The hidden path

There are times when we come to the edge of uncertainty, and we don't know which way to turn. Picture the Israelites standing on the shores of the Red Sea. The pounding waves are throwing salty spray into their faces, while the blood-curdling screams of the Egyptians are getting closer and closer. Trapped in no man's land, they have only one hope - God. 

They look to Moses and in a moment of Divine Mystery, God opens a hidden path for them. Moses holds the staff high and a road they never knew existed, appears before them. They still need courage to walk on this path, but they step out in faith.

Psalm 77:19 - Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters—a pathway no one knew was there!

Prayer thought: Consider your present obstacles - trust that God will lead you through these trials on hidden paths of grace.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Word for the month .... and maybe the whole year!

I stumbled across this profound Scripture during the week, and I think that this will be my 'Word' for the rest of January, and maybe even for the rest of 2024. I share it with you and pray that it may also encourage you:

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” – Isaiah 42:16

It spoke to me in a number of ways:

1. It reminded me that God will lead me, even along unfamiliar paths. There will be plenty of those during this year, I am sure of it!

2. Christ will shine a light on the path and will help me to walk on the uneven paths. The rocky trails will seem a lot smoother, if I learn to walk with Jesus.

3. Jesus will not forsake me. 

May you have a blessed week.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Preparing for future trials

As I have been reflecting recently on the reasons why we encounter trials and times of testing, I was struck by how Jesus' temptation in the wilderness prepared him for his future ministry.

Matthew 4:1- Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (the Greek word tempted can also be translated as Tested.)

James points out that we can profit from our trials and struggle when he says: " My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." (James 1:2-4)

So, I guess I have been challenged to try and consider my trials from a different perspective. Is it possible that God allows us to endure times of testing, in order to prepare us for something else in the future? What could that be? 

How do you feel about that?

Living in Grace

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And then there were Four!

It is quite common for us to feel as if we are alone in the battles we fight. We may have friends and family standing alongside us, but we can still feel a little desperate. It is at times like this that we should remember that God stands with us. He is the fourth person in the fiery furnace. He is our protector and redeemer.

"Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.

But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied.

 “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!” - Daniel 3:19-25

Reflection: Take stock of how God has been with you through some of your toughest times.

Living in grace

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Count it pure joy

How is it possible to give thanks for difficult circumstances and trials? 

There are a few passages in the Bible that remind us to do so, but this is something I am still working on. I don't enjoy trials - I don't seek out suffering. However, they still come to us, no matter how much we seek to avoid them. So, how do we embrace them?

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn spent a long time in prison for his beliefs and when he was released, he was able to say: “Bless you prison, bless you for being in my life. For there, lying upon the rotting prison straw, I came to realize that the object of life is not prosperity as we are made to believe, but the maturity of the human soul.”

Is this what James meant, when he wrote?

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." - James 1:2-3

Living in Grace

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If we fall, we can rise again

"No one has ever fallen so grievously that he may not rise again. Conversely, no one stands so firmly that he may not fall. If Peter (and Paul and Barnabas) fell, I too may fall. If they rose again, I too may rise again." - Martin Luther.

These humbling words from Martin Luther remind me of two valuable lessons:

1. No one is exempt from trials and testing.

2. When we fall, we must know that God's grace can raise us to life again.

Lamentations 3:31-33 - "For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.

 

Living in Grace

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Gone up in flames

                                                            

After discovering that twenty years of his work had literally gone up in flames William Carey wrote these words to Andrew Murray:

"The ground must be laboured over again, but we are not discouraged. We have all been supported under the affliction, and preserved from discouragement..."

And then he quoted from Psalm 46:10, where the Lord Himself says,

"Be still and know that I am God."

William Carey had spent 20 years translating parts of the Bible into various Indian dialects as he served as a missionary in India. Bearing in mind this was in the early 1800's, he had no computer backups at all. He must have been devasted - I know I would have been!

However, he had learnt a simple trust in Jesus and believed that even through trials God was still present. This is such a valuable lesson for me. What do you feel?

Have you ever faced a discouraging time only to see God's hand move in a different direction?

Living in Grace

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I have often wondered

I have often wondered why James would be so crazy to write these words?: 

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers (sisters), whenever you face trials of many kinds …” – James 1:2-4

Initially I thought James must be a little crazy, but then I began to understand the meaning of the word 'trials.' In the Greek language, the word for trial is ‘peirasmos’, which suggests a difficult situation or a ‘painful pressure.’

And so the implication is not that we are broken by the trials, but rather that they prepare us for something better. In a similar way, when Matric students write their 'Trial' exams, it is not meant to dishearten those students, but rather to prepare them for the real Final exams that are approaching fast.

So, may we find the strength we need to endure the trials that lie in wait, because these occasions are preparing us from something bigger down the line.

Living in Grace
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Every Problem

“Every problem is an opportunity to prove God's power. Every day we encounter countless golden opportunities, brilliantly disguised as insurmountable problems.” - C. Swindol

Lord, may you help us to see every problem as an opportunity to see your hand at work in our lives.  

Romans 5:3 -  We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.

So what mountain is God going to help you climb today?

Living in Grace
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Adversity

We have become so used to preachers speaking about the 'prosperity' of the Gospel, that we quickly forget the suffering that comes with the package of following Jesus. For this reason, I love Francis Bacon's thoughts on this:

"Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament;
ADVERSITY is the blessing of the New."

Paul says the same thing, just slightly differently:

"Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." - Romans 8:17-18

In a nutshell - our sufferings are NOT a sign of God deserting us, but rather of our choice to be Christ-followers. When we choose Jesus, we choose to be united with God in our sufferings, as well as our Eternal glory.

Living in Grace
D3LM3