God All Sufficient

I shared this prayer to my lifegroup members during pre-lifegroup meeting yesterday. It blessed my heart richly, hope to my readers too. Ponder at the message the author trying to deliver.

O Lord of Grace,

The world is before me this day,

and I am weak and fearful,

but I look to thee for strength;

If I venture forth alone I stumble and fall,

but on the Beloved's arms I am firm as the eternal hills;

If left to the treachery of my heart

I shall shame thy Name,

but if enlightened, guided, upheld by thy Spirit,

I shall bring thee glory.

Be thou my arm to support,

my strength to stand,

my light to see,

my feet to run,

my shield to protect,

my sword to repel,

my sun to warm.

To enrich me will not diminish thy fullness;

All thy lovingkindess is in thy Son,

I bring him to thee in the arms of faith,

I urge his saving Name as the One who died for me.

I plead his blood to pay my debts of wrong.

Accept his worthiness for my unworthiness,

his sinlessness for my transgressions,

his purity for my uncleanness,

his sincerity for my guile,

his truth for my deceits,

his meekness for my pride,

his constancy for my backslidings,

his love for my enmity,

his fullness for my emptiness,

his faithfulness for my treachery,

his obedience for my lawlessness,

his glory for my shame,

his devotedness for my waywardness,

his holy life for my unchaste ways,

his righteousness for my dead works,

his death for my life.

~ The Valley of Vision

When life seems to fall apart, remember God's providence, grace, mercy and love. Remember the rainbow - sign of God's promise. Every cloud has a silver lining. Nothing is too big for God to handle. Be still and look to thee, the mountain where we shall stand unshaken. Above all, remember God's sovereignty and supremacy. He is God the able.

Do We Believe?

Little thought of the day.

In life, there are moments when we can't understand how things happen and it is even harder to fathom why things happen.

It is always easier said than done, especially when we get down to comfort someone. For example, victim of certain tragedy. We can give and quote all the biblical references and word of encouragement but little do we actually know how much that actually helps. But, what more can we do? Apart from prayer, physical assistance...

We know that God is all we have and God is able for he holds all things together. But, it requires faith to see that. In the past there are non believers who actually told me that Christian quotes are not about relationship with the Creator, but mental boost and mere encouragement in times of need. We gotta see beyond that. First come the relationship and through the journey that we embark and partner with God, we know that God he goes before us and he is with us. It takes second for God to perform a miracle. But the question, do we believe God is able?

I wonder what's the reaction of the disciples when their master was bullied, tortured and then crucified on the Cross. They witnessed everything. How did they take it? What about Jesus? He went through and bore the entire sickening process. How did he feel? How did he take it?

There is difference between a bystander and a victim. There is difference between an onlooker and a participant.

Do we believe everything happens for a purpose? Do we believe everything happens according to the will of God? Do we believe it is not just an accident? Do we believe?

Who Moved?

Deuteronomy 31:6 says "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." That's the just-in-time encouragement Moses gave to Joshua, the man who succeeded Moses to lead the Israelite into the promise land.

Subsequent verse 8 says "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Who can actually Go before us and at the same time Be with us? That's not something human can achieve. God is omnipresent. He is not confined to space. If God is confined and limited to space, he is not God as if God is all powerful, how can space overpower God?

God's promises will never fail for that is the character of God. When God promises something, he will definitely fulfill it. What we need to do - receive as it is.

Perfection can only be found in God.

God never moves. God is never too far away, for we are the one constantly moving. In many parts in the Bible, we can see who are the ones 'coming back to God'. For example, in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the son was the one who returned home and sought his father's forgiveness. We are the one who need to run back into his embrace. We are the one who constantly need his grace and mercy. We are the one who always make mistakes.

God's fountain is 24 / 7. The one that will never run dry.

Action involved - Come. Simply come.

If one departed from God, who moved?