Quality time with Jesus

Wow... it has been a while since I've posted anything on here - life just gets pretty busy sometimes, I guess. And I've never wanted to post anything on here just for the sake of putting up a post.

Lately, however, I've been thinking and reading about God's affection for us individually, and for us as the church; the body of Christ. It is good to focus on the theology of the gospel, as it is through the gospel that our minds are renewed and we are transformed into the likeness of Jesus. But in focusing on the theology, it can be easy to forget the significance and nature of our relationship with God. Because that's just what it is: a relationship! Whilst sorting through a box of old papers and mementos I've kept through my walk with God - notebooks, scribblings of great bible verses and quotes, notes taken from sermons, and prayers written from the heart - I came across a quote I pulled out of a book I read years ago by Joanna Weaver, 'Having a Mary heart in a Martha world':

"What an amazing thought that Christ wants to spend quality time with me. 

That he looks forward to our time together, and misses when I don't show up... 

A relationship doesn't just happen. It has to be nurtured, protected, and loved."

How true this is! When I compare this to my marriage with Marty (which I'm comfortable doing, because it is biblically a reflection of the church's relationship with Jesus), I suddenly understand the importance of time spent with God. I know that Marty and I struggle and we feel distant when we haven't had enough quality time together in a while. We will make it a priority, and even turn down invitations to hang out with other friends, or attend parties, if it means we can have that time to build our relationship.

Time spent with God is important - we know that - but to think about how much God wants to spend time with us transforms it from a duty ("I should do it...") to a delight ("I get to do it...").  It is no longer another item on the to-do list, but instead becomes something I get to do each day. We get to sit in the presence of the God of the universe, relating to him as our heavenly Father! We can pour out our anxieties, our pain, our joys, our grief, our hopes and our dreams to him, knowing not only that he cares, but also that He has the power to do something about it and He knows - with infinite wisdom - what is best for us, even when we don't. We know that when we open God's Word, it is living and active, and God can speak to our hearts directly through the words on those pages, if only we will stop and listen for a little while. And we know that when we delight ourselves in Him, he will give us the desires of our hearts, meaning he will transform our desires so that they align more perfectly with His.

What a joy it is (and I hope it will continue to be) to spend time in the presence of our Creator and sustainer.

My strength, my shield

It's funny - when God puts us in a position of teaching something from His Word, He won't let us teach it without first making sure we have learnt it ourselves. That's what I've found anyway.

While we were at mission recently we spent a week sharing Jesus with kids and families from non-christian backgrounds. During the week we taught several Bible stories to the kids, including David and Goliath. I realised that trusting God requires full submission to God's strength and ability, knowing that in his infinite wisdom He knows what's best and He has it under control. Like Saul, I tend to put so many safeguards in place (like his armour) to prevent me from slipping or falling - I try to organise everything and consider all possible scenarios, and I worry when things don't go to plan. But I am learning (bit by bit) to become more like David. He had complete trust in God because he knew His character in depth from past experiences. God saved him from the wild lions and bears while he was a shepherd, and He would come through for him when he faced Goliath.

I seek to know God's character more deeply so that my trust in Him becomes stronger. No challenge is too great for Our God, and nothing takes Him by surprise. He is good, and He is wise, and he is worth trusting completely - even without the flimsy armour we can be tempted to rely on.

It is well with my soul

"When peace like a river attendeth my way

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot, You have taught me to say

It is well, it is well with my soul"

Horatio Spafford, 1873

It's easy when we are young in our faith to say, 'I trust that God has the perfect plan for me'. But it becomes more difficult to say this when we face challenges and realise that God's plan might not actually entail all that we had in mind. It's a time like this for me at the moment, and while it would be tempting to throw it all in and think that God doesn't care, or mustn't exist at all, I can feel God holding on to me tightly because these thoughts don't stay for long. Instead the Spirit is challenging me to trust that even though the plans I have set out for myself might seem to be wonderful, they might not happen, and God has something even better in store for me. This requires me to relinquish the control I thought I had over my life and give it to the Lord in a much more real way than ever before.

It must seem absurd to a non-Christian that I would continue to trust in a God who doesn't give me what I want when I want it... Why should I pledge allegiance to a God who seems so unfair? But I know that seeking after God was never going to be an easy road. It wasn't always going to make sense. And I can't always see what's ahead of me. But that's the very essence of trust.

I can trust in God's character because he has shown time and time again through my life so far that he is wise, he is just, he is compassionate, and he is love. My heavenly Father knows what is best for me, and that is to grow in depth of faith and love with Him. He is teaching me that nothing else matters in comparison. 

The strongest bridge

I feel like it has been an eternity since I've even sat down to a computer, let alone logged in to make a new post. Life has been very hectic lately, but very enjoyable and satisfying amidst the craziness! I'm 3 weeks away from finishing work with Hi-5 - which is very sad - but I'm looking forward to a much needed break.

A couple of weeks ago I went with some others from our church to women's convention in Katoomba and God had a lot to say to me that weekend. We looked at Philippians and studied a life worth living with our eyes on the prize and our feet on the ground. One of the things that stood out to me was an illustration of God's strength. We can have really strong confidence in a rickety old bridge, but no matter how confident we are, the bridge won't hold when we walk on it. But in the same token, we can have very weak and shaky faith in a very strong, robust bridge and it will hold us every step we take. Our God is a strong bridge - the strongest bridge - and how wonderful that it doesn't depend on our faith as to whether God is capable of saving us and carrying us through the storms of life. Our God is able to do anything, and he has our best interests at heart.

That makes me breathe a sigh of relief! If God is able, and God has already gone before us, then I don't need to worry about the coming season of mission, or what next year may hold for me. I don't need to get nervous about what I'm going to say if the opportunity for a gospel conversation arises, but instead look forward to seeing what God will do. I can rest in the knowledge that God is more than strong enough to carry me through anything.

Praise our awesome God for he is strong, he is reliable, he is constant, and he is loving.

Our God is able.

Abraham's faithfulness

I am astounded sometimes at how the Holy Spirit opens my eyes to Scripture in new ways according to where I am in life. I was reading the part of Genesis last night when God asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a burnt offering. Not only is this a big ask in itself because it's his son, but he and his wife Sarah have been waiting and waiting on God to bless them with a child. They are old, and they've finally had a son, and God asks him to sacrifice him. And he does! Well, until God stops him and gives him a goat as a replacement.

I've always read this story in the same way - comparing it with Jesus' death on the cross as a sacrifice for us instead of suffering the consequences of our sin. But last night I read in a whole new light. Isaac was Abraham's most treasured thing on earth. He had waited for him for so long, and God had promised that he would bless him with thousands upon thousands of descendants. It didn't seem to make any sense that God would ask him to sacrifice that part of his life that seemed to be filled with so much promise. If I am to identify that thing in my life - the thing that I love so dearly, and even (at times) put above God - it would be marriage and the hope of having a family. These things in and of themselves are good things, but would I be willing to sacrifice them as a 'burnt offering' for God? If he asked me to sacrifice them, would I? Because this is a good indicator of whether or not God is indeed sitting on the throne of my heart. Jesus said we have to be willing to leave our father and mother, our family, our home - everything to follow him. He may not necessarily ask this of me, but am I willing to do so? Or are these things that I won't sacrifice to Him?

Being There

I've heard it said (it was probably at the cheesy end of a movie) that 90% of being a good parent is simply showing up. I think its the same of marriage. There are inevitably going to be times in marriage - when things go wrong, when one of us stuffs something up, or when one of us receives some terrible news - when there is nothing you can say... you just have to be there for one another. It's in these times that words cannot express sorrow nor can they heal wounds. We just need to know we're there for one another. Sometimes silence can be more soothing than any words, as long as there is a hand to hold in the darkness.

Its in these times that I realise most clearly that I cannot be everything to my husband. Only God is powerful enough to soften his heart, to comfort his weary soul, and to carry the burdens he no longer can bear. Only God can make a difference to the future of such circumstances, and give him assurance that there is indeed hope ahead. These are the times when I can do nothing else but fall to my knees before our Heavenly Father and commit everything to Him in prayer because I have nothing left to offer.