HOW TO WALK WITH A SMILE INTO THE DARK

" How can we walk with a smile on our faces straight into the dark?

We must learn to put our trust into our God and the leadings of the Holy Spirit.

How many of us are truly led by the Holy Spirit in our every day lives?

I have turned to God.

I have turned to him when I have had a difficult decision to make.

I have also turned to him when I have sought strength to endure pain in dark times.

But I am only slowly learning to dwell in the place where leadings come from.

That is a place of love and joy and peace, even in the midst of so much pain.

The more I dwell in that place, the easier it is to smile, because I am no longer afraid.

" If we dwell in the presence of God, then we shall be led by the Holy Spirit.

We will always do well to remember that being led by the spirit depends not so much upon God.

This is because he will always be there to lead us through life, as upon our own willingness to be led by him and the Holy Spirit.

We need to be willing to be led into the darkness as well as through green pastures and beside still peaceful waters.

We do not need to be afraid of the dark because God will always be there.

The future of this world does not only need to be in the hands of all the world's 'leaders and politicians'.

The world is in God's hands if we are the ones led by God.

Let us be led by God.

Let us be led by the Holy Spirit.

Let us walk with a smile into the darkness.”

Gordon Matthews

Visiting Friend in Residence at Swarthmoor Hall

A leader of the annual 1652 Pilgrimages around the historical Quaker sites in Cumbria and Lancashire