Letting Go and Letting God
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Somehow, deep inside us, we know this cognitively but then to practice it seems like nearly impossible. In the words of someone else, "we tend to give God a hand".
Today's devotion was from the devotional article, The Perfect Storm, in Our Daily Bread, based on Mark 4:35-41. It asks if you are currently facing a storm in life and just as Jesus had calmed the storm, do you trust in the Lord to deliver you from your trials. As someone has put it nicely too:
How Do We React in Times of Trials?
Yes, many a times, we get angry when God seems far away and allow suffering (I myself am guilty of that). We can be like Naomi, who intially lamented how the Lord had made her life bitter. We however learnt later how she was blessed in small ways. Last week, the Old Testament Challenge sermon was on 1 Samuel and we saw how Hannah had cried out to the Lord in her desparation of having her womb closed and being chastised by Peninnah:
We cannot fully appreciate the torment Hannah went through but we know she persistently cried out to the Lord and trusted in Him and in the end, she gave birth to Samuel and many children:
1 Samuel 1:21 (NIV)
And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.
A Personal Testimony of a Mini Storm and God's Deliverance
Yes, for me, I have come to realise, over the past few weeks, how God has blessed my leading of cell. I am this meek person who just do not know what to say and how to lead. I asked God why did He choose me, to the extent I was really not having an easy time, worrying and fearing every week. But then, on hindsight, I have realised how God has led the cell through me in the past few weeks. Somehow, God will speak to me and minister to me in themes and that would in turn help me in leading cell discussion. Yes, I am not the most charismatic leader of all, but then I have come to learn that I can trust in the Lord to minister through me. My heart still remains that it is not what I say but what the Lord says through me that is important and I sincerely pray for God to continue to use me to minister to others.
How Do we Treat God's Deliverance?
Trials are something that we are all familiar with. We have our various experiences of successes and failures with them but ultimately, they are what has shaped us to be what we are today. Some of us also have experiences of facing trials and being delivered by God. But the question is now: how then do we treat these deliverances? There is a tendancy for us to just shove the experience aside and sometimes forget how God delivered us. Just like the Israellites who were delivered by God and soon forgets His deliverance and strayed away from God, angering Him. We can sometimes be like Israel, don't we?
The Bible = A Book of Reminders, Lessons and Testimonies
If we put things into perspective, what is the bible about? yes, it is about God's love and God's grace. But ultimately, it is a chronicle of the story of God's people which serves to remind us, teach us and also a testimony of the greatness of God to others. We can sometimes be forgetfulof how God has delivered us and stray away. Are you one of them? Do you remember how God works in your life and how God has delivered you? Better still, do you keep an account to remind yourself with and learn from your experiences? Do you share your testimony of the greatness of God with others?
Our Daily Bread (21 January 2003)
In the Car Wash
I'll never forget my first experience using an automatic car wash. Approaching it with the dread of going to the dentist, I pushed the money into the slot, nervously checked and rechecked my windows, eased the car up to the line, and waited. Powers beyond my control began moving my car forward as if on a conveyor belt. There I was, cocooned inside, when a thunderous rush of water, soap, and brushes hit my car from all directions. What if I get stuck in here or water crashes in? I thought irrationally. Suddenly the waters ceased. After a blow-dry, my car was propelled into the outside world again, clean and polished.
In the midst of all this, I remembered stormy times in my life when it seemed I was on a conveyor belt, a victim of forces beyond my control. "Car-wash experiences," I now call them. I remembered that whenever I passed through deep waters my Redeemer had been with me, sheltering me against the rising tide (Isaiah 43:2). When I came out on the other side, which I always did, I was able to say with joy and confidence, "He is a faithful God!"
Are you in the middle of a car-wash experience? Trust God to bring you through to the other side. You'll then be a shining testimony of His keeping power. —Joanie YoderHow wonderful to know that HeWho watches from aboveWill always keep us sheltered inHis ever-present love! —King
A tunnel of testing can produce a shining testimony
What Are You Going to Do About It?
We thank God for His deliverance but here comes the hard part of remembering and sharing about it.
Conclusion? God will not promise a smooth journey but He promises He will be there with you. He knows what you are going through. At times, when God seem so far away, He is not. He is still with you. But when we are delivered, how do we remember His deliverance and how will we react again in the next trial?
posted by me at 11:50 PM
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