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Showing posts from August, 2012

The "Even If" Principle

This morning I had the opportunity to reflect on the story of the 3 Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, from whom we can draw the "Even If" Principle for our daily Christian living.  The first time I learned of this principle was at dinner with my mentor. After I had poured out my heart, he asked if I had my Bible with me, and when I handed it over to him, he turned the pages to the Book of Daniel 3: 16-18 "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown in into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand O king. But even if He does not , we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." I must confess that I had never even seen that little phrase tucked in there and as he spoke to me, these words then made sense; that in our Christian...

I will keep laboring in the Lord

T his morning the words of 1 Corinthians 15:58 came to mind: "Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."  I must confess that there are many times I have looked at my life and wondered if it has been worth it; this Faith "thing" as some would refer to it. There have been so many tears, so much sowing, and I keep wondering when the harvest and the laughter does come in, as promised in Psalm 126. There are days I have despaired and almost thrown in the towel, especially when in most instances my life has not read like the perfect Christian life, and I feel like the "Black Sheep" in the Body of Christ. It does not help when fellow brethren look at my life and tell me that I must have gone wrong somewhere and so in puzzlement I sit at my Father's feet and question Him on a lot of stuff. However, over t...

My heart trusts You Lord

Dear God, I sit in the rubble that is my life and I am shattered by the losses and disappointments in the past. What started out as a promising life has had so many twists and turns that my heart no longer knows what to expect. This morning my heart feels so broken that I hardly know where to begin. Even as I celebrate the new beginnings that come with this month a sudden realization of human frailty hit me. I am slowly beginning to realize that You alone know the extent of my broken heart, my disappointments, my losses, and the impact these have had on me over the seasons. And while I may have seemed strong with the various happenings, I really am not that strong. My prayer time is characterized by deep groaning and tears that no man could understand except You my Lord. Tears have been my food all day and all night long and while I go through life, I know deep within I hurt, and I hurt so badly. I feel I am in this motion that I have no control over, and that with each loss a...

Heaven's Drizzle

There was a slight drizzle as I made my way to the beach on Saturday morning. I could not stop the tears from rolling down my face as I walked the ocean’s breadth. There was a deep sense of awe about God the Creator and God the Father. My life flashed before me and I was humbled at His never-ending and unconditional love for me. I let my tears freely flow; I did not care about the man who jogged slowly past me; I did not notice the two ladies who stood at the edge of the water; I really did not care that I had no handkerchief or tissue to wipe away the tears on my face; all I cared about is the deep gratitude I felt in my heart towards God.  As I sat on an unfinished stone foundation by the beach, I lay bare my heart to God, and once again I could feel the fear, the doubt, the anxiety, the insecurities, etc begin to creep into my heart. I had so many unanswered questions; questions I had carried within my heart over the past five years. I had been tossed and lashed by storms an...

In Him I live and move and have my being

Today is a new day. This is the first post on my blog. It is something I have always wanted to do and I knew that unless I did it today I would never get round to do it. Blogging means I should be able to spare time consistently and write down my thoughts, God's thoughts and reflect on them. For me, writing has always been therapeutic and I am looking forward to writing and writing some more. I have been looking back at my life in the past few months and so much has happened. I have suffered significant losses, hurts and disappointments, and whilst I mourn these, I also do celebrate the newness that each experience has brought into my life.  The most significant loss was the loss of my dad on April 25, 2012 to cancer. There was never a time in my life I ever thought I would have a life without papa, and yet here I am, almost 4 months later, and he truly is not there. I think about him a lot, sometimes I cry, I weep, and there were times when there was such a deep pain in my h...