful.  

Sometimes my response to this can be to try to get everything in place around me as I think that this should help to attain peace in my soul.  I attempt to quiet my restless heart with what I do, the things I own or even with people around me who I love and am loved by in this world, so that I will be satisfied.

Although these things no doubt do bring a measure of comfort, the temptation is to create false peace by trying so hard to control things I really do not have any control over anyway.

We need to be content and humble in the presence of the Lord. To learn to sit at the feet of Jesus where we can and should submit our worries and joys, our successes and our failures to our true King through prayer.

We need a deep reliance and trust in God, even if to our temporary view he seems, at times, to let the world spin out of control.

Even in times of being weaned, we must know that our heavenly father has greater things for us, his children. God does not wean us to burden us, but to free us.  True peace is found in the trust and firm hope that even in middle of chaos and anxiety, when the Lord feels far away, He is still there, and nothing will separate you from His care.

Psalm 125: Safe in His arms

by Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 125 (NIV)

God, I know you are like the mountains, that you surround us, protect us, and inspire us.

I pray that you make us like mountains, that you cause us to become strong, enduring, and unshakable.

Be my mountain today Lord. Make me a mountain today Lord.

This has been very much my prayer this week as I have gone back to face a really difficult situation that I have been very shaken by for a long time.

The amazing truth is that the reason Mount Zion cannot be shaken is because another hill was. Years after this psalm was written, on a Friday, on a hill called Golgotha, Jesus Christ died for us.

He bore the wrath we deserved. He suffered in our place, making atonement for our sins. It is because of this amazing act of love that God really can and will "surround his people both now and forevermore”.

In whatever we face in this life nothing can ever shake the truth that Jesus conquered our sin in His death. Then He conquered death by His resurrection. And it’s because of this that we can go about our days under the Lord‘s invincible protection. It is only in this kind of supernatural protection that we are really secure. This is a protection that is there for us no matter what. The tomb is empty, Jesus reigns, and we cannot be moved.

The key to continued peace when evil seems to abound is to trust God, to lean on his promises, to allow the Holy Spirit to keep fueling our faith.  Our God is faithful and unshakable, there seems no better reason to keep on running to him.

Psalm 119:121-176: In His time

by Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 119: 121-176

David prays that God would be his surety and would ensure his well-being, that he would have understanding to know the testimonies of God, to recognise the things that God does.

Despite the desperation of his pleas for the hand of God to be on his life for his good David still realises that God does everything at the proper time, and He will need to sometimes wait for the proper season for God to act.

I believe that all of us will have times in our lives when we really have reached the end of ourselves and it feels like the time for God to act. There arrives a time when we can’t push any longer. We have done all we can do, and now it’s time for God to do the rest. 

This is certainly the case in prayer. We ask and then we wait. Sometimes we wait a short time and sometimes longer but we wait for God to meet us. The thing I know is no matter the timescale God does always meet us. He is our surety and our salvation. But in our waiting He also grants us understanding to know Him more, especially if we use our waiting to run to Him and His Word. His Word is always true and He is always faithful.

God, I pray that you would be surety to us for good.  I pray that you would deal with us according to your mercy, and teach us your statutes.  Would you give us more discernment and understanding, that we would know you better. May we desire you with our whole hearts, and live in your word because it is your word that keeps us on the right path.

Psalm 118: Where is your identity?

By Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 118 (NIV)

Over the last week I have been struggling with feelings of failure and a lack of belonging. I have been faced with some really tough situations recently and because I am struggling to handle them, I frequently feel I have failed. I have realised that I (wrongly) have subconsciously believed a part of my identity comes from what I do and because so much of what I do has been rejected in a painful way I have found myself quite down at times. 

As I have dwelled on this I am reminded again that it is only in my relationship with Jesus that I can be satisfied in life. I know that faith in Jesus is where I truly find security and can be filled with hope and ultimately content no matter the circumstance. 

Jesus, the man who was rejected, scorned and beaten and killed is my Saviour; the Cornerstone for all Believers. There is no rejection that I feel that he does not understand. It is His love that gives me peace.  It is His acceptance and grace that makes living my life a joy. 

I will choose to rejoice in the Lord no matter what my days may look like on the surface of things because they are all days that he has made. No matter what I face God is always and eternally good and he loves me no matter how I feel about myself. 

"The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 

The LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

His love endures forever.




Until tonight (Thursday) this blog stopped above but God showed me this image.....


I see my self as a runner who is pulled out of the race mid-stride.I then see myself lined up as a runner ready to go with ‘important people’. People who are way more important in life than I am.
A tunnel forms on my lane and my vision is narrowed in to Jesus saying "run, run".
My race became focused on Him and him alone.
I then see myself surrounded by things that represent what I have to do in life and my current circumstances and I say to God “I will be slow”
He says "You will be slow but it is making you STORNG"
And he is saying "Running is winning, Running is winning"


To rejoice and be glad no matter the circumstance is a way to run even when our feelings lie to us that we are on the sidelines. It is a way to run when we feel lacking, broken or failing. 

Lets keep running with perseverance because when we are weak he is strong, he is the strongest stone, the corner stone and if we are pushed back in our race and feel like we are about to fall the Lord helps us and calls "run, you are wining because I am your strength"

Psalm 106: Let's not forget

By Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 106 (NIV)

What this psalm keeps coming back to is we ourselves, all of us forget and turn to our idols.

We forget how powerful God is.

We forget the work he has done in our lives and the lives of those around us.

We sin.

What we have forgotten is who God is. We have forgotten what a loving, forgiving God he is, whose love endures forever.

A God whose steadfast love is unyielding despite our Egypts, Horebs, Meribahs and despite our wickedness.

We forget that we have a good God whose steadfast love never fails and always endures even when the things we do anger him.

We’re not sinners because we sin. We sin because we’re sinners.

However, God has already given to us the only solution we will ever need to deal with our sin. To punish Himself in our place, once and for all time, in the greatest demonstration of love ever seen. Only God could love us enough to do it. So He did.

Let's not forget.

Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD or fully declare his praise?

Psalm 100: In every circumstance

By Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 100 (NIV)

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

This is such a well known Psalm that I had to ask God to talk to me again about it, to bring a freshness in the way I read it. God reminded me that this is an amazing summary of what my attitude towards Him should be but also His promises over my life. 

Know that the LORD He is God: it is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. In a time of my life where I am facing extreme struggles God has shown me again that he is my shepherd, responsible for my health and welfare. In John 6:39 He promised never to lose a single one of us, but to raise us all up at the last day.  

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. My part in the midst of whatever season of life I find myself  is to adopt this viewpoint.  To allow God to show me that all the events of my life (even the bad stuff) can invariably bring blessing. Sometimes, especially recently I find myself struggling with joy, because I so often try to link my level of joy with circumstances. 

The thing is that there is no conditional obedience when it comes to joy in praise of God that is acceptable. Not because God doesn't care about my circumstance but because he knows that entering his courts with praise regardless of situation or circumstance is the very best place for me when life is tough. In his courts is a better place to be than anywhere else, it is only in his courts that my brokenness can be satisfied and he will be my shepherd and my advocate. How do I get into his courts, to a place of nurturing as his sheep, to a deeper understanding of God's love for me no matter what? Through unconditional joy, thanksgiving and praise! 

I know more than ever that the Christian walk will contain battles and victories! “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)  I can’t experience a victory without first going into battle but when I follow God's plan, in one way or another (even if it doesn't look like it at the time) every battle ends in victory.  In my current battles God continues to show me that every time I yield  to Him, his victory will always exceed my expectations even if it doesn't change my circumstances. God is good, he is working all things together for my good and he is faithful. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 94: My foot is slipping

By Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 94 (NIV)

As I have been reading Psalm 94 this week the verse that keeps really jumping out at me is v18-19:

When I said, "My foot is slipping," 

your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. 

When anxiety was great within me,

your consolation brought me joy. Psalm 94:18-19

I think the reason is I recognise my need for this truth in my life in recent times more than ever. I read these words aloud and they have helped to brig peace in me again for situations that seem impossible and have brought me a lot of anxiety. 

I encourage you to do the same. Repeat the above verse out loud. Yes...... and again and again. 

God upholds us even when we feel like we might fall apart. God is the source of our strength in times of fear, worry and doubt. God is our Salvation, our strong tower, our ever present help in times of need.

God, even when I forget you and attempt to do life in my own strength, when I fall thank you that you are upholding me with your right hand. I know that you won't let me fall apart. When my mind is messed up and made foggy with anxiety and my heart crowded with worry I know that I can rely on your strength, ideas and wisdom. God teach me to look to You before I reach out in my own strength. 

Psalm 88: Why crying out to God is good

By Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 88 (NIV)

As worship leaders we can often steer clear of the kind of lament seen in this Psalm and I think to an extent this is understandable, it really is a pretty depressing psalm.  "O Lord, my God, my Saviour, by day and night I cry to you."  That mention of God as Saviour is as positive as it gets. This acknowledgement of what God has done is stated as fact even in the face of everything that comes next.

"You have laid me in the depths of the pit, in dark places, and in the abyss.  ...You have put my friends far from me; you have made me to be abhorred by them...  My sight has failed me because of trouble; Lord, I have called upon you daily; I have stretched out my hands to you.  Lord, why have you rejected me? Why have you hidden your face from me?  Ever since my youth, I have been wretched and at the point of death; I have borne your terrors with a troubled mind.  Your blazing anger has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me."

Those of you who know me well, know that this year has been a difficult one for me but even with this I am not at the point of feeling comfortable with making this kind of bold claim of God. Maybe this is because this is something that is just not comfortable in our culture. However, this psalm not only cries out to God in passionate misery, but also lays circumstances upon God as the source of suffering.  There are other psalms of lament, but they usually contain some hint of hope with such words as, "I put my trust in you, O Lord, and you will come to my aid."  There just is no hint of this in Psalm 88.  This is a cry of utter distress, this Psalm offers no words that aim to soften the intensity of expression that come with  grief, anger, and questioning in truly painful times.

This psalm concludes with a gut-wrenching cry of a man who is alone and surrounded by darkness, "My friend and neighbour you have put away from me, and darkness is my only companion."   There is no hint of gentle encouragement.  No glimpse of hope of horizon. No Fear not, God is with you.  This psalm is a cry of unbroken misery. 

I'm glad we have Psalm 88.  I would love to hear it read out loud in public more. The more I have read it the more I have realised there is a place for it in our lives and in our worship (well – duh Channy it is in the Bible!). There are times in our lives when we will experience things that leave us in total sadness.  There are circumstances that really do seem hopeless. 

This psalm demonstrates that expressions of grief are legitimate.  This psalm encourages us to talk to God about any reality we feel we are in. It is not faithless to cry out in helpless and hopeless anguish.  It has reminded me that God is big enough to want to hear how we really are and we don't have to appease him with words of piety or hope that do not feel true in times of desperate pain. Even in the deepest, most hopeless and darkest times, God is our companion even if all we have left to share with him is our brokenness.

Psalm 82: Defending the weak and fatherless

By Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 82 (NIV)

"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;

   Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Rescue the weak and needy;

   deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

They know nothing, they understand nothing.

   They walk about in darkness;

   all the foundations of the earth are shaken."  

(Psalm 82: 3-5)

There are times in our history when truths like these seem more obvious than ever before. I decided to test this theory by checking today's newspapers. They are littered with stories about the Eurozone crisis, the fact that Munch's The Scream has sold for £74m and even a pensioner who is requesting a sex change! Article after article of proclaimed experts work themselves into a frenzy over our economic woes and decisions over non-life threatening operations yet I had to search quite hard to dig out a news story on the growing humanitarian crises in Africa's Sahel region as famine spreads across the country or the crisis in the Sudan. Despite terrible oppression amongst the poor in our world and even our nation I cannot escape the constant panic over the potential effect of stock market plunges in our papers. 

I am not saying the state of the economy is unimportant but out of our wealth there is more evidence of concern over wealth than the need to defend the fatherless and maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed or to rescue the needy. 

This Psalm cries for God to rise up and judge the earth and for justice on the behalf of the oppressed.  My prayer as I write this is that I may constantly seek God alone, forsaking all other gods (money, authority, recognition from others, arrogance, pride - to name a few possibilities) whilst being guided to do his will in a desperately hurting world. 

God, we recognise that so many in our world are walking about in darkness while the foundations of the earth are shaken.  Teach us to be guided by your will in a hurting world as we anticipate your return when you will right all things with your righteous judgment and your indescribable mercy.  Come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

Psalm 76: God of justice

By Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 76 (NIV)

“But you, you are to be feared!
Who can stand before you
when once your anger is roused?
From the heavens you uttered judgment;
the earth feared and was still,
when God arose to establish judgment,
to save all the humble of the earth.” 

(Psalm 76:7-9)

I know that many Christians struggle with passages like this. They can’t understand how God can judge people, especially how people can experience eternal death.

When I was thinking about the whole issue of judgment I was reminded of a very difficult period in my life and the life of my family. When I was 14 years old we spent quite some time at court seeking justice against a terrible wrong in the form of an assault on my sister. I remember very deep feelings of anger and pain over the terrible injustice of ever having to watch my sister walk such a terrible road. I remember very well the agony of waiting for a decision by the jury. I also remember my confusing feelings of relief/sadness/anger/sorrow when the judge told the jury to come back, a guilty verdict was read and the penalty for the crime was given.

The sorrow was the most confusing of all the feelings I had (and I would have felt guilty admitting it at the time as I would have wondered if it was a betrayal, like taking the wrong side). Now I am older though, I think I understand it a little more. I didn’t feel sorry for justice that was brought, as this was right and necessary, more that it even had to be brought. Sorrow that this terrible thing had ever happened but also here was a person who had done terrible wrong and needed to be judged but yet was so lost. I really didn’t expect to feel this way at all prior to the case and believe me at the time it was a very fleeting feeling. I left the court despite this knowing that although this wrong could never be righted, justice had been served.

Looking back on this experience God has used it to give me a small revelation of the character of God. God is who He is. He’s perfect, holy and just. Because of who He is, He cannot stand sin. The real question is not, “How can a loving God allow people to experience eternity away from him?” The real question is, “How can a perfect, just God allow us to spend eternity with him?” God is just, but He’s also merciful. He didn’t want us to die, and therefore, He sent Jesus to save us! He wants everyone to be saved from death, if we only allow Him to save us. The sorrow He must feel for all who are lost, no matter how far from Him they are, is mind-blowing.

It is amazing to realise that no matter the injustice we face on this earth, God has ultimate justice in His hands so we can be free to live for Him. I know that even if we hadn’t seen justice brought on that day in court that God does have justice in his hands and I can leave any injustice I have suffered in the court of the King.

I have been challenged this week to spend time thanking God for His mercy and praising Him for being a just God. There are consequences to sin, and we shouldn’t forget this even though we are saved. Fearing God in a healthy way is a good thing, it keeps us from sinning.

God I pray you reveal sin in our lives, so that we can confess it and surrender our hearts completely to you. God, change us from the inside out, make us who you created us to be, people who love mercy and hate sin as much as you do.

Psalm 70: If you don’t ask…

By Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 70 (NIV)

As a child at school I was often told that patience is a virtue. I am not always that patient – I have learnt to wait for things as I have grown up but as a rule I like to act quickly. I have always been terrible with buying gifts for people. I struggle to wait to give a birthday gift; I want people to know what I have got them (I love birthdays they are so exciting). My sister and myself always used to tell each other what we had bought for our birthday for each other (we are twins) and then acted surprised in front of my parents on our birthday itself.

Is it ever appropriate to ask God to hurry up? Or is this just impatience?

David made such a request of God, “Hasten, O God, to save me; come quickly, LORD, to help me.

On our honeymoon in Greece Aaron and myself were involved in a serious motorbike accident. A car pulled out from the side of the road straight into our moving bike.

In a foreign hospital, serious injuries, incorrect and dangerous medication, police threatening jail because of taking a bribe from the other driver (to mention only a few of the problems) we found ourselves in terrible need of help. I will never forget the relief of finally being able to have access to a phone to contact people who could help us (the hospital would not allow us to make calls so there was no contact with these people for some days).

Once we could make a call a wonderful local Greek lady met us and helped us to sort out some of the issues and among other things to eventually flee the country and the trouble being untruthfully inflicted on us.

I really hope in this case no one would criticise us for being impatient, that we did the right thing to call for help as quickly as possible because our situation was urgent.

In the same way God longs we make a call to him, to give us help that He has promised, to all who love Him because he loves us and he wants to intervene in our lives. We should never hesitate to cry out to God, “But as for me, I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; LORD, do not delay.

As Aaron and myself touched down in Gatwick airport we were filled with praise because although we would continue to battle the difficulty of our injuries for sometime God had provided, on our call, help. He had saved us and brought us home.

God longs to hear His children calling out to Him. He is especially pleased to hear them not only calling out for help, but also as we seek him that we would Praise him because he has saved us, not just from a bad situation but he has rescued us and brought us into eternal relationship with him.

“But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, “The LORD is great!”

Psalm 58: Wookey Springs

By Chantalle Wookey
Psalm 58 (NIV)


Today I am painting my kitchen. Correction – I am re-painting my kitchen. Some of you know that when Aaron and myself moved to Bournemouth almost five years ago we bought a house that was in a terrible state. The only option was to completely gut it, live in a building site and work endlessly on it till it was renovated (it's almost finished). This was a grueling task that involved living in a complete mess in the smallest room of our house and many nights coming home from work, then working on the house till the very early hours of the morning.

Eventually we made some progress. Slowly our house started looking less like a building site and more like a home. A particularly wonderful day for me was when Aaron and his dad installed the kitchen, having been cooking on a camping stove for six months you can imagine how excited I was! I set to painting with renewed excitement for our project.

However, after only a few weeks of the installation we encountered a problem. One of the walls in the kitchen was damp. We had specialists out to look at it. The man we paid to diagnose it insisted it was rising damp and was going to charge us a bucket load more money to fix it. We had no money left so we decided we had no option but to wait a little while to fix it.

A few days later while digging the garden we realised the soil was warm, this was very odd, it was not a particularly warm day. So we dug some more and found water! We knew it was from the hot water pipe but we just could not get to the problem. Eventually we realised the only way to fix the problem was to install a new hot water pipe in the kitchen and re-route the water. This involved ripping up a load of the work we had done including flooring and walls.

Our walls were fine they just couldn’t cope with the volume of hot water escaping into the soil from our house! The specialist had not told us the truth or had not done the investigation he said he did. As you can imagine we were furious. This escaping water has become known as ‘Wookey Springs’. We were gutted, ripped off by an untruthful specialist and now having to rip up all of our hard work. Injustice hung heavy in our house.

As I have been painting the kitchen today I have found myself thinking back to those times. I was taken back to feelings of annoyance over the injustice of that situation. All that work, money paid out falsely, hard work destroyed and STILL having to re-do work today.

In Psalm 58 David writes about the injustice in society. He sees the corruption of those in charge (v2) and laments their wickedness (3-5). He then goes on to ask God to allot out His judgment on these unrighteous (6-9).

On this earth there will be injustice. Things will go wrong. But this Psalm assures me God will judge. This Passion week I am reminded again that although sometimes the immediate injustices we see around us make no sense that Jesus will be victorious in the end. He has already WON but He is returning to bring about the justice of God. In it all we can pray for God’s will to be done and submit to his Sovereignty, even if we don’t understand why things happen as he really does know best. Living this way keeps our hearts soft so we can focus on advancing the Kingdom of God.

The hope from this Psalm is that God does bless the righteous.

As I am painting the walls from the destruction ‘Wookey Springs’ caused God is showing me how we are so like my kitchen. In our lives things will go wrong, these things can be very painful especially when the things that go wrong are so precious to us. The destruction in my kitchen happened, it was a painful experience but it revealed water that was flowing incorrectly and causing so many problems and potential problems. Because this was revealed it could be removed and a new water source could be installed. God will use times of pain and injustice to mould us so he can truly flow through us and then he will be our justice. The new pipe in the kitchen now feeds our home with the blessing of hot water that will refresh me as I take a much needed bath later to once again remove the paint from my hair, despite painful times the big picture is that I am truly blessed!

Psalm 52: Sticks and stones

By Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 52 (NIV)

Growing up, I vividly remember many conversations with my parents over the playground chant, ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me’. From a young age I came to the conclusion that this was nonsense. That when people said mean things it really did hurt.

Words are powerful. Words can tear down or build up. Encouraging words can change the outlook of a day. But lies hurt. Deception hurts. Sin is evil. That includes verbal sin. The evil tongue and malicious words are hugely condemned in this psalm. Many of us may never see the kind of physical destruction we read about in the Old Testament – it is just not a part of our daily lives. However, destruction by the tongue often is. It is something we will probably receive from others and will have to examine ourselves on.

Despite this as 'good Christian people' it feels totally culturally taboo to wish ill on others. So as I have looked at the Psalm I have struggled with its challenge - v5 God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Eek!

As I have dwelled on this it has seemed more obvious to me. There is a good way to live and a bad way to live. Yes, you can get ahead using deceit, treachery and lies. (I’m sure we’ve all been the recipients or perpetrators of this, no one teaches their kids to lie yet as a teacher I haven’t met many that don’t). The truth of this Psalm is that in the end, these things will provide no refuge. So, as David says, it is better to live a life of trust in God’s steadfast love.

This Psalm is meant to teach us something. Words of evil against us should bring us to a point of trust in the love of God for us. Trust in God should be our response to harmful words.

Trusting in God makes us as an olive tree, well rooted, standing the test of time. Verse 8 tells us David trusts in the steadfast love of God "forever and ever."

But there is more. David TRUSTS in the love of God but he also THANKS and WAITS on God. He is not reactionary. I know I have not enjoyed waiting out many difficult situations this year. One of which being a colleague with a fiery temper, fearing the consequences of retaliation. Slander behind the back, things whispered that simply aren't true. I’m sure you too have experienced periods of painful waiting. The question is in situations where words hurt what should we do?

TRUST God

THANK God

WAIT on God

God is Sovereign, He is just and He'll bring about the end that most glorifies Him.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." I have partly changed my mind. Words do hurt but this saying hints at a greater truth. It is an annoyingly pithy saying that I still don’t like, but the truth is we have a God, our Father who loves us and His love and justice endure despite the evil of others... forever and ever.

Psalm 46: Be careful! Watch out for the conga eels

By Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 46 (NIV) 

Not all of you will know that I am an identical twin. Biologically we are identical but in so many ways our likeness stops there, this was particularly evident in our attitudes towards danger and adventure as children. My sister was very fearful as a child.

I will never forget the day my grandparents took our older cousins and us to a beautiful river near Dartmoor. It was a brilliantly hot and sunny day. As kids do, my cousins and myself made a mad dash for the water, desperate to get wet and play. My sister, however, because of her nerves was slower to join us. As she approached us we were already in the middle of the stream.

My cousins seeing her nerves decided it would be terribly funny to tease her (as only male cousins can) and to taunt her, "Be careful! Watch out for the conga eels!" By this time my sister was ankle deep in the river. On hearing this she totally freaked out and jumped up onto a rock in the middle of the river with the water lapping at her toes. She was so full of fear and she screamed for so long that a very large crowd gathered, she was inconsolable and would not be quiet for long enough to even listen to the voice of my grandfather telling her all was well. Eventually a man on the river rescued her in a dingy (Yes, my cousins were in trouble).

My sister experienced the river on that hot day and found safety on a rock in the river but she missed out on the fullness of fun of the river, the refreshment on a dry, hot day, she missed the adventure because she listened to the lies of foolish men, she was full of fear and was transfixed on the turmoil she perceived all around her.

We will in our lives experience turmoil and even more so as we hurtle towards the end of this age and Jesus returns (as well as a huge encouragement this psalm is an insight into that day).

I believe God is calling to us asking, “How deep are we in the River of Living Water? How deep do we allow the Holy Spirit in our lives?"

As believers in Christ, we are already in the River but how deep are we? Ankle-deep? Knee-deep? Waist-deep? Or out of our depth? How deep do we want to go?

As we go deeper still, we will find that we have to swim and let go of the firm ground even if that means facing things that scare us. In the River of living water, we have to let go of self and let the Spirit takes us to where He wants.

How much control do we actually have in our lives? Surely it is far better to let the Holy Spirit have control, to really swim in the river whose streams make glad the city of God.

Do we allow circumstance to rob us of all God has for us or do we choose instead to be still and know that he is God? To stop screaming and listen to the voice of the one who has authority of our lives? In the midst of difficulties we face in life, no matter what they look like; the command to be still does not come from a lack of troubles. It comes from a steady trust and recognition of God's presence with us.

Although we will definitely face troubles in our lives and more so as we head towards the end of the age we can be encouraged that the river of God does bring healing and Jesus is right there in his dingy reassuring us. We can be certain that we are safe, even when waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging because the Lord of hosts is with us, he is our refuge and he is our victory.

Psalm 40: Honest Worship

By Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 40 (NIV)

So often I find myself jumping into the notion that true worship must be festive, upbeat and just plain happy. Certainly this can be the prevalent notion in so much of our corporate worship. The reasons for this are obvious; Jesus has triumphed over sin, suffering, and death – victory is ours through him, we have so much to rejoice about, so much to celebrate. God has put righteousness in our hearts and, he has saved us and he is faithful (v10).


However, I am refreshed by this psalm. It reveals to me again that sentiments of sadness and feelings of discouragement do indeed have a place in worship. Thank goodness my heart cries because I know both you and I have experienced days when all is darkness (For troubles without number surround me and my troubles have overtaken me and I cannot see – v12)


If we do not worship in the valleys, we will not be praying at all times. I know for sure that I have had to learn a prayer of worship when I have very definitely been down in the valleys at various times in my life. When all is not well it is not a time to dwell on the difficulty alone but to find a prayer and a cry of worship right in the middle of that situation.


“Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer” (v17)


This is a psalm ending on an unresolved note (O my God do not delay). God wants us to call to him and to ask Him to intervene in our lives, for in these moments of despondency and uncertainty God is still worthy of our worship. “Hope that is seen is not hope, who hopes for what he already has?” says Paul in Romans 8:24, our prayer of hope must strive to be the loudest of the voices that would seek to rise from our hearts even when we find ourselves in a less than festive season of life. Our honest voice before God can be our prayer as well as our struggle; it can be our worship as well as our pain. On the mountain top or in the valley we can declare, “You have set my feet upon a rock”.


God would you help us to be truly real and present with you in our worship, to allow the feelings of our heart to engage with the feelings of yours. God show us how to bring the whole of our lives, whatever the circumstance to you as an act of worship because we love you and you love us.

Psalm 34: We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God!

By Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 34 (NIV)

A.W. Tozer said “We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God!”

Worshipping God is not just important, it should be our preoccupation. Yet instead of this preoccupation we so often carry our fears, agendas and other trappings of life as a focus with us to the places we go and the people we meet. We can even carry this focus to church on Sunday. As human beings it seems that we worry about everything.

So often we can find ourselves dwelling on our fears, agendas and the stress that surrounds the business of life. There is however, a huge shift available to us that comes as we engage in worship, confess our fears and ask God to remove them, ask the God who loves us to fills us with confidence and faith. It is then as we come into concious contact with God, our creator that we are filled with a holy fear and reverence. God’s response to us is with the gift of life without fear. In Psalm 34 David recognises the great gift he had received in the privilege of fearing God.

On Sunday I shared a picture God gave me of a rocket ship that was taking off into orbit. The rocket takes off in stages, separating and shedding portions of the ship at each stage. I was drawn to thoughts of 1 Corinthians 14 where we are encouraged to sing (worship) with our Spirit but also our mind, and how God wants all of us, heart, soul, strength, and mind set on pushing into the Praise of him, leaving behind those things that hold us back and going on up to the next level in the persuit of him.

So often our fears and concerns and indeed just trying to live everyday life can cause us to want to flee and hide in a cave like David, these things can hold us back from the pursuit of God. In this Psalm David had lost all that was secure to Him on this earth, except God. If you really think about it he had really lost nothing at all!

God was with him in the cave there in the dark and David as he began to speak the words of this Psalm. Why don’t you repeat the words below 2-3 times and then just let it work on your spirit but also your mind:

1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
These are incredible words, coming from a man who was fleeing and sitting in the dark.

I challenge you today to lift up His name, right there in the middle of whatever is going on and see what God does, see where he takes you. God is with us but more than that he wants us to shed off the things that bind us in order to propel us on up to higher places for the Praise of his name.

Psalm 28: Stop the world, I want to get off

By Chantalle Wookey
Psalm 28 (NIV) 

Today I definitely had ‘one of those days’! I have found myself saying, “Stop the world, I want to get off.” I have found myself feeling like this at various times in my life, but particularly over the last year whilst facing some very challenging situations in my work.

I know that we all have times like this were it just feels like life is flying past and the commotion of the day, week, year is just a little too much.

This year I found myself just past the milestone of a New Year and despite the many, many blessing in my life I found a small part of my New Year prayer containing the uttering “please God, make it better than last year”!

Life can be chaotic and noisy. Life can be downright hard.

I often need to bind the thoughts that go around my head. Distraction can come easily from the busyness that surrounds me, the thoughts from my own mind, and the arrows of the enemy. Thoughts that are so easily effected by people that in person speak cordially with me but I know harbor malice in their hearts (v3)

Psalm 28:6-7 says, Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

Psalm 28 helps me to understand that when the noise is so loud that I cannot think, I can turn my heart to God in prayer, he is listening. When arrows seem to fly at me like a thick black cloud I can hide in the shelter of my Saviour, the only sure refuge in times of trouble. And when I feel weary and ready to give up thinking the world might overcome me, I can fall like a little child into the arms of God, my refuge, my shepherd - he will carry me (28:9).

Calm your heart amidst the turmoil of this world, sing thanks to him and trust in God. His arms are wide, wide open.