My Strong Place


Be my strong place to which I may continually return. Psalm 71:3

The lake sparkled under the clear morning sky. Birds foraged for their breakfast, the occasional fish jumped in the water, probably to escape becoming breakfast for a larger species. The glorious colours of a pair of Rosellas in a nearby tree gladdened my heart with their green and red plumage. Yet this morning I felt strangely vulnerable, not strong. How thankful I am for the strong arms of God – my strong place.

Even the strongest person has times of feeling weak. They may not admit to it, perhaps they don’t recognise it, but I feel sure that we all have our vulnerable times – perhaps we just hide them in different ways.

The psalmist needed a strong place to which he could continually return. It wasn’t to an earthly place – his well-fortified safe place, or his home that he referred. He recognised that God was the strong place that he needed. In fact he refers to God as “my rock and my fortress.”

Few of us are faced with outward threats to our safety, but we should recognise inward attacks from our enemy, Satan, the enemy of our souls. He is always out to cause us trouble and to weaken us, but we need not be afraid of feeling weak. The apostle Paul was mightily used by God but he experienced weakness in many ways, to his body through sickness, stonings and beatings; through persecution and also through many difficult situations which included shipwreck and imprisonment. For all that he was able to say “When I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10. He knew God was his strong place, the place of his inner strength.

We too have a strong place where we can take refuge from the storms of life, whether they be physical, emotional or spiritual. Jesus Christ is our best friend and he wants to be our strong place. We can trust Him to give us courage, comfort and strength which will see us through even the most difficult times in our life.

He is also there when we feel just a little bit vulnerable and need some reassurance. “No job too big or too small for Him!” Continually return to Him.

Prayer: Lord, thank you that you are my strong place. Help me to run continually to you when life overwhelms me or weakens me. You are the strength of my heart. I praise you. Amen.

Life Coach

….I have come that they may have life in all its fullness. John 10:10

This morning I awoke well before the alarm – not unusual, but as I was contemplating more sleep, suddenly a word popped into my head – ‘mammogram’. Yes this was the day I’d been putting off for 6 months, the day for my annual medical check up. Now I was wide awake! I realised that I needed to get up and search out my previous x-rays to take with me, something I had forgotten till that moment. Once found, I grabbed a glass of water – no breakfast today, I needed to fast for blood tests – and headed for my quiet place.

As I sat to spend some time with the Lord I was overwhelmed with thankfulness for the early morning reminder and the words “Life Coach” came to mind. I have met a couple of people who carry the title of Life Coach and have been fascinated that they were able to take on such an important role in a total stranger’s life – and get paid for it! My next thought went towards Jesus Christ who, through the Holy Spirit, is my Life Coach.

The wonderful thing about him is that he is with me constantly – not just an hour or two a week or a month. He knows my innermost thoughts and desires as well as my gifts. Not only that He knows God’s divine plan and destiny for me. He knows what will make me fulfilled as a person and best of all he can lead me in that path and make things happen. The other great thing is that I don’t have to pay him – except with my life - being totally committed to doing what he tells me to do. If I want to succeed that is!

This may be the place where someone might say, “I think I’d rather pay someone to be my life coach and then I can decide whether or not I take their advice.” The problem with that is that it’s very easy to take the wrong path. Proverbs 14:12 & 16:25 (a double warning) says “There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death.” No thank you! I’d rather go with God’s promises of long life, prosperity, faithfulness and favour that are found in Proverbs 3:1-4. In fact there is so much instruction for a great life in the first five books of Proverbs – do take a good look.

Yes, my Life Coach also gives me a comprehensive manual offering wisdom for all of life. His way may indeed be more costly in one way but the promised result is life in all its fullness. I’ll take that every time. Won’t you? “My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not slipped.” Psalm 17:5.

Prayer: Dear God, Help me to allow you to be my Life Coach because you know how my life can be most successful. Amen

Defeat

With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. Psalm 60:12

As I passed by the coffee stand at our ferry this morning I noticed the ‘quote for the day’ on the chalkboard. It read…”Don’t confuse a single defeat with final defeat.” (It was attributed to one F Scott Fitzgerald, a writer of some note.)

If Abraham Lincoln had confused a single defeat with final defeat he would never have become president of the United States of America and I am sure that the same can be said for many a famous person. Winston Churchill led England to victory in World War II after suffering political and personal defeats.

How we handle any defeat depends on our attitude and upon our ability to see beyond it and to believe that this is not the end, but rather an opportunity to do better next time. We can use it as a springboard to something greater.

Joshua and Caleb were “defeated at the polls” by the other ten spies with whom they had been sent by Moses to spy out the land of Canaan which God had promised would be their land if they would believe Him to help them conquer it. Joshua and Caleb saw the wonderful land that God was giving them and believed God’s word of promise. On the other hand the other ten saw the great bounty of the land but they saw the giants as insurmountable problems – they didn’t see God in their picture (Numbers 13). We know that Joshua and Caleb were the only two in a whole generation who lived to enter the promised land – because they believed God. The rest died in the wilderness, never to see what God could do.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were faced with defeat in their attempt to stand firm in honouring God, but as they faced the fiery furnace they said, “You can put us in the fire but we know that our God is able to deliver us.” And He did! (Daniel 3).

Peter faced defeat and great personal humiliation when he denied Jesus in His greatest hour of need. He could have said to himself, “I blew it, never again can I trust myself to be strong enough to stand firm against fear”, yet he answered Jesus’ invitation to return with the other disciples and meet the resurrected Lord. He allowed Jesus to restore him and in doing so he forgave himself and went on to do amazing things for God, not in his own strength, but through the power of the Holy Spirit working mightily through him.

Have you been defeated in an area of your life? Have you closed the door to the possibility of victory? Have you given up hope? Will you try again, face your failure, lay it before the Lord and ask Him what he wants you to learn from this and how you can use it to grow?

Defeats often, though not always, reveal our character weaknesses. We all have areas that need to be worked on. Don’t lose heart, learn from it. If nothing else you will have a story to share which may, perhaps, help another person to avoid making the same mistake that caused your defeat. Draw wisdom from your defeat. It doesn’t have to be final, it can be a stepping stone to growth and greater things. The secret is to believe and not lose hope.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, here I stand, defeated but I choose not to despair. Please help me to learn the lesson you have for me so that I can move on to a brighter future, walking with you into the full purposes you have for my life. Thank you for the love, the forgiveness and the hope that I find in you. Your mercies are new every morning. Amen

Future Hope

“I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord, “plans for good and not for evil, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

There is a book called “Future Shock”, I have not read it – perhaps I’m like an ostrich burying my head in the sand, but I prefer to concentrate on future hope! Yes, we should heed warnings and the Bible holds many warnings for us, but it is mainly a book that points the way to a future and to hope.

God has a plan for each one of us. The first part of His plan is that we be reconciled to Him. Our sin separates us from Him and in that state we have no hope of eternal life with Him. Through faith in Jesus Christ and his work of taking our sin upon himself on the cross, we can become reconciled to God (Romans 5:1-2). Jesus himself told us in John 14:6 that he is the way to the Father and Peter reiterates that in Acts 4:10-12. Jesus is the only acceptable way to be reconciled with God. That is God’s plan.

Having received the new life of God through Jesus Christ we have peace with God – what a wonderful gift, and the hope of eternal life. Being human we also need hope for this life, hope for the future. I heard someone say recently that we can life for 40 days without food, 7 days without water, 4 or 5 mins without air, but we cannot live for long without hope. It is a vital component for a happy life.

The Bible tells us that God has plans for each of us. In order to fulfil His plans He has given us certain gifts and abilities, a certain temperament and passion. For some, like me, it may be in writing, for another it may be caring for the sick or elderly, for another a great singing voice, or a gift of administration, teaching, hospitality, the sciences, arts….. the list goes on. God does not want us to press ourselves into a box that doesn’t fit. We don’t have to be like our mother, father, sister, brother or friend. We are unique and our gifts are given so that we can fulfil God’s unique task for us in this world. God does not try to put square pegs into round holes. Is that good news to you?

In years past there was some thinking in the Christian world that if you liked doing something then God would surely ask you to do something else, something that would be unpleasant for you to do. How wrong that was. I wonder how many people went into areas of work or ministry because they felt they should, rather than seeking God for what it was that He wanted them to do. Psalm 37:3-5 has some comforting words for those seeking God’s will for their lives. “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:” What a wonderful promise. We serve best when we are passionate about what we do.

Psalm 18:2 As for God, his way is perfect…..

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to find joy in my relationship with you knowing that you want me to be purposeful and fulfilled in my daily life. Amen

Words

The tongue has the power of life and death. Proverbs 18:21

You may, or may not, remember the most hurtful words that were spoken over you. Sometimes our subconscious hides words or events from us because they are too painful for our spirit to bear. But I’m sure you remember the most encouraging words you were given, because they have possibly changed your life.

I recently watched an Oprah show in which she shared how, as an 8 year old, sexually abused little girl, a young woman visiting their church had stopped and told her what a pretty little thing she was. Those words brought acceptance and hope to that little girl, along with the determination, as she grew up, to speak words of love and encouragement to others.

Our words are so important. Once they have been spoken they can never be taken back. The tongue is so powerful. In James 3 verse 6 we read…..”The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body…… and it is set on fire by hell.” In verse 2 of the same chapter it says that anyone who does not stumble in word is a perfect person, able to control the whole body. I know I haven’t reached that state yet! We all stumble in the words we speak but hopefully, as we allow the Holy Spirit more control in our lives, we will sin with our tongue less and less.

The admonition of James 1:19 is so wise – “Let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to get angry.” David had it right with his prayer in Psalm 141:3 “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord, keep watch over the door of my lips.” When we say words that hurt others we sin against the Lord. He feels the wounds that we inflict on one another.

Our words are like seeds we sow. We can sow flowers or we can sow weeds, joy or pain. Can we determine this day to use our tongue to bring words of life to others? Words that will build up, encourage, strengthen and inspire. If you find it hard to say encouraging words you may find it easier to write a little note. The words will have the same effect.

You may forget the words of encouragement that you have spoken or written to someone, but they will not forget them. Your words may be the very thing that someone needs to carry them through a difficult time or to encourage them when they have failed. You may not know that they are life-changing when you speak or write them but God knows when to bring forth words of life for the person who needs them. Listen to those inner promptings and respond.

Finally, Matthew 12:34 tells us that “out of the abundance of our heart – what is inside of us – our mouth speaks”. If words of death are coming out we need to examine our heart and see what’s going on inside that is resulting in our hurtful words. We can then find healing for the bitterness, woundedness or anger that we are feeling, if we want to be serious about changing. We cannot ‘wash the outside of the cup’ and leave the inside dirty. Our words will betray us!

Prayer: Lord of life, forgive me for the words of death that I have spoken. Make my words a fountain of life because I have filled my heart and mind with your word which brings forth life. Amen

Beauty


…..there was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected – a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. Isaiah 53:2-3

Many of my mother’s sayings came from her dear mother who, sadly, I never knew because we immigrated from England when I was five.These little sayings pop into my mind at different times, the most recent one was, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Another saying of my mother’s was “beauty is only skin deep”. As I think about that now I have to say that I don’t entirely agree, although it can be so. What do you see beauty in? It can come in so many forms.

The thing that I most recently have seen beauty in has been the tiny, erratic handwriting of a dear friend who prays for me and my husband daily. She is suffering with Parkinson’s disease. She sends me a beautiful card of encouragement every month and most times she insists on writing it herself even though it causes her great difficulty to do so, and often tears of frustration. She wrote that I am the only one who is allowed to see her handwriting now. I cried when I read that. What a privilege. What beauty I see in those words because I see love and sacrifice. Her written words are beautiful and precious gift of her love to me.

In Isaiah 53:2-3 we see that there was nothing beautiful about Jesus’ appearance especially when he’d suffered beatings and crucifixion – there was nothing in his physical appearance that would draw us to him. Yet in this very act that marred him so badly that he was hardly recognisable (Isaiah 52:14), he did the most beautiful thing for us. He took our rejection, our punishment, the burden of our sin and he paid for it with his life.

Yes, real beauty is far more than face or figure. It is beauty of the soul and spirit and that is something we should aspire to. A beauty that will sacrifice and make itself vulnerable to others out of love for them. This beauty comes from our God.

This was the beauty that the apostle Peter wrote about in 1 Peter 3:3-4 “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewellery, or beautiful clothes. You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is so precious to God.” I don’t think Peter is saying we can’t enjoy the nice things of life but that they are not to be the focus of our quest for beauty. The inner beauty is so much more important and has so much more lasting impact on those around us.

Prayer: Wonderful Lord, thank you for the beautiful gift of your life for mine. Help me to always have inner beauty as my priority. May it be the thing that I pursue because it pleases you and blesses those around me. Amen

Exercise

Physical exercise has some value but spiritual exercise is much more important for it promises a reward in both this life and the next. 1 Timothy 4:8

As I walked through our park today I came across a Chinese woman wielding a large shiny sword. No, she did not threaten me, neither did she frighten me. She was merely exercising and using the sword as a part of her routine.

As I watched her decisive yet graceful movements it made me think of the sword that we Christians are meant to wield – the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). I had to ask myself how decisively and well I am able to use God’s word and how much exercise with the Word am I getting? Not enough, I concluded! But how much is enough?

As with physical exercise there are levels – optimum, enough and sadly lacking. It seems to me that there can also be similar levels of spiritual exercise and just as our level of physical exercise will affect our physical health, so will our level of spiritual exercise affect our spiritual health. Ideally it is good to read and think on at least some portion of the Bible every day. This allows our mind to meditate on the things of God and so we learn how God thinks about things. As we build up a base of Bible knowledge we need to do it with understanding. Just reading the Bible is not going to help very much. We have to begin to understand what it says.

To be involved in a regular Bible study group or course will take us to a higher level of input which is even better as long as Bible knowledge in itself is not our goal. If it is we are in danger of becoming legalistic and religious like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day. He didn’t have much respect for these men who thought they knew everything there was to know about the scriptures. Their problem was that although they knew the scriptures, they were low in love and high in pride and legalism. As a Christian it is vital that we exercise ourself in understanding and getting to know God’s heart through His word.

When we are born into the Kingdom of God our spirit within us comes to life and it needs feeding with spiritual food. The Bible is our spiritual food. Just as the body needs to move to grow and stay really healthy, so we need to exercise ourselves in using God’s word so that we can grow and stay healthy spiritually.

Do your own evaluation before the Lord. If you are not at ‘enough’ or ‘optimum’ levels make yourself a goal to step up your spiritual exercise. Try to read at least a small part of the Bible every day. Get some daily reading notes like Daily Bread or a daily devotional book which will help you grow in your understanding of scripture. Also, regularly attend church and become a part of your local Christian community.

“Let the word of God dwell in your in all wisdom…” Colossians 3:16.

Prayer: Father God, thank you for providing food for my spirit to grow in understanding of You and Your ways. Please increase my spiritual hunger for your Word. Amen

Trouble


Dear brothers and sisters whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has the chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed you will be strong in character and ready for anything. James 1:2-4

There is an old saying that goes like this…. “It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good.” This says to me that though trouble comes, it’s likely that it will bring some good for somebody.

Generally we dread the thought of trouble knocking on our door, and though we shouldn’t expect it, we can be mentally prepared for it and we can look for how God will use it. As you look back through difficult times in your life can you see some good that has come out of it?

Many years ago in Papua New Guinea our home was burgled twice in 10 days. Not very nice, but at least we were not home at the time. What good could possibly come out of that? A few months later we changed employment and as a result we needed to buy our own little car. As missionaries at the time we had no savings but just as the time came to buy the car we received a cheque from the insurance company for the goods which had been stolen. It was the amount we needed to pay for the car! Yes, God can use even a burglary for good.

Verses 3 and 4 of James 1 encourage us to endure difficulties because it gives us opportunity to strengthen our character and our faith. With that in mind perhaps we can find it a little easier to let trouble be an opportunity for joy! If we are trusting that God is in control of our life, then we can commit the troubles to Him and expect that He will use it for good. (Romans 8:28).

If you want more faith food to help you towards “counting it as an opportunity for joy”, then look at Psalm 34:19. “The righteous (God’s people) face many troubles, but the Lord rescues them from each and every one.” Also in verse 39 of that psalm it says “The Lord saves the godly, he is their fortress in times of trouble.” These are promises to be received by faith. Take hold of them and you will be strengthened.

Add to your store Psalm 112:6-8 which tells again of the righteous who will not fear bad news because they are confidently trusting in the Lord to care for them. Commit these verses to memory – think on them, believe them and they will comfort and strengthen you in times of trouble. God is faithful.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the promises of your word. Help me to sow your word into my heart and mind to strengthen my trust in you for whatever life may bring my way. You are my fortress and strong tower. Amen.

Renovation


No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11

Some of my friends enjoy renovating homes – they can live in a mess for months, sometimes years because they have their mind set on the end product – a beautiful, modern room or home. I am definitely not a member of this ‘club’. I like my life neatly ordered. Any home I move into needs to be ‘ready to go’, so I don’t get distracted and inconvenienced by mess. The Lord has always been very good to me in this way, but maybe one day I’ll have to experience some mess. I hope it’s not soon!

As I write, the plaza where we live is under major renovation and it’s a terrible mess, not to mention noisy. However we are looking forward to a beautiful result. We count the months and look at the proposed pictures and wait for the completion date – which will probably be set back a few times if it follows the normal pattern of such works! However, when that ‘new face’ is presented to the world we will all forget the mess and inconvenience we’ve been through (unless we look back at our video record), and we will begin to enjoy the new restaurants, outdoor dining and the newly paved piazza and the waterside promenade.

At various times in our Christian life we will have to undergo spiritual renovation if we truly want to grow into Christ’s likeness. It is not pleasant, and at times it is very painful as our verse above says, but as we walk through past hurts and find God’s grace and forgiveness to heal those wounded places we come into a pleasant place of new peace and joy.

It’s not very nice when God shines his flashlight into the dark, hidden places of our soul and wants to do some renovation or spring cleaning. But afterwards the fruit of righteousness and peace that is the end result of the work is wonderful. We are released from things that bound us up, from unforgiveness that crippled us emotionally and sometimes even physically (Psalm 32:1-5), and from the lies that we have been believing. God only wants us to be whole and unhindered in our walk with Him. His whole aim is to bring us into the abundant life that Jesus came to bring us (John 10:10).

Yes renovation is worth the end result. Let us allow God to change us into His likeness. He can be trusted to take us gently through the pain and bring us to that place of beauty, joy and freedom.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I give myself to you afresh today. I ask you to do whatever renovation I need at this time. Shine your light into any dark areas of my soul and bring me into your likeness. I trust you to deal gently with me for you promised you will not give us more than we can bear. Amen.