Searchlight

"The Lord's searchlight penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive." - Proverbs 20:27

What image comes to your mind when you think of a searchlight? 

I have in my mind a massive bright light, scanning the surrounding countryside, revealing anything that may be hidden in the darkness. I guess a Lighthouse is a kind of searchlight, except it's function is mainly to reveal itself and thus warn ships of where the coastline is. A searchlight has a different function - it is to reveal and find.

Now, I want to ask us: what emotion comes to your mind when you think about a searchlight? 

Yes, it is a strange question perhaps, but let me expand. When the writer of Proverbs suggests that the Spirit acts like a searchlight for our hearts, this picture can do one of two things. It can either fill you with anxiety - oh man, what is God going to find in my heart? 

OR

It can fill you with relief and hope. Many of our hearts are feeling the weight and strain of Covid-19, and some of us are feeling lost. Our emotions are like a frightened animal hiding in the shadows, afraid of what is out there. The searchlight of God's spirit FINDS us again and reminds us that we are God's chosen and beloved. 

The Father sends the Spirit to bring comfort to the lost and bewildered.

Let God's promises shine on your problems. ~Corrie Ten Boom

Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message. ~Malcolm Muggeridge

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Mid-course Correction

I have just finished reading a wonderful book by Gordon MacDonald entitled "Mid-Course Correction." As some may assume, it is NOT a book about going through mid-life crisis, but rather a book that reflects on the reality that many people are frustrated in their lives - they feel a sense of having gone down a wrong road or are even asking the question: "Is this all that life has to offer?"

MacDonald quotes the poet Ed Sissman:

"People past forty
Get up nights
Look out at city lights
And wonder why life is so long
And where they made the wrong turn."

Of course, this can happen to any person, not just those in their forties. Young Adults fresh out of school or university ask this question and so do newly retired folk. And when we ask this question, we may have to get to a point of making a 'mid-course Correction.' In other ways, being brave enough to change the direction our spiritual lives are heading in, while we are still trying to survive on a daily basis. It is the mid-course correction that could save our lives!

Proverbs 12:1 - Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.

Proverbs 15:10 - Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path; the one who hates correction will die.

Living in Grace
D3LM3