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I worked for a global oil company

My Bible: reasons to believe in the power of the Bible

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‘The verse that is important to me is Romans 15.13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

‘I worked for a global oil company. I had 50 staff, my own secretary and an office. I was 45 and was planning on working until I was 50 and then retiring on a fat pension. But I was made redundant. I had lots of support from my wife and daughter, but I didn’t know what the future would look like. For six months I had no income. I was still expecting that I might get a full-time job, and wrote 700 letters. One of them landed, for Sketchley the cleaners. 

‘I went on a retreat for a couple of nights. It was so cold, so I sat in the library where it was warm and I counted my blessings. I realised that I had a wonderful wife, a beautiful daughter and the church. 

‘I realised that there are no hopeless situations, but hopeless people. This verse has given me perspective. It’s definitely a verse that’s carried on through my life.’

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