"He who hath helped thee hitherto
Will help thee all thy journey through"
When read in heaven's light, how glorious and marvelous a prospect will thy" hitherto" unfold to thy grateful ey." C.H. Spurgeon
On this day, as I stand at the closing door of the year 2011and awaits for the door to 2012 to open, I cannot thank the Lord enough for His goodness and faithfulness shown to me. It's His mercy that I'm here today and where I am and who I am today. It's His "yes"s, "no"s and delays that have molded me and shaped me to grow and love Him more. The year didn't run smoothly, it had its twists and turns that brought sighs and sobs at times. But there were times of joy and days of celebration when a loved one got married, a daughter got a new job, another went to college to pursue her heart's desire, received great health report from the doctor's mouth and so forth. Also, there were nights of no sleep being anxiouis about the future, saddened by the ill health of dear friends and long loved neighor, disoriented by doubts and dried up spiritual state.
That is life and I need to accept joy and sadness, triumps and trials with both hands with faith and gratitude. Only then, I can say I've walked the talk and matured enough to be thankful for all, irrespective of type and nature of happenings.
So many unexpected and surprising things have happened this year in the world around. The uprise in the Middle East, the regime change in Egypt and the fall of Egyptian president, the death of Bin laden, the death of Libyan leader Gadaffi, the unrest in Syria, the downturn in economy in this nation and Europe, the rise of China and India in economy and so forth. We don't know what these changes hold for us in this nation or as an individual in today's global village.
I donot know what 2012 is going to bring to the world in general, who is going to be the next president of this country, or who will rise or fall in the new year. I have no idea what coming year holds for me and my family. But I know who hold our future in His hands. Because I love and trust Him for His mercy, faithfulness and goodness, I can rest in Him whatever this year brings .
Yes, I too can confidently sing,
"He who hath helped the hiterto
Will help thee all thy journey through."
As the door shuts on this year, I bow before my Lord to praise and worship Him for who He is and would invite Him to walk me through the coming year in His faithfulness. I pray that I will yield me for Him to shine through me more and my fellowship with Him be more intimate so that my life would be worth for His glory.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
How Big is Your God?
" How big is your God?" asked Robert Schuller facing his Crystal Cathedral congregation one Sunday. Since I was watching the service on television, the question was thrown at me too. "Oh my God is sooooo big!" I felt like shouting and declare my faith, but then something stopped me.
I could get all worked up and shout as much as I want to declare my faith, but do I truly display God's greatness in my daily walk? How does the world see my God through me? Big or small? Almighty and powerful or small and invisible?
Some years ago, while driving through the rocky mountains in Alberta, Canada during the freezing month of February, my family and I were caught in the twirl of a winter blizzard. Blinding snow clouded our vision and its' anger shook our aged oldsmobile like a rattle and almost toppled it over. In the back seat, our seven-year -old and eighteen -month -old daughters were sleeping like angels with smile shading their faces,undisturbed by the calamity outside. In front, my husband and I, who were thought to be great giants of faith, sat frozen in fear not knowing what to do next. Gladly, it occured to me to pray and that's what I did.
"O Lord, stop the blizzard! That's the shortest prayer I'd ever uttered. I doubt whether I expected God to stop such a monstrous winter storm instantaneously. But it did happen. Yes, I saw the blizzard brought to a halt at once, and a wedge of blue sky widening before my eyes. On that day, I witnessed a miracle happening just like the Jesus' disciples who witnessed the storm brought to a stop by the rebuke of Jesus. Here I didn't hear any audible voice halting the blizzard, but I saw the blizzard vanishing without a trace within a blinking moment. To me, it was so unbelievable that I teared up every time I thought of that incident.
Like many of you, I've experienced God's grace helping me out of trouble, sickness and danger at many times. However this incident stood like a pinnacle among them. For a long time, I couldn't understand why this particular act of God stood out from all the other deliverance in my life. Then it hit me.
Even though I prayed, I hadn't expected God to come to my aid and stop the storm as Jesus did for His disciples on the boat. In some way, I've thought my God is not big enough to whisk away a blizzard. Maybe in my mind, I've considered nature to be more powerful than the God I worship. In words, I may have praised Him to be great and all-powerful, but when disaster or distress blindens my path, I somehow forget the omnipotent vision of God.
Who knows, I would be even quick to defend myself if someone has pointed that to me, for I wouldn't have even realized it for myself. Either I've seen myself too unworthy for God's intervention or God to be not too big enough to handle such a deadly winter blizzard. In either way, I'd been wrong in my belief. If I'm a believer in Christ, God becomes my heavenly Father who is capable of delivering His children when they cry out to Him for help. On the other hand, God is also the creator of all creations. Sun, moon, rain,thunder , wind and storm obey when He summons them. So, it's my thinking that need to be corrected. Otherwise, my faith becomes just a talk, but not a walk!***
Today I received an announcement of a Liebster Award for my posting on this blog from Jan Cox, the owner of Under the Cover of Prayer site. Jan had written two devotionals and a number of articles for magazines and a Bible study
She wrote -Just found this blog from a fellow Inscribe membr. She wrote a wonderful post on prayer called Precious Link to God: P-R-A-Y-E-R.
Remember to check out Jan Cox's blogs
http://underthecoverofprayer.wordpress.com/
http://jancoxabetterway.wordpress.com/
I could get all worked up and shout as much as I want to declare my faith, but do I truly display God's greatness in my daily walk? How does the world see my God through me? Big or small? Almighty and powerful or small and invisible?
Some years ago, while driving through the rocky mountains in Alberta, Canada during the freezing month of February, my family and I were caught in the twirl of a winter blizzard. Blinding snow clouded our vision and its' anger shook our aged oldsmobile like a rattle and almost toppled it over. In the back seat, our seven-year -old and eighteen -month -old daughters were sleeping like angels with smile shading their faces,undisturbed by the calamity outside. In front, my husband and I, who were thought to be great giants of faith, sat frozen in fear not knowing what to do next. Gladly, it occured to me to pray and that's what I did.
"O Lord, stop the blizzard! That's the shortest prayer I'd ever uttered. I doubt whether I expected God to stop such a monstrous winter storm instantaneously. But it did happen. Yes, I saw the blizzard brought to a halt at once, and a wedge of blue sky widening before my eyes. On that day, I witnessed a miracle happening just like the Jesus' disciples who witnessed the storm brought to a stop by the rebuke of Jesus. Here I didn't hear any audible voice halting the blizzard, but I saw the blizzard vanishing without a trace within a blinking moment. To me, it was so unbelievable that I teared up every time I thought of that incident.
Like many of you, I've experienced God's grace helping me out of trouble, sickness and danger at many times. However this incident stood like a pinnacle among them. For a long time, I couldn't understand why this particular act of God stood out from all the other deliverance in my life. Then it hit me.
Even though I prayed, I hadn't expected God to come to my aid and stop the storm as Jesus did for His disciples on the boat. In some way, I've thought my God is not big enough to whisk away a blizzard. Maybe in my mind, I've considered nature to be more powerful than the God I worship. In words, I may have praised Him to be great and all-powerful, but when disaster or distress blindens my path, I somehow forget the omnipotent vision of God.
Who knows, I would be even quick to defend myself if someone has pointed that to me, for I wouldn't have even realized it for myself. Either I've seen myself too unworthy for God's intervention or God to be not too big enough to handle such a deadly winter blizzard. In either way, I'd been wrong in my belief. If I'm a believer in Christ, God becomes my heavenly Father who is capable of delivering His children when they cry out to Him for help. On the other hand, God is also the creator of all creations. Sun, moon, rain,thunder , wind and storm obey when He summons them. So, it's my thinking that need to be corrected. Otherwise, my faith becomes just a talk, but not a walk!***
Today I received an announcement of a Liebster Award for my posting on this blog from Jan Cox, the owner of Under the Cover of Prayer site. Jan had written two devotionals and a number of articles for magazines and a Bible study
She wrote -Just found this blog from a fellow Inscribe membr. She wrote a wonderful post on prayer called Precious Link to God: P-R-A-Y-E-R.
Remember to check out Jan Cox's blogs
http://underthecoverofprayer.wordpress.com/
http://jancoxabetterway.wordpress.com/
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