Those who are weary

"He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength." - Isaiah 40:28-31

I think that we all know what it feels like to be tired and weak. When we get to this point in our lives it is usually as a result of having expended too much emotional or physical energy. 

In today's well-known passage (from Isaiah 40:30) we note that Isaiah also uses the word 'weary.' At first glance we can be excused for thinking it is the same meaning as weakness or tiredness. However, it is a different word, with a different meaning. According to the commentator, Motyer, it means “exhaustion because of the hardness of life.” 

Can we relate to that in any way? Have you ever felt exhausted because of the hardness of life? What hope does God give to us?

Action: Read Matthew 11:28-30

Living in Grace

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Not a burden we bear

"Not a burden we bear,
Not a sorrow we share,

But our toil he doth richly repay;

Not a grief nor a loss,

Not a frown nor a cross,

But is blest if we trust and obey." - John Henry Sammis

The words of this hymn speak into our daily lives. There is not one burden, or tear or feeling of anxiety, that God isn't aware of. 

Let us trust in God's goodness to help us through each day.

Isaiah 12:2 - "See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory."

Living in Grace

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Loving the unloved

"When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive..." - Genesis 29:31

"The text says that when the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he loved her. God was saying, 'I am the real bridegroom. I am the husband of the husbandless. I am the father of the fatherless.' This is the God who saves by grace. The Gods of moralistic religions favour the successful and the overachievers. They are the ones who climb the moral ladder up to heaven. But the God of the Bible is the one who comes down into this world to accomplish a salvation and give us a grace we could never attain ourselves." - Tim Keller

What do you think and feel about this quote? It may lead us to ask a whole lot of other questions, but on a simple level I am drawn to the idea that God loves those who feel unloved. This is the underlying message of the gospel too - that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Those who are written off by the rest of society are loved by Jesus.

Living in Grace

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One day at a time

Have you ever felt as if you are carrying too many burdens? I know that I have felt this way before and although it is hard to put into practise, we all need to try and live ONE DAY at a time. Jesus clearly understood that his followers were burden by many things - BIG things - including poverty, disease, death, illness, oppressive government, religious abuse and hopelessness. Despite all these burdens Jesus still urged his followers to give their cares to him and to walk in faith, one day at a time.

John Newton suggested the same thing:
“We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday's burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it.”

May God grant you the Strength to handle today's trials and Faith to know that Jesus will be there when tomorrows troubles come.

Living in Grace
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Pile them up...

If you have ever felt that your troubles just seem to be mounting and you don't know how you will carry them all, then you need to read this passage today:

"Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders—
    he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out.
He’ll never let good people
    topple into ruin." - Psalm 55:22 (MSG)

The image comes to mind of us placing one burden on top of Jesus' shoulders, followed by another and then another. God is strong enough to carry them.

May you rest in his grace today.

^"Cast your cares on the Lord
    and he will sustain you;
he will never let
    the righteous be shaken." (NIV)

Living in Grace

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Do some fishing

Sometimes we just need to do a little Fishing! 

Well, to be more specific – we just need to do a little casting. Everyone of us is invited to ‘cast’ all our cares onto the Lord and to trust that he will sustain us through all the issues we are facing. 

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you;

He will never let the righteous fall.” – Psalm 55:22

What an awesome promise, don't you think?

So, how about it then? Are you tired of trying to do everything alone? Why don’t you cast your cares onto Jesus and see what happens?

Living in Grace

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Cargo

There are things & people that we "carry along" with us our whole lives and they will remain "precious cargo" for us. I am speaking of family, friendships, memories, defining moments and moments of grace.

However, there are too many of us who carry unwanted cargo our whole lives. These usually end up being broken relationships, hurtful conversations, shattered dreams, abuse from a loved one, rejection, fear, anxiety and trauma.

All of these things/people have added to the burden that we carry, but we don't have to carry any of these alone. In fact, carrying this kind of cargo will only wear us out and make us stumble along the road.

I invite us all to lay down our "unwanted cargo." I know that forgetting what happened may not be possible, but it is our choice whether we carry the burden alone.

Psalm 68:19 - "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens."

Matthew 11:28 -  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Share your burdens with Christ - He cares for you.

Living in Grace
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Bombarded

Ever felt like you were standing on one side of a tennis court practising your shots with a 'ball machine', when all of a sudden the balls come faster and faster? It is like there is a malfunction in the machine and soon you are bombarded by the balls!

Well, if you can relate to this, can I ask what you do when this happens? Logic tells us that if you carrying on standing in the same spot you are going to get hurt, but often that is just what we do - we try and hit the balls away, but eventually it is too much.

I guess the answer lies in moving aside (out of the firing line) and somehow turning the machine off.
The machine of life won't stop, but we can move to the side for a while to get some respite and rest. Are you able to do this? I know that I need to do this from time to time - it is healthy for us to get out of the firing line and to allow God to refresh us.

Contrast these two verses:

Job 3:26 - "I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.”

Isaiah 32:17 - The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.

Which verse speaks about you today?

Living in Grace

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Faith in the fast lane

In reading a chapter entitled 'Faith in the Fast lane', my eyes were drawn to these words:

"Keep in mind that usually problems can wait a few minutes while you put first things first." - Blaine Smith

This is exactly the opposite of what we tend to do. When we face a difficult problem our human reaction is to sort it out before we take it to God. Blaine Smith challenges me to 'put God first' (i.e. pray about things) and then see how God helps to sort out the situation.

Worth thinking about? You tell me...

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

To Fast

Remember the old cassette tapes? I know that they seem a distant memory, but I am sure you can remember them. It was always a pain trying to get to your favourite song on the tape because you had to hit FF (fast forward) and when you had gone to far, it was the turn of the RR (rewind) button!

The thing with a cassette is that your favourite song only sounds good when you press 'play.' It sounds horrendous in FF or RR! I think the same is true of our lives. Many of us are trying to sing our songs in FF or RR and it doesn't sound so good. Living at full speed is alright for a time, because it gets us to a place or a moment, but the trouble is that when we get there (wherever 'there' is), we don't often stop, put our feet up and listen to that song.

Is it time to take our fingers of the FF button and to let God speak to us at normal speed.
Just asking?

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

Burden bearers

This scripture from Galatians 6:2-3 has often challenged me. What does it say to you?

"Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important."

Please can you pray for my friend Dion Forster. His 11 year old daughter Courtney is having a Tumor removed from her head this morning. The whole family needs our prayers. You can read part of their story here. This is a small, but practical way, of sharing the burdens of others. Thank you.

Living in Grace,
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Who can match this?

"I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and very beautiful; but I never read in either of them: "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden." - St Augustine

Psalm 68:19 - Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens!

Have we been taking our burdens to Jesus?
Just asking?

Living in Grace
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Thanks for the photo goes to these people

Just in Case!

I have been doing a fair amount of packing and unpacking the past couple of weeks. I have to admit that I thought I would be better at it by now, but I am still a bad packer. The reason why I am so bad is because I am a 'just in case' packer. You know what I mean? I pack a few things that I know I probably won't wear or need, but I put them in 'Just in case!'

I am not sure what 'Just in case' could mean exactly, but I guess I want to be prepared for the unexpected... hey, that's how I justify myself, so give me some space! Sadly, I have realised that most of the 'just in case' things that I pack never get worn or used and all I have succeeded in doing is moving them from my home to some other place and then back again. What a waste of time, effort and energy.

Perhaps my 'just in case' packing habit tells me about my indecisiveness or my attachment to 'things'. Maybe it confirms my innate desire to be a 'superstar' or perhaps it simply points out that I need a bigger suitcase. Perhaps the truth is in one of these possibilities.

What I am challenged by is that in my life I can't afford to be a person who carries emotional baggage around with me 'just in case' I may want to deal with it one day. As a Christ-follower I need to trust Jesus with every part of my life and to leave unneccessary burdens at the foot of the Cross. I don't need to carry stuff with me from one friendship to the next, one relationship to the next, one job to the next - you get the point!

Jesus clearly invites us to 'come to me all you who are weary and heavy burden and I will give you rest.' (Matthew 11:28) That's one invitation I can't afford to ignore.

Grace to you,
Living in Grace,
D3LM3

Let me help you with that!

I am spending a few precious moments with Joshua this morning - the rest of the family is either at work or at school. So, we were just chilling out when he waddles over to my laptop bag in the corner of the room. In his 15 month-old mind he wants to pick it and move it somewhere, but as much as he tries he just can't pick it up. Admittedly, the bag is heavier than normal as it holds a few books as well as my computer, but even still, Josh has no chance of taking it anywhere. I move over to him and help him to pick it up and then we move it to 'safety' (i.e. away from tiny hands).
Just then, this is what I felt God whisper to me - 'Delme, you are the small child and I am your Heavenly Father. Let me help you with that!' Oh wow, I thought - such a simple thing, but boy do I need reminding of that truth.

Thank you God, for your providence and care. You carry me (and my baggage) when I couldn't even move it if I tried. Your Grace is enough for me.

"The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms" - Deuteronomy 33:27

Swimming in pools of Grace,
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