Now is the time.... To Hold the Ball

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

As we watched the nail-biting finish of the Rugby World Cup which the All Blacks won by just 1 point, I was interested in the tactic used to hold the ball in the scrum for the last 2 or 3 minutes and gradually just edge little by little towards their own end of the field. It worked and though the ball was not being played it remained in their hands (or feet) until the final whistle blew and victory was assured.

This spoke to me about our Christian life. Sometimes we are faced with situations that challenge us so much that we almost lose our way. Sometimes the battle is long and hard, and after an initial spurt of "running with the ball" and making good ground, we become weary and discouraged and want to give up. It seems that this battle cannot be won; the enemy whispers in our ear, "You're done, you can't win this one." And you believe him. You are tempted to just give up and throw it all in and settle for comfort. If you do that, the battle is over and lost.

I wonder how many times David was tempted to stop running from King Saul and just settle down in some safe place, or just let Saul kill him in battle. But he knew God had anointed him to be King over Israel. He would replace the disobedient Saul, but in God's timeframe, not David's. He was tempted a couple of times to take matters into his own hands and kill the king and take his place, but he refused to take control, instead letting God be the One to put him into leadership. In the meantime - his training time - his job was to 'hold the ball' and keep pressing toward the mark, stopping the enemy from taking ground, and being prepared to take the victory when it was granted. That is our challenge too!



Prayer:Heavenly Father, please give me your grace to continue to press in and press on towards the prize of the high calling you have ordained for me. Let me not be weary or faint in battle so that I may finish my race for your glory. Amen

Now is the time to...... De-Stress

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Philippians 4:6 The Message

We had to consult a horticulturalist recently, concerning a plant in our garden. Not only had it dropped a lot of its fine, lush leaves but we also discovered that it had squishy growths on a lot of the lower branches. Instead of being a lovely lush ball of green foliage, you could now see through the bottom of the plant. I carefully bagged a piece of branch with its odd growth and took it to the native plant nursery for diagnosis.

The lady looked at it and proclaimed, "This plant is stressed. Something is bothering it that has caused it to lose a lot of leaves and now it's become vulnerable to scale!" "Oh," we replied, "Now what do we do?" She told us to spray it with white oil, give it some native plant fertiliser and water it well and it should recover. (That reminds me, I forgot to do the white oil!) Now we watch and wait to see what happens.

Isn't it interesting that plants can suffer from stress, just like we humans do. Stress takes its toll on plants, taking away their attractiveness, makes them vulnerable to disease and stunting healthy growth. Did you notice that it does the same to us. Just observe people in the shops, on the street or where you work; you can often tell the ones who have a lot of stress in their lives. Their bodies show it, especially the expression on their faces and drooping shoulders. Some are rude and cranky, some eat a lot and gain weight when they are stressed, others fade away to a shadow.

Stress is ugly and it affects our health. In fact many years ago I read that more than 90% of diseases have their root cause in stress. God knows the adverse effects of stress, and I believe that is why the Holy Spirit inspired the apostle Paul to write those words, "don't fret or worry". Instead we are to pray.... give our concerns to God and trust him to work things out. Don't allow yourself to be open to sickness by worrying. This verse in Philippians 4 goes on to say, (when you let God know your concerns) ..."Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the centre of your life."

We can allow stress into our lives in many ways; some things that will help to minimize or de-stress our lives are: spend time with God daily and read His word; pray and give him your concerns; allow Him to set your schedule and order your day, let Him walk with you throughout the day; keep your boundaries in place and don't allow others to 'guilt' you into doing things that you don't feel you need to do; make time for your family and friends and take time to relax. Above all, eat properly and regularly and get good rest; a poor diet and lack of sleep will stress your body. Remember too, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, you are its guardian. Guard it well. If you need any more encouragement, remember Jesus' words "Come to me all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

Prayer: Heavenly Father, forgive me for the times I've worried and not allowed you to carry my concerns. Help me to pray and trust you to work out the things that I worry about. Help me to live my life in such a way that it brings glory and praise to you and demonstrates the benefits of the Christian life to others. Amen