Now is the time... To Prepare for Disruption

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until this violent storm is past. Psalm 57:1-2 (NLT)

Earlier this year I was sitting in Wellington airport with a $6 refreshment voucher to spend at one of the many cafes. Air New Zealand was buying me a coffee and a muffin in an attempt to placate me for disrupting my day through flight delay. Fortunately I was not in a hurry and I had a good book to read, a ‘must have’ when travelling.

I have to admit that I don’t always deal well with disruptions in my life. I like things to run smoothly but life doesn’t always go according to our plans. This reality had been brought home to me in the recent hours spent in the waiting room of intensive care and at the bedside of my niece. I realised afresh that one’s life or the life of a family can be changed forever in a moment of time. I watched anxious faces waiting for news of their loved ones, and wondered what lay in store for them in their future; whether they would have to deal with a disabled person, weeks of therapy or even a death.

Disruptions come when we least expect them. Some are just minor inconveniences, others, life-changing catastrophes. How can we prepare for them, or is it even possible to prepare for them? I believe it is possible to be somewhat prepared. It all depends upon the strength of the foundation of our life.

We were designed to live life in relationship with God. He wants to be our strength and our help in times of trouble. He is the one who can be our shelter in the time of storm. We can only know the depths of the benefit of his help if we have developed a trusting relationship with him. We do this through an acceptance of his love for us and developing a knowledge of his willingness to be there for us in the tough times. Such an understanding comes through reading the Bible and learning to believe that what God says, he can and will do. Jesus promised his disciples that the Holy Spirit would bring things that they had heard from his teaching back to their remembrance when they needed it. That can be our experience too. I have experienced it many times; but unless we have a storehouse of his word within us, we don’t have much to go on in times of difficulty.

Praying daily to commit ourselves and our loved ones into God’s care enables us to face our day confident that God is in charge and nothing can come to us that he doesn’t know about and won’t help us with. We are so blessed to know the One who holds us in his heart and shelters us in times of trouble. We have no need to fear disruption because we know that we have a place of shelter in him until the storm is past.

Prayer: Father in heaven, help me to hide your words in my heart and grow in understanding of your love for me. Then I will find help in my time of need as I trust in you. Amen

Now is the time.... To Embrace Your Place

Trust in the Lord in all you do and don’t lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge him in everything you do and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

A question that we hear often is “How could God let this happen?”Recently I watched the movie “The Hiding Place’; the story of Corrie Ten Boom and her family who hid Jewish people in their home in Amsterdam during World War II. They were caught and imprisoned for their kindness. As Corrie and her sister, Betsy “settled into” the horrors of Ravensbrook prison camp, Betsy began to share her faith in Jesus and read the Bible to anyone who would listen; this very same question came from their fellow prisoners. Betsy and Corrie could not give a satisfactory answer but stated their trust in God in spite of their surroundings.

Betsy was more able than Corrie to embrace the place they found themselves in. She didn’t like it any more than the others did, but she chose, in the midst of unbelievable hardship, to believe that God had a purpose for them there. Her gentle, faith-filled character drew many fellow prisoners to Jesus Christ and softened even the hardest and most selfish heart. Such was the result of her embracing these horrible conditions. Her peace and joy were evident to those around her. Corrie too came to see God at work in that place.

Do you find yourself in a hard place today? Has tragedy and heartache touched your family? Has sickness brought you low? Have doors of opportunity closed in your face and left you feeling rejected? Has age caught up with you making you feel that you have no more usefulness in God’s kingdom work? Each of these things marks a life change that we must deal with.
The challenge for each of us is to look through the eyes of faith and realise that each season of life is an opportunity for growth. As we embrace our new place, we will grow in grace and maturity, wisdom and faith. Never give up. Our usefulness on earth is never done till we move to heaven. If we can’t do anything but pray we are still useful. The busy, active people often lack the luxury of time to pray for long, yet the need for prayer is so great in our world today.

Why don’t you seek the Lord and ask him to show you what his plan is for this season of your life, and move into it with courage and determination, allowing God to work in and through you all that he purposes for your life………….. and the lives of others. Bloom where you are planted!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, please help me to embrace this season of my life. Help me to give you the frustrations of it so that I can receive your grace to do what you want me to do this day. Amen