this song just came into my head: "still"
hide me now, under Your wings
cover me, within Your mighty hand
when the oceans rise and thunders roar
i will soar with You above the storm
Father You are King over the flood
i will be still and know You are God
find rest my soul, in Christ alone
know His power in quietness and trust
i understand, some of us have been hurt pretty bad recently. God doesn't ask us to wipe away the pain and the hurt and pretend it's alrite, it's ok. instead, Jesus asks us to come to Him. "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (matt 11:28-30)
in such a time of hurt, of disappointment, the fact that one can get so badly hurt even in church, even by church friends, it makes it so difficult to come to Jesus. so hard to let go and let God heal. no strength to deal with it, helpless to help others.
it is true. these things happen. when God sees, He hurts too, for He sees people hurting, He sees how the sins of man have caused all the pain. that's why He asks us to come to Him, to seek Him, even when we don't feel like it, even when we just don't have the strength. He knows the struggles in our hearts, the questions that we don't dare to ask aloud, questions like, "why, God?", and "how could You let this happen God?" even if people around us cannot understand these struggles, God understands. and He provides the solution, if only YOU are willing to accept it.
God's solution is simple: come to ME, be STILL, know I am GOD, and I will make things right.
trust in Him, present it ALL to Him.
it is a time of weakness for us all. all the more we must NOT let the enemy triumph! God is victorious, He has given us the victory. we must not allow the enemy to use any foothold to thwart God's plans. we will have a powerful, Holy-Spirit-filled meeting tomorrow and of course satan is not happy! i'm not simply disregarding all that has happened as an attack by the enemy, but since such things have happened, we have to be careful. we have to RISE ABOVE.
a phrase i learnt from someone recently: love covers all.
simple phrase, really, but so much meaning from it.
love covers, as in God's love covers all of us. love covers, as in the love God has given us covers each other, covers good times and bad times, covers and lessens the pain, covers all our weaknesses and our mistakes and our failures.
love does cover all.
and i pray, let God's love cover you even as you read this, if you read this. let God's love fill you, that you may have the strength to let your love cover too.
the issues some of us have had to go through will not just disappear as this happens. it will require a willingness to forgive, to listen, to explain. but let this all happen in God's love. let your heart first be healed by God. let Him. it's easy. we all know, because we have been touched by God before. so don't hesitate, don't be unwilling to let Him touch you.
when i was younger and i was learning how to swim, i once almost drowned cos i kinda collided with someone else (quite stupid of me actually). i was in the middle of the pool and my coach was at the edge, too far to come in time to save me. of course in the end i didn't die (ok, blame my really lame sense of humour for this). but i had a choice, stop learning how to swim entirely cos the risk was too great, or overcome the fear, the remembrance of that sensation of drowning and start swimming again. some people choose to not go near the water entirely. or maybe just where the water level reaches their knees. some people decide instead to overcome, to learn from the mistakes, to let courage succeed the fear.
similarly, it's a choice we all have to make at this point, or at any other point in life. what's even better for us now, is that we know we have God helping us! He will hold on to you as you learn how to swim again, He will swim beside you. and you will swim faster, with more skill, and more courage and agility. you will become a healthier person, you will be able to save lives and teach others what you have learnt. you will not have missed out on that wonderful experience on gliding through the water.
so i really hope, cos i cannot say i really understand what some of my dear sisters are experiencing now, that you will be able to rise above the darkness and despondency of the time, and increase your faith in God.
goodnite, and may i see you tomorrow at the overnight prayer meeting, to be refreshed, to be renewed, to be healed. =)
remember, love covers all.
Labels: loves- love covers all
