Jesus Wept

 

Jesus wept. (John 11:35)

Author André Resner in his book Living In- Between- Lament, Justice, and the Persistent of the Gospel says that the shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35. Its very challenging for us to resonate with this scripture because not many will truly see the depth of it. Nevertheless, this scripture will speak to those who have  gone through the pain of losing a loved one or having suffered in life unfairly.

Recently, I have come across many friends in the Lord who struggle with the agony and pain of losing someone. The question "why Lord why?" seem as if it is not crossing the roof above our heads or as if evaporating into thin air ...not strong enough to reach His ears? 

There may not be any answers for the pain or agony of the soul. It may leave us wondering whether the Lord even cares. But I was reminded of this scripture. In my imagination, I was able to see the Lord weeping along with His children who are asking Him these questions. He expresses the same deep agony of the soul with weeping and sobbing. Many children of God have gone through this phase and have struggled for years in their hearts asking questions to God, ...even wondering if they had done something wrong to deserve their loss. 

Perhaps, we as God's children may not get the answers we are seeking. But Jesus knows, He is aware and He cannot empathize in a more realistic way than this... (Jesus wept).

Abide in Me

John 15:4 (NASB) 

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

Most of us when we read the above verse, we tend to think in terms of doing Christian work. Even I used to think the same. But I don't think this only refers to outward Christian work alone. It is more in terms of our being and living. If we do not abide in the Lord, we cannot be like Him, think like Him, or behave like Him. We cannot possess an attitude like Jesus, nor our words savored like Him. 

Many of us give the excuse when we face challenging situations saying 'but we are not Jesus'. Yes, we are not Jesus, but we are called to give up on our old self and take up the cross and follow Him. Which is...We cannot choose to be or live in our old ways and still believe, convince ourselves or profess to be His followers.

That's why Jesus said, "Abide in Me, and I in you...for without Me ye can do nothing." (John 15:4,5 KJV). 

Yes, without Jesus abiding in us every day, we can seldom presume, that we can think, act and behave like Jesus. I like the way when Christian nurses who attend patients say, "We have to be the eyes and hands and feet of Jesus".

How nice it will be if we can make this our only mission, rather than trying to convince others of Jesus. 

All Things? I want to dare say 'Yes'...

 

Romans 8:28 (NASB)

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
When I read this scripture this morning, I was running it in my mind over and over again. I was wanting to say, "Lord! for how long...". I didn't know how to respond to this scripture or even believe it. But I felt helpless as if I had no other option but to take it... 
I have read this scripture several times in my life. Many times it has spoken to my situation and many a time, I have honestly felt disheartened reading it as I felt that my trials are never-ending for me. Like a plaintiff who argues his case in the court of law, I have many a time presented my case to God asking for justice and fairness. Though I wouldn't have received immediate answers from Him, I would be reminded of one specific scripture which stands as the foundation of my faith....
Psalm 89:14 (NASB)
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.
 Faith is not based on feelings or even on a situation. Faith is based on the unwavering Word of God. Sometimes, our situations and feelings may corner us to the extent that we want to give up and quit believing Him. But no we can't, for we realize that He is the one who is holding us and we not holding onto Him.
Irrespective of the fact that my case remains pending in His court, I just dare to believe that all things work for my good...not because that I am good, but the One who called me is good and faithful. Amen. 

Do we still need SIGNS?

It is common for believers in Christ to expect God's working in their lives through signs and miracles. We expect that God give us a sign either by answering our prayers in a way that we expect or do something to demonstrate His love and care. God does answer us and He does show us signs of His love and care. Yet sometimes we are left with nothing but His word. During times when there is no sign of God's presence or His working in our lives, even the Word of God may seem blank in our lives. Haven't we felt that?

Questions can linger in our minds when there is absence of God's signs. The waiting period can be long and weary. These are times when questions about God's love and intervention can be doubted. A weak soul can easily be wearied and lose hope. But at such times, it wont be unreasonable to ask God to renew or strengthen our faith to believe in His unfailing love towards us.

I didn't ask God to renew my faith. But nevertheless He did it for me. I personally was revived about God's love and intervention in my life when I narrated my life testimony to a friend. I never planned or thought that I will share my testimony to her. It was a casual conversation and I narrated how I met with Jesus, how I came to believe and follow Him and His wonderful blessings in my life. I am not sure whether my testimony influenced her, but I knew it was a powerful reminder to me to the extent that the very reality of me living without health complications is nothing but His pure grace.

My faith was revived. I cannot deny His love, His presence or His interventions in my life. I did not earn any of these but He gave it to me because of His love for me...

Oh! How much more of proof do I need? If for the present time I am allowed to face some lengthy trials, does that mean He no more cares for me or doubt His selection of me? I seldom not do that even if trials are pulling me down day in and out. I got to rely on His faithfulness for He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow...Amen!

Hebrews 13:8 (NASB)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever

He can Never Forget

There can be times where we are left with nothing but pain and hurts and the most common question asked by the people of God is where is God when it hurts? Praying, arguing, complaining and moaning nothing works with God. Every man and woman of God has gone through this phase in life and they have found that God has not answered their prayers or given them an explanation for why they are going through such pain or mental agony. Every Christian understands that God has a reason for why He allows certain things in their lives. But this simple answer doesn't soothe an aching soul. It hurts all the more.

What do one do during such times? People turn to fellow believers for prayer and support. For some it may serve as a temporary relief at least to know they have other believers to pray and say a word of encouragement to them. Yet the deepest hurts of the heart cannot be healed by applying a balm. These agonies of the heart are so interlinked with other aspects of life that sometimes it can seem like as if faith or life seems to be purposeless. It is almost like faith is at the brink of being lost. Yet amidst all these believers are only left with the knowledge of God and His faithfulness. Even the presence of God may seem to be lacking.

During such times, though the Lord may not answer prayers as a believer expects, His Spirit does take them to times of old to remind them of God and His faithfulness in their lives by bringing those memories afresh. A believer is allowed to soar to the past and remember how the Lord helped them or intervened in times of their toughest trials.

I was reminded of this truth with a powerful scripture that speaks of the Lord's love and His faithfulness.
Isaiah 49:15 (NIV)
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!

Being a mom, I can never imagine a mother who can neglect her nursing baby. I doubt if there can be a mother of that kind. The scripture says even if there a mother who can afford to forget her nursing child, the Lord says He will never do that ...I would rather say "He can never do that".

Faithfulness is a characteristic of our Lord Jesus Christ and He very well demonstrated that on the Cross. He died not only for the sinners but even for the faithless. Those who trusted and followed Him; and those who received healing from Him were among the crowd that jeered Him. Yet even for them He died on the Cross faithfully.

If such is the love that Christ demonstrated for us and if He seems silent for the hurts and pain we go through, He is neither indifferent to our pain nor is neglecting it. He knows and He cares. He knows how to get us through it...

Two Side of a Coin

Its a while since I wrote a post on building relationship with others. Perhaps God wanted me to have a rich experience of both positive and negative sides of relationships before I pen down a post on relationships. This month perhaps from the end of January God has been taking me through varied experiences with respect to relationships. I got to experience that people got to acknowledged the love we showed them, are able to respond back with same kind of love and do their best in terms of expression of love like hospitality, love, care and genuine concern.

I had been blessed to be united to my husband's side cousins whom we had not met for many years. The richness of positive experience stays with us afresh every time my husband and I think and talk about our trip to his native place. Even before that the Lord had blessed me to get connected with my husband's cousin last November (who is more like a friend to me as we have similar kind of attitude and characteristics).

On the other hand, there has also been my share of negative experiences with people when I tried to be my original self; when I stood for what I believed to be right in doing good for others; when I tried to forget the past (being blamed for others' choice) and build relationships afresh...

What God made me realize from these two experiences is that...life is like the two face of a coin...you have both the head and the tail. So relationships that we may try to build selflessly with no secret agenda or wrong motive can still afford to produce both positive and negative results. Its up to us how we take it...

While I tried to take the negative strike on a lighter note, I was reminded of one scripture that helped my mind to be put at ease

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NASB)

4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 [a]bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Happiness of Sharing

One last thing I would like to touch on the topic of happiness. Happiness comes when we perceive others the way we perceive ourselves. All of us have a good perception of ourselves that we are right, we are intellects, we are good people at heart and more importantly, we are God's children. When we have the maturity to look at others in the same way we look at ourselves then we will have happiness. Only when we are able to appreciate the positive things in others we will be happy.

Sometimes, in spite of we being able to appreciate others' individuality, talents and good traits the other individual may not like us. In such cases we need to understand that it is fine if the other person does not like us though we may be good to them. It is absolutely alright. It is not necessary that we have to be likeable by all...

But once we develop the attitude of loving others, accepting others and appreciating others for their individual positive traits, God will definitely bring into our circle those people who appreciate the love and the friendship we give and share with others selflessly without restraint.

As Smith Wigglesworth the 20th century evangelist says "when you have the love, joy and the presence of the Lord in you, you cannot stop yourselves but emit the same when you meet others". The love and the joy of God is contagious. It will be accepted by those whose heart is ready for it. A heart that is open without deceit, hypocrisy and manipulation.

When we are able to experience the love, joy and the presence of God we cannot afford to hold it ourselves but leak it to others...

Matthew 22:37-40The Message (MSG)
 Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them

Mental Maps for Happiness

We are currently talking about the way we define happiness. In others words, happiness is a by product of our mind's definition. We can lose our happiness if we see our current situation with unpleasantness and hope for an alternative. I am not referring about problem solving here. I am referring about the mental maps we make about the definition of happiness. For instance, I can say to myself...'I will be happy if I go for a trip this vacation'. I can also decide ' I am going to be happy this vacation by spending time with my family by doing lot of activities like watching movies together,  playing board games, cooking special food, visiting friends, etc.'

Both are definitions of happiness. But we ultimately decide between what gives us happiness or how we can choose to be happy. There is a vast difference between the two and the secret of defining happiness depends on our heart's maturity. If we learn to be content with any situation in our lives, i.e. learning to be happy with our current situation then we can learn to make mental maps of happiness by choosing ways to be happy. Rather than saying I will be happy if I get this or I will be happy if I find love/friendship/relationship, then we are basing our happiness on something or someone which is not directly under our control. By doing so we will fail to be happy at all...

Paul learnt this secret...He quotes this in Phil 4:12-14 (The Message)

I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty.

I learnt this lesson from my dad...

The Way We Define Happiness...

In one of my previous post or another blog, I had mentioned this phrase. "Happiness is what we define for ourselves". Each of us define what brings happiness in our lives. For instance, I may define that by having more writing projects I would be happy as it would help me financially and satisfy me psychologically; and hence may base my happiness on my work prospects. Similarly, another person may define that getting married may bring happiness or change of job or building a house or having an offspring can bring or add happiness to their lives. While this is true to a greater extent and we may be praying hard or waiting desperately for a breakthrough, our minds might be so fixed on the future that we may fail to live in the present. This is a common phenomenon to all and has to happened to me as well...and I am no exception.

One of the things that we may forget in the process  of waiting for our defined future happiness is to live in the present. By doing so we can get so lost in our mental struggles that we miss out on small joys of the present...like a good time with the family, few moments of fun with spouse or children or parents or friends...Since we are so engulfed in our minds to live in our defined future happiness (which we see only in our daydreams) we loose to focus on the present.

We cannot change our present either by bargaining or negotiating with God or even by fighting with Him. We cannot achieve by making God change His mind.  We have to face the reality and wait with hope and prayer. We are left with no option. However, we can change the way we handle our present life instead of unnecessary mental struggles....that is by learning to live the present life by changing our definition of happiness.

Unless we learn to be happy in our current situation, we cannot assume that we will be happy in our future as per our defined happiness that we perceive. What guarantee do we have that we will be happy tomorrow without any kind of problems or worries. For the Bible clearly says,

Matthew 6:34 (NIV)
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I got the message...

Maintaining Our Mental Serenity

In my last post I was talking about inner peace. Another way to find inner peace is to have a healthy thinking process...our thinking patterns is an very important ingredient for our mental serenity. Psychologists call this positive thinking. However, what I am referring here is not with respect to having a positive thought process about ourselves, our lives and future. A majority of us do have positive thinking when it comes our present lives, ourselves, our family and our future.

But what I am referring to is with regard to our thought process or thinking patterns that we have towards others. In my opinion this is the most significant or crucial mindset that determines our  serenity. If we can afford to hold positive perception towards others (can be anybody we come across in life or related to us either professionally, workwise, relatives, friends,  neighbors, acquaintances, associates or members of the community) we will hold our serenity. When we hold negative thoughts towards others in terms jealousy, criticism, bitterness, anger, hatred, etc. the resultant is that we will lose our serenity. This is backed by Biblical scripture.

Galatians 6:7 (NIV)
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

If we hold jealousy, anger or bitterness towards others we cannot afford to gain a good harvest in our lives and thus will lose our mental serenity. To best of our consciousness and awareness may we learn to think only good things for others so that we may have inner peace and serenity for a happy and healthy living.

The Secret Ingredient

What is the best way to keep inner peace? I am sure we all know that working inner peace like Po (protagonist-Kung Fu Panda) either through meditation or through the tummy wouldn't work for us all...But recently, I have come to see a way of working inner peace unlike Po's...Definitely it is the secret ingredient for the chicken soup for the soul. I have come to experience that the ideal way for resilience is giving up things into God's hands no matter what and to ask God to help us have the mind of Christ...

Once we have the mind of Christ, we are able to see life's circumstances, instances, people and situations from the Lord's perspective. I am unable to explain this very clearly...But what I can tell you is : 'when you go through times where you feel that things are not under your control and you can do nothing about it...just give it up or give it over into His hands and you will see that you are still able to maintain your inner peace'.

Trying to take hold of things over which we have no or little control is what can make us feel miserable and angry. And getting hold of the mind of Christ to accept things as they are and able to carry on life with positivity is one way to hold the peace that He gives...

The secret ingredient of the Chicken soup for the soul has worked for me...I hope it works for you too...Amen.

For Paul says in Philippians 4:7 (J.B.PHILLIPS)

Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.

My Life Lesson...

Yesterday, I had a troubled heart as I tried to contemplate on things that is yet to take place. No matter in whatever ways I tried to figure a solution it didn't seem workable. Without realization, I was allowing despair to set in. Suddenly, I looked into the Lord and prayed, "Lord you know my burden, you know my worries, counsel me at this time of the hour. Give me a word that could help me find rest". I took my devotion and read.

The verse from Philippians 4:11 (NIV) read:

...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

The devotion narrated about different kinds of trees a king had in his garden. One evening when the king took a stroll in his garden, he heard the oak tree comparing itself with the beautiful pine and being tired of being an oak. Similarly, the pine was dissatisfied that it could not bear fruit like the grape and the grape was unhappy for not being large like peaches.

The king finally comes across a violet who appears to be happy. When the king inquires about the reason for violet's joy, the violet replied, "My dear king, I know I am small and I may not be prominent like the oak or pine or grape or peach. But since you decided to have me in your garden,  I decided to be the best violet I can be". The king was touched...So was I.

No matter our life circumstances, God has placed us exactly where He wanted us to be...though our situations or circumstances may not be favourable or what we desired, I realized I have to learn to be content in where He has placed me...

I learnt my lesson. Thank you Jesus.

Living in His Ways

How do you think can we keep as per God's laws and ways? People have tried over thousands of years from the Old Testament times to follow God's laws, rules and ways. Yet they have only realized that they have failed to keep them all. If one has had been successful in keeping certain laws, he/she would have failed at keeping others. The only way one can keep God's laws and ways is by the grace of Jesus Christ and with the help of the Holy Spirit...

There was once a man of God who always gossiped. He tried hard to quit this habit. But he couldn't. He fasted and prayed. It didn't help him in any way. Finally, he submitted his spirit, body and soul to the Holy Spirit of God. He asked the Holy Spirit to take control over him everyday before he began His day. Slowly he came to see the difference. The Spirit of God helped him change. He became more sober and a quite man, good at listening and less with talking. He did not indulge in any talk that was unwholesome or something that did not edify the other person. The Holy Spirit of God helped him to go through this transformation. Though the change was gradual it was consistent. The man was happy to be changed. He began to thank God and ask the Holy Spirit to make him more like the Lord.

 Peter 1:13-16 (PHILLIPS)
So brace up your minds, and, as men who know what they are doing, rest the full weight of your hopes on the grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ reveals himself. Live as obedient children before God. Don’t let your character be moulded by the desires of your ignorant days, but be holy in every department of your lives, for the one who has called you is himself holy. The scripture says: ‘Be holy, for I am holy’.

2 Corinthians 13:14 (PHILLIPS)

The grace that comes through our Lord Jesus Christ, the love that is of God the Father, and the fellowship that is ours in the Holy Spirit be with you all!

Rules of God?

Yesterday I mentioned about living a life as per the will and the rules of God. Many of us know very well what God means by that...it is having a good heart (cleansed from uncleanliness) and following righteousness. I have come across many people who hold the belief that keeping the religious outlook is ideal enough to live the life that God wants them to. However, importance is not given to keep one's body, soul and spirit free of deception, hypocrisy, manipulation, jealousy, bitterness, anger, wrath, backbiting, hatred, cursing others, arrogance, pride, haughtiness, covetousness and so on... It would do no good by keeping a righteous and religious outlook when one's mind, soul and spirit is marred by these traits.

God has kept it very simple in His word...Micah 6:8 (NIV)

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

When we learn to walk humbly with God, He makes sure that our heart, mind, soul and spirit is kept free from the above stated negative traits. Even if it still there He ensures to pluck it out like a surgeon who does surgery on a human body. It may be painful but is a prerequisite for us to live as His child. Have we forgotten that He has come so that we can be made more like Him?

Blessing is Contagious

Do we all know that the blessings that we claim for ourselves are not temporary? What we claim and receive in our lives on this earth are also passed on to our children and theirs as long as we and our children commit to live as per the will and rules of God. The bible wonderfully states:

Psalm 103:17 (NLT)
But the love of the Lord remains forever
    with those who fear him.
His salvation extends to the children’s children

When the salvation of God through Christ extends to our children and in return extends to theirs, this cycle goes on...what more do we need than salvation.

Really, we do not understand the full power of salvation until we start seeing the lives of those who are desperately in need for miracle in their lives and are in search of one. For everything in our lives (whether it is a need or a miracle) we have a saviour for us to turn to, for we know that He is there to help...

To remain in the love of Lord...to be an object of His love itself is a wonderful aspect of life. As for me I consider this as a privilege for I see that nothing can hold me if not for His grace which is the manifestation of His Love.

Prayer:
Thank you Lord for considering me...Am I so worthy that you thought of me? Certainly I am not worthy...I realize this as I see your cross.

Blessing- The Lord's Way

What a joy it is to live in the presence of the Lord. His presence and the way He works in our lives does make a lot of difference. I got up this morning like any other day. I had a few friends and well wishers who sent me New Year greetings. I answered them all a heart filled blessed year ...It was an usual day like any other...but there was a difference. I could feel the joy (from the Lord) in my heart. As I did my usual day to day chores, I could do it more joyfully. Speaking to a close cousin further enriched the joy. When somebody could tell you that they felt empty not talking to you for past two days what a joy...what more does one need? This love of Christ amidst His children is inexpressible...we don't need gifts, celebrations, money and vacation/trips to be happy...

As the day went by one more relative called to wish me and I hadn't even contacted them during the previous year. They reached out me to wish us New Year and I was amazed to see how the Lord used me to see their need and give them some direction that could help them to relieve from a health need. I felt a pressing desire to help them and wanted to go the extra mile to meet their need. This is not a monetary need but something done in a human way.

In this fast world when everybody is busy with their own life schedules, God brings us circumstances where we could be a blessing to others. Yes we all would have prayed for blessings for ourselves and our families. But beyond that God uses us to become a blessing for others. What more do we need than this joy of being a blessing to others.

Gen 12:2 (NIV)
“... I will bless you;... and you will be a blessing.

The starting day of the year has been a blessing to me... I hope the same has been to you as well, today and almost all the days of the year...

New Year's Promise

When I sat this morning to write my devotion little did I realize that the Lord was already ready with His promise for me. Many of us planning to attend the New Year Eve's service will be full of hope and expectations, for it is a time that the Lord will grant them the promise that will sustain them through the coming year. When I read my promise for the year, one thing that dawned on my mind is that more than me the Lord was eagerly waiting to give His precious promise to me. We will understand the depth of this truth especially if we are a parent. More than the children the parent(s) generally eagerly wait to give their children their Christmas gift. They will try to be cautious to buy the gift without the child's knowledge or try to hide the gift where the child cannot find.

Our heavenly Father's heart is similar to this. In fact more than that of an earthly parent. Our heavenly Father will be more eager to give his promise to us. One may wonder what's in a promise. His promise is not just a mere promise. It is His word. And we all know that the heaven and earth may pass but His word will never fail. His word for His children is precious because He has given it to us.

I have got mine for this year and I am sure each one of His children will receive theirs too. One thing to remember here is, before we go into His presence with an expectation to receive it He is eagerly waiting to give one to us; and He knows exactly the one we need.

I am holding His promise for me...

Isaiah 43:16, 18-19 NIV
This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

and I wish that the promise you receive meet your heart's longing...Amen

Why do I feel Blue?

In spite of holding God's promises for us, we cannot assume that we will always be positive all the time. There are times of feeling blue, apathy, loneliness and disappointment. It is natural for us to feel that way...because waiting is similar to that of a weary traveller. There may also be times where we feel dejected especially when we start comparing our lives with others. We tend to see that others are living better lives than us...This comparison could further pull us down.

Why do we go through this kind of phase? What we fail is to see life as a whole...we see others enjoying better than us. We presume that they have better standards of living, or they making better trips with families and friends and they spending more than us...What we see outwardly is only a part not the whole. Many of those in the world have emptiness filled in them and each one of them including us try to fill that void by doing things which we presume can satisfy us. For instance, going for a movie, vacation, buying stuff, eating out, etc. These are stuff that can give us moments of happiness which I don't disagree. But these things can never ever fill the void in life.

How do one go about filling that void? Only God can fill that void and no person or thing can fill that emptiness of the soul. If we presume that we can fill our void by doing or getting things then we are on the wrong track. When we get weary holding God's promise and become clueless not knowing what to do, just know one thing...

Colossians 3:3
 your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

This scripture gave me a new dimension to see life. When my life is hidden with Christ in God, then every circumstance, every day and every moment in life...He is in control (as long as I ensure to submit to Him consistently) and He allows only those things that build me up...

Holding God's Promise with Peace

Yesterday, we were talking about holding the peace of God while waiting for Him to answer our prayers. Aw! I know the pain of waiting...it's not easy to wait. Sometimes I have left with no option but wait. No amount of wailing, complaining, arguing, bargaining, being angry with God works. I have gone through times when the doors of the heavens seem closed. After struggling inwardly for a very long time, I decided to give up...You might say that giving up is not an ideal option for children of God. I did give up but not in dejection or depression... I gave it over into God's hand.

Giving up into God's hand is emptying oneself completely to the will of God. I prayed, " Lord, anything that I ask for in my life, may you grant it if it is your will". Once I did that I automatically was filled with peace. His peace that surpasseth all understanding. I had never experienced this until recently. After I experienced His peace the inward striving ceased. Even as I continue to pray for my need I am inwardly assured that my prayer will be answered as per His will and time. I have no need to get dejected or disappointed. This assurance of God is unexplainable.

As long as what we pray for is in line with His will, there is no need to strive. As long as we don't dictate God to work things according to our expectations, we will hold the peace He gives. As long as we trust His ways, there is no need for doubt.

Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

A Wish List

As the New Year's Eve approaches a majority of us are ready with a wish list...As usual some of us have a list of things to do or achieve, weight loss, save money, plan for a house, a car, etc. And still others like me would want a greater breakthrough from God. This break through can be different for each of us... work wise, finances, better job prospects, higher level of living, soul mate, good health, fulfilment of deepest longings etc.

Some of us may really be looking out for a breakthrough from God for long. Sometimes I think, didn't I have the same kind of wish list last year. How many of them got fulfilled. Perhaps not many. But this year again I do have a wish list. Why does this go on?

Trust me as long as we live our lives on this earth we will have a wish list year after year and we will have needs and wants which only our heavenly Father can fulfil. We should be happy that we do have a loving heavenly Father who hears our prayers and is able to fulfil them. Many people in this world strive to reach their goals and are left with nothing but hope and efforts in their own strength.

But the hope that we have is unlike theirs...The hope that is birthed by God will surely be fulfilled. As long as our heart's desires are in line with His will and His ways, our hope is not in vain...And what's the big difference...in spite of all things we hold the peace that He gives us and are inwardly assured that He makes all things beautiful in His time...

Psalm 25:3 (NIV)
No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame

Romans 5:5 (NIV)
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Proverbs 10:24 (NIV)
what the righteous desire will be granted.