Tag Archives: God’s will

Life Lessons

Why Are You Feeling Down? Hope in God….

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“I   need   encouragement,  you   need   encouragement, we   ALL   need encouragement !” The words of the speaker wafted on, and I little dreamed how these introductory words would stick in my mind for over fifty years!     I can see now after a span of years, that to encourage  others is one of the best gifts that God has given to each one of us. No matter how old or how young we are, we can all say nice things to others, especially those in our own family.

     David, in spite of knowing God so well, is a classic example of one who needed encouragement. Jonathan (King Saul’s son) and David were best friends. They had clicked right from the start of their first meeting in Saul’s court . Jonathan liked David very much, with his youthful freshness and good looks that took everyone’s eye. As they talked together that they both felt the other was a special friend. They thought alike and Jonathan loved the way David appreciated God, while David felt he had someone he could trust in the dangerous court of King Saul.    Even more than Jonathan looking after David’s needs, was his appreciation of God’s plans for David’s future. He not only knew that God’s plan was for David to be the next king, but he was happy about it and planned that he would be second in command. When David was on the run for his life, he would meet him as often as he could, and encourage him in the Lord, looking to the future when he would work with David as King. They were so sure of this that they made a covenant (promise) together before the Lord promising that they would always keep it.     But the time came when they were separated, to see each other no more, and David was left without the comfort of Jonathan’s encouragement.

    Perhaps you are missing friends you once had and now you are separated from them.  What can you do?  What did David do?      David told  God all about it. Things couldn’t have looked blacker for him. His friend was gone, his enemies were still after him, and they had taken his wife and family captive and his own men had turned against him.

    We have times when we feel like this. We all have enemies of fears, doubts, and other problems, even not feeling well; these enemies  seem about to swamp us at times. David may have wondered where God was in all this mess…..where were His promises now? However could he get out of all this?     But he took himself to task…. “Why are you so cast down O my soul? Hope in God!” “Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart”. “My heart is fixed O God”, he would say, “I will sing and give You praise in spite of my enemies!”

     So we too, can fix our hearts and minds on the Lord and not be afraid of bad things. We can think about Him and count our blessings. Think of all we can be thankful for in spite of our circumstances and we  will be encouraged with a fresh outlook on things. It is surprising what a difference a thankful spirit makes, and being thankful for the outcome of our prayers BEFORE we see the answer will give the peace of God that passes all understanding.

You can read these stories about David and Jonathan in the Bible in 1 Samuel18:1-16;   20:41-42;   23:16-18

Morning Musings

My Dining Room.

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          From there we went into the dining room, the room of appetites and desires. I spent a lot of time and hard work here trying to satisfy my wants. I said to Him, “This is one of my favourite rooms.  I am quite sure You will be pleased with the food we eat!” He sat down at the table  with me and asked, “What is on the menu for dinner?”  “Well,” I said, “my favourite dishes are money, academic degrees and stocks, with newspaper articles of fame and fortune as side dishes.”  Those were the things I liked – secular meals.       When the food was put in front of Him, He said nothing, but left it on His plate uneaten. I said to Him, “Master, don’t You like this food? What’s the matter?” He said, “I have food to eat that you do not know of. If you want food that really satisfies you, you must do the will of the Father. Stop seeking the things you want, your own desires, and satisfaction. Seek to please Him. That is the food that will satisfy you.” (John 4:32, 34)     It was there at the table, that He gave me a taste of the joy of doing God’s will. How full of flavour it was! There is no food like it in all the world. It alone satisfies. As I began to delight myself in Him and His things, I found my desires were changing, and He gave me every one of them!!  (Psalm 37:4)

Morning Musings

Beginnings and Endings.

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The End and the Beginning….

    Just as surely as every experience  has a beginning and an end, so we can be sure that nothing will go on for ever in the same way.

    When we entered this period of lockdown, we didn’t really know what it would entail until we were in the middle of it.  After the initial novelty of it had worn off, then there came a period of restlessness hoping it would hurry and come to an end as we wanted  the freedom of going and doing what WE wanted and not what we were told to do!

   Now that time has come to pass in part, and we are once more able to get out and about in our cars and visit with our friends with certain stipulations. But there are still regulations to abide by, and we are beginning to wonder how long these will last for, and how long the enforced closure of all businesses will take to get over financially. With so many losing their jobs due to closures, especially in the tourist industry, it will take months and years to get over it all.

    If we had been told at the beginning of the year, what was going to happen we wouldn’t have believed it possible. In just the same way, the things that the Bible foretells that are going to happen seemed  just as impossible, but now we can see that what God decrees,  WILL come to pass in the most extraordinary ways! Some might ask if God sent this corona virus to sweep through the world, but He has certainly allowed however it started, to proceed with vicious speed until every county in the world has felt its cold fingers scratching at their door. Perhaps He wants people to look up to Him, and this is one way of getting this to happen.

    But instead of asking Him to bring it all to an end, man is feverishly trying to find the cure for it. This will only happen as God decrees, as all cures for ills and diseases come from Him in the first place.

More than ever before, God wants us to ask that His “will, will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”. 

Stories for Teens

Too Hard?

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“Oh, it’s too hard!” Sarah cried out in disgust, and threw her study

petee015    book down. Uncle Jeff was there having a cup of tea with the grown-ups in the other room, and he came in just in time to hear Sarah say this.                                                                                        “Is that your study  for this week Sarah?” he asked, “What is it about, that you think is too hard?”

“Well, it’s that part that talks about doing what God wants us to do,  and then we find we can’t manage it”, Sarah said, “And that’s exactly what I’m finding! I tell God I’m sorry for the mean things I’ve done and said, and promise I won’t do it again, and then by the time next week comes, I’m right back to square one!”

“What sort of things do you want to do, Sarah?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“Well, I want to do what God wants me to, but when someone does something mean to me then I fly off at them, and I know that’s not right and not pleasing God”.

“You know”, Uncle Jeff said thoughtfully, “I used to be like that too. I always desperately wanted to do what God wanted me to and then I would fail and feel miserable. But one day I realised that I was putting things the wrong way around. I saw that it didn’t depend on me doing anything at all!”

“Really?” said Sarah, “Well, what DOES it depend on then?”

“I heard a preacher that said it is three “D”s …we have to DEPEND on God, DIE to   ourselves, and do it DAILY, and I realised that it isn’t what I do, it is what God does for me!”

“Really?” Sarah said again, “What exactly does all that mean Uncle Jeff?”

“It’s not a question of US hanging onto God, it’s a question of us letting God hang onto us. It is HIS work IN us, not our work FOR Him that matters.”

”Does that mean we don’t do anything then?” asked Bobby who had been sitting there quietly all through this conversation and suddenly piped up, “That’s good, then I don’t have to try to be good!”

“It’s not quite like that”, Uncle Jeff said, “It means we have to ask God to help us because we can’t do it ourselves, and we have to ask that every day!”

“Oh, I see what you mean”, Sarah said, “It means that we die to things we want to do, and then depend on God to help us do this every single day!”

“Yes”, said Bobby with a grin, “That means you don’t grumble about doing the dishes and other things when Mum asks you to help!”

“Mmmm yes,” said Sarah slowly, “And it isn’t going to be easy either but I’ll try my best!”

“That’s right, my girl!” said Uncle Jeff, “Remember, we have to let go, and let God do it in us!”

(Romans 7:14-25)