Have you never heard about this?

"Have you never heard? Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:28-31

Isaiah's words came to me this week, at just the right time. I was grateful that they lifted my spirits and encouraged me. I pray that they may also offer you an oasis in the midst of your dryness.

God has not forgotten you. 

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Is it too hard for God?

Genesis 18:14 - Is anything too hard for the Lord?

The answer to this question is usually "of course not!" God can do anything and so nothing is impossible for God. What most of us struggle with is why God  doesn't answer our heart-felt prayers in the way we would like and in our time frame. I don't have a easy answer for those questions, but I still want to encourage us to believe in the goodness of God. A delayed answer to my prayer is NOT an indication that God has decided to stop loving me. God is LOVE and he will never change his character.

Nothing is out of his reach and his capabilities. Hold onto the promises of Christ.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Answered prayer

As you may well know the Western Cape has been praying for rain for a long long time. In fact, people all around the country and even overseas have been pleading for rain for months on end. Over the last few weeks we have seen a lot of rain fall in the Cape and although far from ending the drought, we must pause and say THANK YOU. We need to say thanks to the Lord for answered prayer and remain humble in our prayers. 

There is nothing more frustrating that being asked for something and then not being thanked when the request is answered. In the same way, I am sure that it delights God when we take the time to say "Thanks."

 

Psalm 120:1 - I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.

 

Genesis 30:22 -Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children.

Genesis 35:3 - We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

God will find a way

I have been doing a little DIY work around the house the last few days. One of my tasks was to make a "french drain" in a section of the garden. It was hard going but in the end I feel chuffed that I succeeded in my task.

As I was working on the drain, I needed to keep testing it to see if the water would actually work it's way through the rocks and stones into the storm water drain. While I was doing this I was struck by how easily water will find a way to get through the various obstacles in it's path. In a simple sense my reflection could be summed up like this:

Water will find a way!

BUT, more importantly, we need to remember that when we walk with Christ, there is a better promise for us...

"God will find a way."

1 Kings 8:57-58 - "May God, our very own God, continue to be with us just as he was with our ancestors—may he never give up and walk out on us. May he keep us centred and devoted to him, following the life path he has cleared, watching the signposts, walking at the pace and rhythms he laid down for our ancestors." (MSG)

May the 'Water of Life' flow through your inner being today.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

What's in your fridge?

Have you ever caught yourself (or another family member) standing with the fridge door open, peering inside? When you ask them "what are you looking for", they don't have a reasonable answer. Their answer is something like:

"Mmmmh, I just don't know! I am hungry, but I don't know what I am hungry for!"

There are many of us who are standing at the "fridge door" of our spiritual lives, sensing that we are hungry for something, but we just don't have a clue what will satisfy our hunger. I would like to suggest that we are not really looking for 'something' to satisfy our hunger, but that we are rather looking for 'someone.'

In my opinion that someone is Jesus Christ. You are welcome to disagree with me, but that is my experience. I am not speaking about finding the answer in 'religion', because that too is empty and hollow. I am talking about putting my trust in the person of Jesus Christ. In committing to a personal relationship with the Living God.



“Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” (John 4:13-15)

Don't spend too long peering into the "fridge" - the answer you are looking for may be staring you right in the face!

Living in Grace
D3LM3

God sees and hears...

Have you ever wondered if God actually hears our prayers? Many of us easily slip into a cycle of doubt, questioning whether God could be bothered with our lives and our cries for help. The story of Hezekiah teaches us an amazing truth - not only does God hear our prayers, but he also sees the tears we cry.

“I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.” – Isaiah 38:5

It is my prayer that this verse encourages you today. May you continue to lift your prayers to the Father and may you know the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Even if your prayers are for someone else, keep praying - God is listening.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Are you Listening, Lord? - Lent 5

Does God hear our prayers? 

Well, David certainly believed that God heard our prayers - that's why in Psalm 5 he cries out to the

Lord:

"Listen to my words,  Lord , consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray." - (Psalm 5:1, 2)

I am sure that David's confidence in God's ability to hear our prayers stems from his personal experiences of God responding to his previous prayers. He confidently says: "you hear my voice..." (Psalm 5:3)

For me, it is not that God doesn't hear our prayers, but sometimes we wrestle with the fact that God replies in ways that confuse us. 

Yes!

No!

Wait!

All three of these answers can come from God's lips. We just need to trust in each answer.

• "Praying in faith is not an inner conviction that God will act according to our desires if only we believe hard enough.  It involves believing that God will always respond to our prayers in accord with his nature, his purposes, and his promises."- Alvin VanderGriend

So, is God hearing your prayers and what is he saying?

Living in Grace

D3LM3