Rear View Mirror

So today I was preaching to someone, (it sure felt like it) and I just thought I'd share some of the rhetoric.

I don't usually share where I'm at mentally with a lot of people, well actually, I think I keep majority of my thoughts to myself or just share them with God. Anyways, I was thinking about some of the missed-takes in my life and how they affect my life today. It was a full on assault of the mind by the devil, which left me drowning in what was a big pool of self-pity and condemnation. Though I swim through the murky waters of the Dead Sea, I will make it to the Sea of Galilee! 

I eventually gave those thoughts to God and went to sleep. After, I had the opportunity to share with someone when they admitted that they didn't know where "life started and where it ended". I think I just dove in when I should have asked for wisdom. Nevertheless, I pray God guided my tongue. 

My response (with minor changes):

"Hmm well I do that sometimes, I wonder about the choices that I have made and if they were the right ones. Sometimes, I think my thoughts would drive me insane. But while it's good to reflect on the past, we should not stay there. Don't look back they say, unless it's a good view. We can't change the past but we have right now to make it right- to start again. A whole world of new experiences await us and there are missed-takes to be made; but the thought of failing must not stop us from trying and living. So look up and look ahead."

It's not like I have all the answers or I am in a state of mind to be a life coach but I can drop pearls of wisdom, that at the same time help me to quiet the noise and assuage my fears. God does that sometimes. As 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 says:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.[a] 

As Children of God let us be comforted by the fact that though we go through the fire, the waters  and the flood they would not harm us, burn or overpower us (Isaiah 43:1-2). For we have a lifeguard who walks on water and a fourth man "with the appearance of the Son of God", in the furnace, enduring the flames (Daniel 3:25).

In closing, Hebrews 4:15 says:

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Grace and Peace. 

Bitter-Sweet

Over the last couple weeks or so, I've had to fight for my peace of mind. From short bouts of illness, to the death of a friend and my own internal warfare of the mind, In this time, I have grown to rely on the promise that 'God's grace is sufficient.' So we've got to glory in the bad times as well as the good. For it is easy to be happy when times are good, but joy must manifest when times are bad, because it is then that we look to our Lord, Saviour, Redeemer, and the God of all comfort. For instance,

How would you that God is healer, if you've never been sick?
How would you know that what getting up felt like, if you've never been knocked down?
How would you know appreciate what you have, if you've never gone without?

These are all questions that the suffering Christian must ponder. Why would you look toward a heavenly home if this earth were a bed of roses? So we shift our perspective, and we pick up our crosses and head to Golgotha by way of Gethsemane and Gabbatha, on this Via Dolorosa.

I love writing these blog posts because I get to encourage myself as I push through the process and hopefully, I get to encourage others as well.

Something else that stood out to me, these past few weeks  were the names: Marah and Elim.

If you remember the story of Ruth, Naomi remarks that her name is no longer Naomi but Mara, for the Lord had dealt bitterly with me (Ruth 1). Marah is also mentioned in the Book of Exodus, Chapter 15 (Exodus 15:22-27). The Israelites were in the wilderness and came upon Marah- a place of bitter waters.

Like, a lot of us Christians, whose memories sometime fail us, they forgot that the same God who brought them to and through the Red Sea could do anything, and had they had enough faith they would have seen the sweet in the bitter. So they murmured with Moses (Poor Moses- opposition left, right and center)!

Moses looked to God who showed him a tree that when thrown into the water made it sweet- bittersweet. Selah.

God has the power to turn bitter things sweet, if we just hold on. But this, my friend, was only a foretaste of things to come. When they journeyed a little further, they came to Elim- the place of Twelve Waters and Three Score and Ten (70) palm trees. Selah..

Note here that, twelve, in the Bible is the number of completion and according to Matthew Henry's Commentary- one for each tribe so they didn't have to fight over it, and there were trees to shade them from the heat. Isn't the LORD wonderful?

"Though God may, for a time, order his people to encamp by the waters of Marah, yet that shall not always be their lot. See how changeable our condition is in this world, from better to worse, from worse to better."- Matthew Henry (Matthew Henry Commentary).

Let us now hear the conclusion of the matter. Though for a time we are faced with momentary trials (2 Corinthians 4) , we are comforted by the fact that it would not be our portion forever, Great is Thy faithfulness!