At St John’s our theme for January and February is ‘Hanging in there’. For many people, that feels like all we can do at the moment. I had a conversation the other day with a man who does something I sometimes do myself when the TV news comes on – listen to the headlines to find out what’s happening in the world, but then switch off before the day’s depressing covid stories.

I find myself thinking about Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, in which he reflects on a time when things were so difficult that he despaired even of life itself. Desperation and darkness affect many, and it’s reassuring to find the Bible confronting this honestly and directly, saying that God is faithful and trustworthy in tough circumstances.

Early in this letter Paul writes of being at the end of his tether, and learning to rely on God rather than himself. Then in chapter 4 he writes about what it’s like to have Jesus alongside at the hard times in life, and he describes himself as:

Hard-pressed but not crushed;
Perplexed but not in despair;
Persecuted but not abandoned; and
Struck down but not destroyed.

Alongside my desk, I have a bottle of champagne and a crumpled, disposable plastic cup as a reminder that the good news of Jesus is my treasure even if the disposable cup is more like me.Even if you feel like a disposable cup, I commend Jesus to you as treasure – the champagne will taste great whatever the cup is like!