Hi Everyone

Here’s this month’s Gone Fishin’ Newsletter.

Every month a team from our fellowship at Calvary Wellington heads out to our regular fishing holes – the Naenae Market and Hillary Court shops, or the Hutt Riverbank Fruit and Vege Market. There we share the Gospel to those in our immediate community. 

Once a month I publish a simple newsletter that is distributed to the fellowship (or for anyone else who stumbles across this website), as a way of encouragement, and as a tool to equip us to be better evangelists.

Read the May Field Report here, and the June report here.

Enjoy!

Gone Fishin’ Monthly Newsletter – July 2025

“Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
    and give thanks to his holy name
For his anger is but for a moment,
    and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.”

(Psalm 30:4-5, ESV).

Hi Everyone

I trust that everyone is managing to keep warm and dry during the cold and wet. God is still providing us intermittent days where we can get out and about to share His good news, so there’s no excuses!

You can read the May outreach report here, and the June report here.

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When overcome with the circumstances of life, as Christians, we know that we need not panic like the world does.

That doesn’t mean our pain is less, or our circumstances are never as bad as the world – they could even be a lot worse. We have a God who cares about us. He provides, nurtures, and restores us. So why do we naturally panic when things go wrong?

 Let’s go through our verses today and learn from the Psalmist how Christians should act when as Christians, we fail, fall into sin, and face God’s anger.

Praise, during penetrating panic

“Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.” (v4)

Of course, our first response to a crisis is anxiousness. It’s our body’s natural coping mechanism, triggering adrenaline to help us subconsciously cope. It allows us to perform almost superhuman feats that would never believe possible had we not lived through it ourselves. It can also give us high-definition clarity in a black-and white situation.

All that doesn’t mean, however, that we will always make the right decision. Some spur of the moment decisions can be sinful, and lead to irreversible changes in your life, for better or worse. That’s why we can’t rely on our heart, or gut feelings.

The Psalmist suggests we do something else in a crisis – something that seems totally counter-productive and foreign to us in the moment. While we are running around like headless chickens, he suggests we “Sing praises” and “give thanks” to the Lord. But we don’t have time for any of that! We have arrangements to make, changes to put into place to fix things!

In short, the Psalmist is telling us to change the way we think. Just because something is out of our control, or we did something that led us to sin does not de-throne God. He is still God. He is still in control. We can praise Him and give thanks to Him not only when things are going well, but also when they are not. His mercies toward us are never-ending.

Favour, after fleeting fury

“For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.” (v5)

Facing disappointment from God can make us despondent. It’s like being told off by a parent – you want to run away and hide for a while to sulk. And having God angry at you can feel infinitely worse, well, because it’s God! There is no amount of sulking or return anger towards God that can sway His chastisement towards us. It is all in His timing, to discipline us.

I would suggest that a parent that does not discipline their child from wrongdoing does not love that child. The same would apply to a parent that never forgives and endlessly punishes a child for one single misdemeanour.

 The Psalmist tells us that God’s ”anger is but for a moment”. His timing is perfect.

When the exact amount of punishment has been meted out, the correct amount of discipline has been applied, and the relevant lessons have finally been learnt – then, and only then, may He decide to restore His servant. Amid our pity party His chastisement may seem forever, but when we have been restored will just seem like a minor blip on the past horizon when we realise that His ”favor is for a lifetime.” !

Tears, turning to triumph

“Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (v5)

When you are stranded in one of life’s heavy storms, it is hard to see anything around you. It’s hard to see a way out. All you can see is the misery around you, and you curse the circumstances and the choices you made that led you to this predicament. ‘What could I have done different?’. ‘Why did I do that sin? Look where it got me”. This can be an endless cycle of frustration, like a hamster on a wheel, leading us nowhere. 

But looking outside of ourselves, and towards the God that patiently waits behind the dark clouds causes us to seek repentance from Him. It’s part of His plan for reconciliation.

The Psalmist says that “Weeping may tarry for the night”. Tarry means to lazily stick around with no intention to move on. It is frustrating. But like the grief process, must be navigated through.

Our only hope comes in that ”joy comes with the morning.”. This temporary setback will only last a season. God will not abandon us in our sin. The part we need to play in this whole process is acknowledging our shortcomings – that we have sinned and fallen short of His glory. His part is being merciful to us and nailing that sin on the splintered cross that held His obedient Son.

May we continually praise our God for all He does.

And may it cause us to shout aloud all His wondrous mercies towards all who place their faith in Him!

 Click on the picture or link below to listen to an AI song I compiled on Psalm 30, with words directly from the ESV. 

Psalm 30