Relinquish

"Cast your cares on the Lord, and he will sustain you.
he will never let the righteous be shaken." - Psalm 55:22

As we contemplate this verse, we should note the invitation to relinquish our burdens and cares to the Lord. This is not always an easy thing to do, but such an important step in our faith.

What are struggling to relinquish to God at the moment?

How can you begin to let God take control?

Philippians 4:6-7 - Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns (The Message). 

“Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.”
― Ann Landers

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Today I tried to run the world...and I failed!

This piece of writing is so spot on for many of us. It hit me straight in the heart and I pray that God speaks to you as much as I felt him speaking to me. I am grateful to the book 'Souvenirs of Solitude' by Brennan Manning for this gift. 

"Lord, today I tried to run the world singlehandedly,
I tried so hard, Lord,
to take care of everything.
I took upon myself
all of the problems,
all the burdens,
all the worries of everyone who makes up my little world.
I tried so hard, Lord, and I accomplished nothing.
I'm frustrated,
frazzled,
and exhausted to the point of tears.
Nothing seemed to go right.

Lord, will I never learn
that you're the one
who runs everything?
That you're the one
who knows all the answers?
That you're the only one
who can carry
the intolerable burdens
we try to shoulder for ourselves?
That you're the only one
who can solve
the insoluble problems?

That you're the only one
who accomplishes anything of worth?
That everything depends on you?

Lord, sometimes I wonder why

you bother to put up with me.

Sometimes I wonder

if you're not sorely tempted

to take me by the shoulders 

and shake me until my teeth rattle.

I couldn't blame you if you did.

Thank you Lord,

for putting up with me today.

And thank you, Lord,

for doing things YOUR way!" - Brennan Manning.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Reflecting on letting go of the old and embracing the new

Here is a delightful poem for the beginning of our new year. It was written by late Irish poet and author, John O'Donohue. Enjoy ...

"As this year draws to its end,

We give thanks for the gifts it brought

And how they became inlaid within

Where neither time nor tide can touch them.

The days when the veil lifted
And the soul could see delight;
When a quiver caressed the heart
In the sheer exuberance of being here.

Surprises that came awake
In forgotten corners of old fields
Where expectation seemed to have quenched.

The slow, brooding times
When all was awkward
And the wave in the mind
Pierced every sore with salt.

The darkened days that stopped
The confidence of the dawn.

Days when beloved faces shone brighter
With light from beyond themselves;
And from the granite of some secret sorrow
A stream of buried tears loosened.

We bless this year for all we learned,
For all we loved and lost
And for the quiet way it brought us
Nearer to our invisible destination." (take from "To bless the space between us")

1 Peter 1:14 - "So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then."

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Fighting the urge to take over

Most of us like to know that we have some control over our lives. There are many of us who like to advise God on how he should be doing things and we would be willing to become God's PA if the post was ever advertised. Sadly (for us), God is never going to need a personal assistant so we are faced with the choice of either letting God be God or trying to be our own Saviour. 

Corallie Buchanan offers us some remarkable insight into our dilemma. She states: "When we look to God as provider, we are surrendering our independence and trusting in someone else to meet our needs, over which we have no control. We need to fight the urge to take over and just let God be God, because He can provide for us better than we can." 

Matthew 10:39 (Living Bible) - “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will save it.

Living in Grace

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Who is driving?

I came across this lovely piece of writing this past week. It made me think about who is in control of my life? Hope you enjoy it.

“At first I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there sort of like a president. I recognized his picture when I saw it, but I really didn’t know Him.

But later on, when I met Christ, It seemed as though life were rather like a bike ride, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal.

I don’t know when it was that he suggested that we change places, but life has not been the same since. When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable. . . It was the shortest distance between two points.
But when Jesus took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places at breakneck speeds, It was all I could do to hang on! Even though it looked like madness, He said, "Pedal!"

I worried and was anxious and asked, "Where are you taking me?" He laughed and didn’t answer, and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure. And when I’d say "I’m scared," He’d lean back and touch my hand.” - Anon

Who is driving in your life?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

 

A time to count our losses

This year has been a year like no other! We have gone through highs and lows - and then more highs and more lows. The roller-coaster ride has been hectic. One of the things we have tried to focus on is the IMPORTANT things in our lives. It has been a time of soul-searching and deep reflection. Perhaps if Solomon had been alive in 2020, he would have written the same words he penned thousands of years ago:

"A time to gain, And a time to lose;
A time to keep, And a time to throw away;

A time to tear, And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, And a time to speak." (Ecclesiastes 3:6-7)

These words in the modern paraphrase are written so well. Eugene Peterson has a gift with words - he says:

A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,

What are some of the things you have had to let go of this year?

What things have you mended?

Have you managed to speak at the appropriate times and then remain silent at others?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Feeling Lost during Lockdown

Good day friends. I just wanted to share this article with you on some of my experiences during Lockdown. It is on the Scripture Union website, but you can read it here.

If you have felt a little lost at some point during lockdown then you may find the article an interesting read. It also has some connection with dealing with our grief and the things we feel we have had to let go off during these strange days.

God bless you
Living in Grace

D3LM3

Letting go of the past

I keep writing 2017 instead of 2018. Are you doing the same thing as me? I hope so, as it will make me feel a little better about myself then :) I guess we had 365 days to get used to writing one thing, and now we have to let go of that and remind ourselves to write a new date.

This morning when I did this for the umpteenth time, the thought struck me - "What other things, from my past, am I holding onto? Are these things preventing me from moving forward with God?"

So, I am asking us all the same question today? Are you still living in the past, holding onto past regrets, past hurts, past disappointments, past pain? And if we are answering 'YES' to any of these, then we need to ask the hard question - WHY?!

Do we not trust in the grace of Jesus to cleanse us from our sins, mistakes and regrets? Can Christ not make all things new? Are God's promises to flimsy to sustain us into a new season? I don't think so.

Galatians 5:1 - "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."

"One more step along the world I go,
One more step along the world I go;
From the old things to the new,
Keep me travelling along with you:
And it's from the old I travel to the new;
Keep me travelling along with you." - Sydney Carter

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Prayer from New Zeland

I came across this prayer from an anonymous Christian in New Zealand. I wish I could thank them for this lovely prayer, but I share this with you, so that you too may be blessed.

"Loving God, open our hearts
so that we may feel the breath and play of your Spirit.
Unclench our hands
so that we may reach out to one another,
and touch and be healed.
Open our lips
that we may drink in the delight and wonder of life.
Open our eyes
so that we may see Christ in friend and stranger.
Breathe your Spirit into us,
and touch our lives with the life of Christ." - Aotearoa (NZ)

For me the image of "unclenching" my hands makes a lot of sense today. So often we close ourselves off the blessings that God has in store for us.

Which part of the prayer speaks to you today?

Living in Grace
D3LM3