Dear...
Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel;
I will help thee, saith the Lord,
and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 41:14
Talk about a jolt to our system. Most of us seek comfort in God's assurance when the world becomes burdensome. And since man is born to trouble, seeking solace must be the norm. But to be admonished by our source of comfort, is it telling on our lack of faith?
A worms wriggles and squirms. Those of us from an earlier era would have had the opportunity to engage in some mud play, digging the moist brown clay for earthworms, and the worms curl up in the heat, once they are dug out of their subterranean comfort.
Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
Jeremiah 6:16
God is love. He will correct us when necessary to bring our lives back into alignment, to recalibrate our focus upon Christ.
And this is the crux of my misconception. Much as I have seek to follow God since His Spirit touched me, I have often erred, albeit with good intent, towards taking the lead rather than following in obedience. In the past one year, since I stepped out of my comfort zone, in obedience, I often struggled to lay the path that I thought God wanted me to. John the Baptist prepared the way for the arrival of Christ. But I believe he did not hewn out a path based on his own understanding or strength. But rather, he walked the route God has already laid. And going forth, in this ministry that God has placed me in, it should be more of a discovery of the route laid and not about laying a new trail.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6
How can I be sure that this is the way to go forward?
Like me, if you were to revisit the times when your act of obedience brought you to a firsthand experience of God's wonderful tapestry unfold as you look to Him and respond to the leading of His Spirit. The awe and unmitigated joy when you sense the prescience of His ways, that inexorably uplifting assurance that raises your faith into a new level, that time and tide will not take away.
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen:for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18
This past one month my left eye has not been its usual self. Today I will be seeing a ophthalmologist and our God is not just prescient but full of humor.
The title of today's Daily Bread(thurs July 4th) is titled "Eternal eyesight."
Indeed as the author shared, we struggle with the things of the world which often keeps us away from our focus on Christ and what is to come.
We must live by faith and not by sight. And as always to bring the point across, God allows not just the coincidence of title in my reading this morning, but the reference verse 2 Corinthians 4:18 in the DB reading, stared right unto me like an expectant puppy wagging its tail in all anticipation, when I opened the Bible, as if it was just waiting for me.
Such is the joy of our daily living when we seek not conclusions , but our Lord, and as we draw near to Him, He indeed draws near to us.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain:that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
John 15:16
My ophthalmologist whom I am consulting today is a man of broad experience and age. So is my cardiologist. Slower in pace both might be, but they more than make up for it with their wisdom and care.
Contrast this to our world that tend to place greater value on youthfulness and denigrate the experience of the wizen.
But God used men like Moses and Abraham who were way past their prime, age wise..
The ways of God are far superior to that of the finite man. Should we not stop questioning and instead start following? And should we not set aside our imperfect wisdom that was surreptitiously acquired by the sinful Adam. And instead let our vision be from the Spirit of God residing in the hearts of every believer in the saving grace of God.
These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 14:25-26
God blesses
Eng Hieang
4th July 2013
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