Day six - Wait quietly
- Congregational Federation
- Feb 22, 2021
- 2 min read

I have to admit to being something of a science geek. I love following the latest news and discoveries, and seeing where all the advancements are taking us. I freely hold my hand up to indicate that quite often a lot of the debate goes way over my head, but at least I try to grasp what’s being said.
I’ve been very excited this week with the news that the United Arab Emirates has joined the space race with its spacecraft entering into orbit around Mars, making the UAE the first Arab nation in history to have a scientific presence at Earth's near neighbour. The first picture sent back by the spacecraft was a phenomenally beautiful picture of the red planet. What’s even more exciting is that on the day the UAE probe took this first image, the Chinese Tianwen-1 orbiter arrived at Mars. And later on this week the US Perseverance Rover will arrive at Mars too. You wait ages for one spacecraft to turn up, and then three turn up all at once!
I recently listened to a Podcast on all this interest in space exploration to Mars and focussing on why a planet that once was almost identical to earth is now almost its complete opposite! Fascinating stuff.
The best part of this recent news story is the unveiling of the UAE spacecraft name – Hope.
We’ve got to have hope. Hope that these missions to Mars will achieve their aims and ambitions. Hope that the current vaccines will help us combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Hope that businesses will recover, children will make up lost ground, all nations and societies will find their feet once again. Hope that we’ve learnt important lessons for the future. Hope that all this shared global cooperation in battling Covid-19 will unite us to fight other important battles like climate change.
Often, when I feel at my lowest point, I turn for inspiration to the book of Psalms. They mirror so many of my feelings, so many of my life experiences. To the point that they really speak to me and bring comfort and healing. Perhaps there is no greater example of this than Psalm 62:5 –
"Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him."
When life is crowding in around me, when nothing seems to be going my way, when anxieties and worries crowd my horizon I find that the only place to go is to wait quietly before God. And the only prayer to offer is usually:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Amen.
Neil Chappell
Image: A handout picture provided by the United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) taken by the Emirates eXploration Imager (EXI) on board the "Hope" probe
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