Getting There

Fergus Buchanan October 28, 2025 5 4

Playlists

Add to Favourites

Save for later

Listen to this daily worship

Luke 18: 1-8 (NIVUK)

1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: ‘In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.”

4 ‘For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!”’

6 And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’

People often ask: ‘How are you doing?’ Years ago I fell into the habit of saying: ‘Oh, getting there.’ That seemed to cover everything. Not overly satisfied but in the process of pressing on in the life of faith towards the fulfilment of God’s promises. That is not easy in face of the many challenges to faith we often have to go through. Those of us in the grip of long term illness know this only too well. But ‘pressing on’ is in many ways the default position of the Christian life. In Philippians 3: 12 Paul recognises that he is not the picture of Christian perfection but he is pressing on ‘to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.’  

We follow Paul by the grace of God who has given us an example who would never give up in her pursuit of personal justice. Not that we wear God down by pestering Him with our petitions, but that we persevere even through disappointment knowing that we are part of God’s will for humanity, and that in the end we will find a home in his eternal Kingdom.

This is the faith that the Son of Man longs to see when He comes. The day when we are no longer just ‘getting there’ but ‘there’ with all the promises fulfilled. 

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, 

You know how we struggle at times when so many things go against the grain of our life’s expectations. But when You encourage us to press on in hope then this must be possible!  So give us grace, through darkness as well as light, through disappointment as well as failure, through sickness as well as health — through all of this to keep going in the knowledge that You are our constant companion. Amen.