Memory Verse:
“Jesus said to him, “I am" the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6 As I’m visiting family in the Australian bush, I’m surrounded by the beauty of the wonderful gum trees. The birds sing constantly and peace overflows me, just as the river below flows toward the ocean. My mind wanders over Creation and God’s presence, the great ‘I AM’, the Self-existent One, settles upon me. My husband used to say, “He needs me like a hole in the head!” When he first said it, the saying crushed my soul. For years I had delighted in the fact that I at last knew I was loved and needed. “How awful,” I thought, “now I feel lost again!” However, over the years the great ‘I AM’, has shown me what my darling meant. For God to exist: He doesn’t need me. For God to exist: He doesn’t have to love or redeem me! Truly, He exists because He is: He is the One from beginning to end: The Alpha and the Omega, as the Bible says in Rev. 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the LORD God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” There are many beliefs as to how we got here, but only one truth. If God is and has always been – He is the Creator. To me, the name we often so flippantly use, “God”, tells me, ‘He has to have absolute power, absolute presence, absolute knowledge: He sees all and He knows all. He is the God of love,[i]but He also has to be the only God of justice who has the right to reveal His wrath.[ii]We cannot claim He is one, without excepting the other. If I am to truly worship Him, with all my heart, soul and mind; then I need to also except all of these truths. He hears our prayers, He watches our ways and yes, He is the only One worthy of my worship. Having pride in myself or achievements does not satisfy; having a wonderful husband and beautiful children, their spouses and grandchildren I dote upon, does not satisfy. Playing sports, doing crafts and going to work are all emptiness: for, they are not worthy of my worship. Homes and overflowing possessions miss the mark also. None of these things, which I love deeply can satisfy, for they cannot save me! So, my faith is not based on the emptiness and hum-drum of life, but on God, the Creator of all; the Sustainer of all and most of all The Self-existent One. Where is or what is your faith based upon? [i]1John4:7,8 “Beloved, let us loveone another, for loveis from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not lovedoes not know God, for God is love.” [ii]Rom. 1:18 “For the wrathof God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”
3 Comments
Have you ever driven your car and seen something on the side of the road that distracted you? Where you look is usually where you end up going.
I’m not really sure when it began, but I know that down the track of my Christian walk I suddenly discovered that the peace and joy I should have had was no longer there. Looking back, I now realize what had distracted me. It was grief. No, it didn’t happen when Ewan died. It had happened many years before that. We had been coming along side some young people who had come from unhappy backgrounds, and when this ministry ended, I grieved. I grieved when contact was lost with them and our foster grandchildren. I grieved over our sons having to leave home early in life. I grieved over our parents dying. I grieved every time someone hurt my feelings. I grieved when Ewan stopped preaching. I grieved over the magazine having to close. I grieved for others and their sorrows; and yes, I grieved over Ewan being called home. It was four months later that I moved to live in a granny flat on one of my family’s properties. My expectations that I would never be alone again were being fulfilled, but then I grieved over what seemed to be lost friends and the struggles to slip into living in NSW and in Sydney. Ewan used to say, “If we have expectations, we will always be disappointed!” When he died, I know I had expectations of others, including my family and myself. If they had been through some of the things I had, surely I would have done certain things to help them, yet my expectations were never fulfilled. We cannot expect others to think or be the same as ourselves, and so I grieved some more. I then went to Bible College. My health began failing more and more and I needed to move out of Sydney. This made it extremely hard to do some of my subjects, but my grief, deep-seated as it was, also made things difficult. It took three years to complete my Diploma of Christian Studies, a one-year course. I was excited and thrilled to graduate, but also grieved because I had not been able to complete the B.Th. I dreadfully missed the wonderful fellowship with those at College; another form of grief. It is now six and a half years since Ewan was called home, and finally I sit and delight in my Lord helping me to see that He was right by my side all the time and always will be. I also think of the yoke He offers us all; both easy and light. Yet I had sinned by allowing my grief to cause me to collapse and slip from His blessed yoke. I’ve confessed this sin to my Lord and asked Him to help me fully repent. To place His yoke back over my heart and shoulders, and to help me to walk in unison with Him once again. What joy! He has answered my prayers and I once again know the wonderful presence of His Holy Spirit guiding me though my daily life. Matt.11: 30 Rev. 2:1-7 |
Wendy's Blog
I am glad you landed on this page and pray that my inspirational thoughts will warm your heart and inspire you to live each day for the glory of God. Post Titles
Archives
|