If God hadn't been by our side

"If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
2 if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us,
3 they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger flared against us;
4 the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
5 the raging waters
would have swept us away.

6 Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth." - Psalm 124

In today's reading the Psalmist comes to a powerful realisation about God's help in difficult circumstances. He realises that things would have been a lot worse 'IF' God hadn't been there for him. 

This is a timely reminder for all of us I think. Have you ever wondered how your life would be IF God wasn't in your life?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Providence

The timeless issue of Providence has reared it's head again as I have been reflecting on Esther's story. I have to admit that it is not always as simple as some make it out to be. Just as we seem to find a suitable answer for God's Providence, then we are thrown a curve ball of sorts. In order to try and wrestle with Scriptures like the following one, I have turned to a few famous authors to seek their collective wisdom:

Acts 24:2 - Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence... (KJV)

This is what these authors say:

"He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God's providence to lead him alright." - Blaise Pascal

Providence is wonderfully intricate. Ah! You want always to see through Providence, do you not? You never will, I assure you. You have not eyes good enough. You want to see what good that affliction was to you; you must believe it. You want to see how it can bring good to the soul; you may be enabled in a little time; but you cannot see it now; you must believe it. Honor God by trusting Him." - Charles Spurgeon

Nothing whatever, whether great or small, can happen to a believer, without God's ordering and permission. There is no such thing as "chance," "luck" or "accident" in the Christian's journey through this world. All is arranged and appointed by God. And all things are "working together" for the believer's good." - J. C. Ryle

What do you make of Providence? And is there a connection with Predestination in this?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Past, present, future

"Trust the past to the grace of God,
The present to His love
and the future to His providence." - Augustine of Hippo

We all have a past, a present and a future! And we all get to choose how we deal with each one of these. Augustine gives us sound advice when he urges us to ask God to allow his Grace, Love and Providence to go with us.

Romans 8:38-39 - "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

What do you think?

Living in Grace
D3LM3

A twist of fate?

When Guido (Guy) Fawkes and his co-conspirators failed in their plot to blow up the English House of Parliament in 1605, they inadvertently spared the life of King James 1. In doing so, they allowed James to continue his sponsorship of the translation of the Bible into English. This work began in 1604 and finished in 1611 - the end result was the King James Version of the Bible.

So in a strange way, Guy Fawkes' failure allowed the success of the KJV to prevail. Call it a twist of fate or just God's Providence - the end result was a version of the Bible that has spoken to many believers for centuries.

The other interesting outcome is that millions of people set off fireworks on the 5th November without knowing who Guy Fawkes was and why they are celebrating this occasion :)
Life is certainly interesting!!

John 3:16 (KJV) - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Living in Grace
D3LM3