Horsham: 16th October 2025

I was reminded of a meeting with other leaders in my town. There were people from the local Council. Leaders of local charities. Church leaders responsible for food banks and community projects. All of us dependent on volunteers to deliver our services. We were there to talk about the cost of living crisis. We were there to look for opportunities for collaboration. We were there to network. To share information. To encourage each other. To inspire each other.

Encouraging or inspirational stories were in short supply.  Clients struggling to pay their bills. Clients struggling with rent and mortgages. Clients dependent on foodbanks who never thought they would need that kind of help. Clients getting into unmanageable debt. Anxiety and stress. Desperate clients stuck in poor accommodation. Families in inadequate refugee and asylum hostels. No end in sight.

Local services stretched beyond their capabilities. Charities trying to stand in the gap but facing desperate challenges with finance and resources. Compassion fatigue amongst volunteers. The clear expectation that this crisis is deepening and no end in sight. It was a bleak picture.

At the end of the meeting, I spoke to a Christian colleague who has huge experience and leads an important local charity. He sensed that the meeting had left me feeling challenged and even depressed.

‘Never forget,’ he said,’ that we have a God who is good. Jesus is much bigger than all of this.’

These are difficult days. I needed that reminder. I need to hold on to that. Maybe you do too.

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”        Psalm 20: 7 (NIV)

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK