Making time to listen out for God can give the answers we need
Brian Robertson and his friend Andrew Golder, both from Inverness, present a Sunday evening programme on Heartsong Live.
It’s an Edinburgh-based Christian station broadcasting on the internet, and on DAB in the central belt, with 117,000 weekly listeners.
On their show, Brian and Andrew play worship music and chat about Christian faith.
Brian, married with two adult sons, is a former banker who moved into the charity sector. He has been a leader in many churches, and is currently part of Fresh Springs which meets in Killearnan Church on the Black Isle.
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Brian’s work for Heartsong is inspired by the things which matter most to him. He tells me about his love for people. The most fulfilling of all his roles was voluntary work with people with learning disabilities. He found joy in journeying with them, encouraging them, watching them open up and fulfil their potential.
He has a strong desire to share the discovery he made on his 16th birthday when he “asked God for help…for direction, purpose, a sense of the meaning of life.”
“I got a terrific peace on my life that night,” he says.
That teenager’s faith has stood the test of time. He’s been encouraged by some very clear answers to prayer.
When working as finance manager for a charity, for example, on several occasions where there wasn’t enough in the bank to meet the end-of-month staff salaries, he prayed, and unexpected donations arrived, at just the right moment.
Daily, he makes time to listen out for God – “I do need to have time to reflect, to be quiet, to be still” – and these reflections shape his actions.
Two examples: he left banking mid-career, concerned about the toxicity of senior management culture. Asked to go to the most dangerous country in the world for three weeks to undertake a financial project he agreed.
And there’s his creativity – as musician (guitar and bass), and as writer. His current project is a book on Scottish church history, reflecting on how knowledge of the past can help Scottish Christians discern the way ahead.
I felt deep empathy with Brian as he spoke about the health issues he has faced, the anxiety which troubles him more as he grows older, and the restlessness which sees him filling his time with productive activity. In all this he is very similar to me.
I hope Brian realises that the God to whom we cry out “What do you want me to do?” often replies, “Nothing! Simply be still, and realise how much I love you.”
Many people, I’m sure, have been inspired by Brian’s life and work. For it is often in our frailty and brokenness that the song of Christ in our hearts is most clearly heard.
