Peace in handing over anger

David Jones on how situations arise when we feel alone as life hands us a raw deal

WHERE do we go from here? Monday’s indicative votes in Parliament resulting again with no majority to solve the Brexit crisis has left us as the general public perplexed and deeply concerned to say the least.

It seems a long time since we were told that should there be a majority to leave the EU a ‘smooth’ exit would follow. As far as I remember there were no discussions before or immediately after the decision to leave regarding the complexities of an exit strategy.

There’s no doubt we were misled by some of the claims both sides made during the referendum campaign and one of the reasons so many are disappointed and even disillusioned by the whole political process.

Two years later here we are, parliament polarised with indecision, MPs from the two major parties defecting and who knows what’s going to happen in these few days before we fall over the precipice into a ‘no deal’ situation.

Now, so we are told, it is very likely through the inability of our elected representatives to find some common ground. However, one of the proposals voted on was for a second referendum and that vote was surprisingly close.

A second referendum may well be the way to settle Brexit once and for all, then again how would it be possible to reconcile both sides of the argument if there were narrow margins as there were in 2016? Are we then up for a general election? Or will it be a case of – as Brenda from Bristol reacted last time – ‘Not another one!’

In one of her books Catherine Marshall wrote of what she called the ‘prayer of relinquishment’. There were times in her life, as there are with us all, when she felt frustrated, perplexed and angry.

It was then she simply handed all her anger and frustrations over to God and in doing so found a sense of peace she never thought possible. Situations may arise when we feel alone, even up against the wall, especially when life hands us a raw deal.

How then do we find the strength to go on? The prayer of relinquishment is just that.

Trusting God, who the Bible says knows our thoughts and needs even before we bring them to him, and who has promised to be with us in all the changing scenes of our lives.

That’s the assurance we will know when we too pray the prayer of relinquishment because when you or I can’t – God can!