How Flexible Are You?

 

No. I’m not talking about your body’s flexibility. I’m talking about your ability to change your plans at a moments notice.

The dictionary defines flexible as this:

capable of bending easily without breaking.

able to be easily modified to respond to altered circumstances.

ready and able to change so as to adapt to different circumstances.

Now, if you knew me a few years ago, you would have seen a woman with a plan. A woman with a routine. A tight schedule. I liked to plan my days and I liked them to stay exactly how I planned them. And when things changed and my plans were turned on their heads, well, it didn’t sit well at all with me, and often, to my shame, I let those around me know just how I felt!

When the girls were little and home-schooling was our way of life, I loved to have my little daily routine laid out and followed to a T. Being flexible was not a word I wanted in my vocabulary. Yes, I know, little ones have a way of forcing you to be flexible, because of unexpected sickness, constant accidents and messes to clean up etc. But as a general rule, I stuck to my plans.

I was not adaptable and ready to change to different circumstances. Not without an adult tantrum or meltdown of some sort.

Well, God had other plans. He decided that I needed to grow spiritually, and my attitude needed to change.

Isaiah 55:9 KJV - For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

And as God’s ways are different than our ways, so are his methods of bringing about change.

I have written a lot about trials over the past few years and the reason why is that we grow through trials. And I think it’s important to be able to share with others the difficulties you face and the growth that occurs and the lessons learned.

In order for God to mold me and make me more like him, he had to send some hard things into my life that would upset my nicely laid plans.

He brought a very bad bout of pneumonia into my life and my health came crashing down. Followed by years of battling with chronic fatigue. During these difficult years, I had to learn to let go. I had to let God plan my days, because not only did I not have the mind and willpower to organize things, but I also didn’t have any energy to carry them out.

I had to let others into my life and learn to accept help.  Ouch! God was humbling me and teaching me that my plans were not always best and that I needed to fully rely on Him.

But, as is so often the case, God had to teach me these lessons again, as I failed to learn them the first time. He wanted me to be moldable and go with his flow, not my own, and yet I stubbornly resisted.

He wasn’t done with me yet. God put it on our hearts, as a family, to pack up our belongings, 8 years ago, and move from Queensland all the way to the Northern Territory, where we knew a total of 7 people, and only from meeting with them in a home for a Sunday morning service.

My once Mr Steady husband, that never did anything unpredictable, suddenly, it seemed, overnight, turned into a Mr Visionary that I hardly knew what to do with!

And do you know what? I think I have finally learnt to be flexible! Oh, I know I’m not perfect and never will be and I don’t have everything figured out, but I have discovered just how freeing being flexible is.

We started our own business after a couple years of a crazy lifestyle due to hubby’s work hours, and of course, life only got crazier. But along with the busyness of life, God taught me the blessing of being flexible and learning to lean on him and let him make the plans for my busy days.

Being more flexible has led to a better relationship with my husband as I am better able to meet his needs because I’m not so busy serving myself.

It has also helped me in the Lord’s work of serving here in the ministry God has put us in. The Lord has taught me to accept and love people from all walks of life. He has put a desire in my heart to teach and share and work with those I never expected to love and serve.

I often tell people that I don’t take things day by day, I take them minute by minute, because I have never known a life like I live now. At any given minute, my plans may change, and I may get a phone call that totally changes the trajectory of my day, and I have to be ready for it.

One minute, I may be sipping my cup of tea and reading a devotional or doing some study and the next minute, I am putting my work boots on, hopping in the truck and heading out to do a delivery, leaving the washing and the dishes undone, and the plans I had for the day float off into the air, never to be seen again. And this isn’t only occasionally. It happens almost EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Some days, I feel like a human slinky!

And so, I find that now, as I start out my day, I lay it before the Lord, with open arms and ask him to order it as he sees fit and to help me to have a good attitude and be content. I don’t set my plans in concrete, and I try and focus on the things that I was able to get done each day, instead of the things I didn’t.

I’m finding that I am able to roll with the changes and not be blindsided by them, as in the past. I am able to respond instead of react in the heat of the moment. Sadly, sometimes I regress and find myself rebelling in my heart and then I have to get on my knees before the Lord and repent and open my arms once again, letting go of the plans held in my tightly closed fists.

The blessing of letting go and letting God lead is so much better than the days of trying to stick to my strict schedule, frustrated and discontentedly begrudging any deviations to my plans.

I love the promises in God’s Word that remind us of the blessing of following him.

Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Psalm 32:8 KJV - I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

God promises to go with us and to guide us and teach us. And he will do these things, but we have to learn to be flexible. We need to ride along in his current, not struggling to swim upstream in our own strength.

If you’re finding it difficult to let God plan your days, please know that becoming bendable, workable, adaptable and willing to fit into God’s mold, is such a blessing. It brings a freedom into your life like you’ve never experienced before. Every day is a surprise. You just never know where God is going to take you or who he is going to bring across your path.

James 4:7 KJV - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

We have to learn to submit to God. Resist the devil that may come in the guise of your nicely laid plans, plans made without giving God a thought. The devil loves to see us in bondage. Slaves to our schedules. Plans made without God in mind. The devil doesn’t want to see us living with the freedom that being submitted to God brings.

There is a very comforting verse in Philippians.

Philippians 4:13 KJV - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

I can do ALL THINGS. With God’s strengthening hand. Yes, you can learn to be flexible, with God’s help. It may take a few hard lessons, as in my case, but it will be worth it in the end. Not only will you be blessed, but so will those around you.

And so, I encourage you, if you struggle with control, open your hands and your hearts to God. Unclench your fists, lay out a blank to do list for the Lord to fill in and then practice contentment and give thanks for the things you were able to do, and don’t focus on the things undone.

If you give your days to God, he will place in them just what he sees fit, and he will leave out the unnecessary for that day’s work. God gives us 24 hours in a day, and although that never seems enough, it is enough. It is enough for what God has planned for us for that day. When we try to plan more into it than he desires, we run out of time.

Practice letting go and you will reap the blessings, overflowing and abundant!

Philippians 4:19 KJV

 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

 

 

 

Let God Write Your Song

Ephesians 5:20

Giving thanks always for all things unto God

and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

I was reading a short devotion this week that grabbed my attention because of its reference to music.

I love music. I love singing. I love playing. I love listening to music. I can’t even imagine a world without music.

Music is often how I express my worship to God. Through playing or singing praises to Him, I am drawn into a different place. A place of peace. A place of comfort. A place of rest. I am able to sing praise to God, giving him the glory and exalting his name as I raise my voice to him.

Music has great power and anyone who disagrees is delusional or in denial. Music has power to harm or heal. Sorry, but facts are facts. And if you don’t believe me, then read your Bible! There are so many times that music and singing are mentioned in the Bible. (Take a look at the story of King Saul, for example, and see the effect that music had on him)

1 Samuel 16:23 KJV - And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

The word music (or musick, as it is spelt in the KJV) is mentioned 16 times. Sing – 119 times; singing – 29 times; sang – 12 times; sung – 5 times. And then of course we could move onto the forms of the words praise and play.

But I’m not here to give you a long discourse on the etymology of words. Not today anyway.

(Just a quick side note though, did you know that God sings? Food for thought for those who don’t agree that singing words of praise is an important form of worship)

Zephaniah 3:17 - The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

Okay, back to my little devotional reading that led me down this path of thinking on music. (It doesn’t take very much to send me down that track!)

Read through it with me.

“We once saw a man draw some black dots. We looked and could make nothing of them but an irregular assemblage of black dots. Then he drew a few lines, put in a few rests, then a clef at the beginning, and we saw these black dots were musical notes. On sounding them we were singing,

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow, 
Praise Him all creatures here below.” 

There are many black dots and black spots in our lives, and we cannot understand why they are there or why God permitted them to come. But if we let God come into our lives, and adjust the dots in the proper way, and draw the lines He wants, and separate this from that, and put in the rests at the proper places; out of the black dots and spots in our lives He will make a glorious harmony. Let us not hinder Him in this glorious work!” —C. H. P.

 

Do you sometimes question God as to why he puts all the black dots in our lives? We look at our circumstances, and we can’t make head nor tail of them. Nothing God is doing seems to make sense. But maybe it’s because all we’re seeing is little black dots. We’re not seeing the big picture.

God doesn’t always allow us to see the birds eye view. But when he takes his pen, and begins to join the dots, draw in the lines, place the rests in their proper place, add the treble and bass clefs, maybe a few little triplets and pauses too, something beautiful happens. Harmonies begin to be heard and life starts to make sense. The ‘aha’ moment comes. At last, we begin to hear the music.

God’s melodies are so much more beautiful than anything we could ever write. If we wrote the music for our lives, we would forever write in major keys. There would be no minor keys, no discordant notes, no long pauses.

But God knows that we need minor keys as well as major ones. Those times our lives are playing a minor song are times of growth. Many a tremendous difficulty has been turned into a great victory and God’s named has been magnificently glorified. Those times in the darkness, as we sing our sad laments, we are drawn closer to him as we cry out to him and he reveals himself to us and shows us, by his power, what only he can do.

The long pauses, the discordant notes are all part of God’s plan in our lives. He knows what we need to go through in order to purify us and make us more like him.

God has to touch all the keys to make the music of our lives. He wants to make a glorious melody of praise, and the ups and downs of our lives contribute to the song that he writes.

Allow God to write the music. Don’t stay his hand when he adds in a minor part. Don’t rush forward when he places a rest in a particular place. Sit still and wait when the pauses come. When you hear a discordant chord, look around for the lesson he is trying to teach you.

Let God join the little black dots and form them into something beautiful. Let him write your song. And sing your song of praise to him. Joyfully. Exuberantly. Continually. Loudly. Cheerfully.

“out of the black dots and spots in our lives He will make a glorious harmony.                    Let us not hinder Him in this glorious work!”

“Would we know that the major chords were sweet, 
If there were no minor key? 
Would the painter’s work be fair to our eyes, 
Without shade on land or sea? 

“Would we know the meaning of happiness, 
Would we feel that the day was bright, 
If we’d never known what it was to grieve, 
Nor gazed on the dark of night?” 

 

 

 Just the other day, my daughter, Chloe, shared with me something she had written during her devotion time and I thought I would share it with my readers as a guest post here on the blog.

It's such a blessing when your children learn things from the Word of God, without your prompting. It's exciting to see them grow in the Lord and search out the scriptures for themselves. 

3 John 1:4

 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

I have not edited her writing in any way, I wanted to share it exactly the way she had written it. I trust it will be an encouragement and blessing to you. 

Patience During Times of Testing

Patience is something none of us truly like, if we are being completely honest.

Everyday we are tested, we're stuck behind a tourist who forgot how to drive, there is a line out the door at the bank, the post office still hasn't received our parcel. Yes, I know these things can be very annoying, but have you ever tried to learn and grow in patience as you go through these things?

 I know that I find it hard to have patience in these kind of situations. Nobody likes to wait. Our natural response isn't to be happy and joyful that we get to wait, our natural response is to get angry and blame other people for being slow. So, you may be asking what is the point of all this? Well, God wants us to have patience. It is written so much in the Bible about having patience and growing from it.

Romans 5:3 

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: 

knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

A lot of us struggle with different kinds of patience testings ( if that's even a thing). Some of us are happy to wait in line, while we are not so patient to have to work with someone we don't get along with. We all have strengths and weaknesses, but the question is how we overcome these times. 

Growing up, I always got impatient when I wanted to eat. I was hungry, or should I say I was hangry. I hated having to wait. So what did I do about it? With God's help I was able to overcome this silly impatience. It may  sound stupid, but even in the smallest situations like these, we can learn so much. I wasn't just learning how to wait to eat my food, I was also learning about consideration for others, waiting until they were ready. 

I also was learning how to wait for other things, whether it was the red stoplight, or the elderly couple crossing the road. It made it so much easier to wait when I was thinking of others, and their needs. Just like when God waits for us to come back to his word or when God waits for us to seek his will. God never gets impatient. He is long suffering. He is kind. He is loving. 

Psalms 103:8 

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

Exodus 34:6 

And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

Numbers 14:18a 

The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression....

Psalms 86:15 

But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious,

 longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

So if we all had patience like God, this world would be a better place. This world has become so "instant" with everything, that nobody knows how to be patient anymore. It's sad to say but it's true. We don't realise it sometimes but it happens everywhere. "Fast" food places, "instant" noodles, "express" lanes in shopping centres. 

So what I'm trying to say is that if we live our lives with no patience, we will never see all the wonderful things God will do in our lives. His will is so much better then our rushed impatient plan. Whether we are waiting for marriage, children or even good health. God knows everything and he knows how every circumstance will turn out, so please trust me when I say it is worth it to practice patience. 

I've wanted to get married and have beautiful children ever since I was a teen, and it has been hard to have patience and wait, but I know that God has something very special for my life and I know that his will for me will be amazing, so it makes it easier to wait when I know something amazing will happen, when I let go, and let God.

Written by Chloe Holmes 

 Tell the Mountain Just How Big Your God Is!

 

As I sit here, after a very long week and a half (or has it been a very long year?), tired, weary and just plain exhausted, this little saying came to mind.

“Stop complaining to God about how big your problems are,

and start telling your problems how big your God is!”

Do you ever find yourself complaining to God about your problems? Do you find yourself questioning him? Do you wonder why life has to be so hard? Are you weary and longing for rest?

I think, if you’re honest with yourself, you will answer each of those questions with a resounding, YES! And I will too.

No one has to be convinced that life is difficult at times and the days are long, but never long enough to fit everything in that needs to be done.

I think we need to remind ourselves continually that God is bigger than our problems. We need to stop complaining and start praising! We need to talk back to our problems.

I am often convicted of my unthankful spirit as I go through my busy days. The work presses in on me and I just want a rest, but when I look back over my day as I finally stop, numerous examples of God’s goodness come to mind and I am humbled by God’s love and mercy and his kindness to me, despite my complaining spirit.

My problems may seem like mountains, they may seem insurmountable, but in God’s eyes, they are tiny. He is so much bigger than any circumstance I have to deal with.

And when I start to remind myself of God’s greatness, then I am able to tell my problems just how big my God really is!

There are many verses in scripture that tell of God’s greatness.

Psalm 147:5 KJV - Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

Psalm 145:3 KJV - Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

1 Chronicles 29:11 KJV - Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.

Lamentations 3:22-23 KJV - It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Ephesians 3:20-21 KJV - Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

There is a song that I really love and I can’t help but smile and rejoice (and sometimes shout) when I hear it. The chorus goes like this:

The mountain will tell you
That you can't make it over
It will try to convince you
That it's way too high
Though you feel defeated
Know that God keeps His promise
So you tell the mountain
Just how big your God is

Did you know our problems like to talk to us? They fill our thoughts and minds with seeds of doubt and uncertainty. Their whispers cause us to feel anxious and overwhelmed.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can talk back to them. We can tell them how big our God is!

Those mountains in our lives, those big, scary problems, those trials that seem never-ending, we can tell them about our God.

We don’t have to live defeated lives. As I’ve said so often before, God may not always choose to calm the storm around you, but He can calm the storm inside you.

We can have peace even when chaos abounds. And we do this by clinging to God’s promises, reminding ourselves of his character, his love and mercy, and walking in faith, not doubting, but prayerfully putting one foot down after another, always believing that He will provide the firm footing we need.

Let’s tell our mountains about God’s greatness. Let’s shout it from the rooftops. Let’s worship with all our being. Let’s sing God’s praises continually, as we go about our days.

God always keeps his promises. He tells us that he won’t leave us or forsake us. He promises to be with us. He promises to bring light to our path. He promises to love us with an everlasting love. He promises peace. He promises to give us wings to mount up as eagles. He promises to give us rest. He promises to carry our burdens.

Need I go on?

When you feel your burdens weighing you down and your problems begin to whisper discouraging voices in your head, shout them down! Quiet the voices with praises to God. Don’t be afraid to tell them how big your God is!

Jeremiah 32:17 KJV - Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:

So you tell the mountain
Just how big your God is

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make It Through Your Days

Is anyone out there struggling to make it through your days? Do you feel as though it’s all too much and the light at the end of the tunnel is a train? Are you crushed beneath a burden you can’t seem to bear? Does it seem like you are bombarded with one trial after another and there’s just no relief?

You are not alone! At different seasons in our lives, we all feel this way. God tells us in his word, that we will have trouble in this life. Placing our trust in the Lord does not ensure smooth sailing and a life of ease. No. But God does promise to be with us and to give us peace.

I just wanted to encourage you with 4 things you can do to help you make it through your days. These have been a blessing to me, and I hope, that by sharing them with you, you will find new strength and be able to lift your eyes, raise your weary heads and press on in victory, to whatever God has for you.

The first of these little things to remember is this:

1.    Face forward – don’t look back.

Philippians 3:13-14 - Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

These verses in Philippians remind us to press on, and not dwell on the past, but set our eyes on the end goal. Focus our attention on things of eternal value.  Paul’s focus was on forward momentum, not prior mistakes. We cannot move forward if our thoughts and our eyes are focused on the past.

A while back, I wrote a post where I explained the difficulty of driving forward while looking in the rear-view mirror. Not a smart idea. We need to be looking ahead, through the windscreen. It’s a whole lot bigger and we can watch where we’re going and look forward to what lies ahead.

Proverbs 4:25- Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

This verse in Proverbs reminds us to look straight forward. We need to keep our eyes on the Lord and what he has for us. We don’t need to dwell on what he has already forgiven.

The only time we should look back is when we are reminding ourselves of past blessings or trials that God has used in our lives to teach us valuable lessons. Don’t look back in order to bemoan past failures. Look back to relive the blessings!

2.    Focus on the positive – look up

Psalm 103:2 KJV - Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

We all know that what we think about controls how we feel and ultimately how we act. So, wouldn’t it be better if we spent our days rejoicing in God’s goodness and praising him for the blessings, instead of dwelling on the hurts and stresses in our lives?

Although you may be struggling to make it through your day, make it a point to stop and mentally or physically write down the blessings God has given you. If you really think about it, you’ll come up with a list. It doesn’t matter if everything is going wrong in your day, you will still be able to praise God for something. And if you are one of his children, then your salvation should be at the top of that list.

I find it so draining to be around people who are constantly complaining. They never seem to have anything positive to say. I am trying to make a habit of nipping it in the bud by stating something praiseworthy and drawing their attention back to the goodness of God. I intentionally try to draw out of them something good God has done for them that very day and encourage them to focus on that.

Psalm 106:1 - Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

3.    Focus on God’s promises – they are numerous

Matthew 11:29-30 KJV - Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

There are so many precious promises in God’s word, far too many to list here, but I encourage you to dig into your Bible and find for yourself promises that God has given that you can claim as your own.

If your days are long and tedious, take time to remember God’s promises to you. This will bless your heart and bring comfort to your soul. Don’t forget, that God always keeps his promises. So, when he says, “I will never leave you”, he means it!

4.    Face your trials knowing that God is with you – Always!

Isaiah 43:2 - When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

You have no idea what a comfort this verse was and still is to my soul. I have a very tear-stained copy of this verse on my desk as a reminder of God’s goodness and faithfulness to me. During my darkest trial, I clung to this promise. I reminded myself over and over that God was with me. Through the waters. Through the fire. He was with me.

Although we may not see God physically with our eyes, we can sense his presence when we draw near to him. When we cry out to him, he is there.

James 4:8a - Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you….

Face each and every day with the assurance that God is with you. He goes before you, and he walks beside you.

Psalm 23:4 - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

A very well-known passage is found in Psalm 23. Let us not be so familiar with it that we skim over it without thought. Did you notice that in verse 4 it says, “the valley of the  shadow of death”? It doesn’t say the valley of death. It says the ‘shadow’ of death. It’s just a shadow. Translated in the Hebrew it means darkness, a dark valley or dark shadow.

 Oftentimes we feel as though death is come upon us, or we wish it would, when we are in a very low state, but it’s just a shadow. It will pass. We need not fear. God is with us. Those shadowy, dark times in our lives do not need to be lonely times. We have God right there beside us. We have only to reach out.

Psalm 23:1-2 – The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

The shepherd knows what is best for the sheep and he has their best interest in mind.

God always does what is best for his children and although our days are often crazy and we fret and worry, we can take comfort in knowing that God is in control and that if we obey his Word, he will make good his promises. We have to do our part. We need to trust him and obey him.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Face forward. Focus on the positive.

Focus on God’s promises. Face your trials with God!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have Faith

 

“Faith is stepping where there is no place to step and finding yourself standing and reaching when there is nothing there and coming back with a handful.”

I just came across this beautiful little saying that I had scribbled on the back of a shopping list from 20 years ago. (Yes, I keep things for long periods of time, but you never know when you’re going to find it and be blessed all over again).

What a beautiful description of faith. Stepping where there is no place to step and finding yourself standing. Reaching where there is nothing and coming back with your hands full.

Faith requires us to trust wholly and fully, leaning upon the Lord, claiming his precious promises.

It requires that we take our eyes off our circumstances and put them on the Lord.

Faith would have us step out into what we see as an empty space, only to find that God has put something there under our feet.

Just like the priests in the Old Testament, taking that first tentative step into the waters of the flooded Jordan River, trusting that God would work a miracle.

Joshua 3:15-17 KJV - And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

Those men had to have great faith. They stepped out, possibly in fear and trepidation, and found a firm footing. One step after another, they walked down into the middle of the river, with God parting the waters as they went. What an amazing sight that must have been.

When we exercise great faith, God will make sure that we have somewhere to place our feet, even though we can’t see it.

And I love the second half of the little saying. “Reaching when there is nothing there and coming back with a handful”.

This reminds me of the story of the widow of Zarephath in 1 Kings. Here we find a woman and her son. She is about to use up her meagre supply of meal and oil to make them a little cake, so that they can eat one last time before they die of hunger.

And along comes Elijah, the prophet, a hungry preacher in search of a meal and in search of someone with great faith.

1 Kings 17:13-16 KJV - And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

And we know the rest of this beautiful story. God worked a miracle and caused her pot of oil and barrel of meal to be full and never run out, until the drought broke, and the rains came.

Every time that lady of faith put her hand into her barrel, she reached in, where there should have been nothing, and came out grasping a handful. And every time she poured from her pot of oil, it never ceased to flow.

What an almighty God we serve! How can we be so faithless when he has given us so very much and proved himself to us, over and over.

God tells us that if only we had faith the size of a mustard seed, we could move mountains.

Matthew 17:20 KJV - And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Oh, for faith like those men and women of old.

But faith like that doesn’t have to be left to men and women of years gone by. It’s ours for the taking. We can have faith like that.

The more we know about God, the more we know of his character and his faithfulness, the more we learn we can trust him. And the more our faith grows. Little by little. Trusting more. Loving more.

 God pours out his blessings upon our lives, and we see him answer our prayers, we cry out and he hears us and comforts us, he puts our feet on solid ground, he fills our hands and our cups overflow.

Don’t fear to step out in faith. God’s promises hold true. He says he won’t leave us or forsake us. He says he will direct our paths. He says he will bring peace. He says he cares for you. And it’s true!

Every promise God gives to us is good, and faithful and true!

If God calls you to something, he will give you the ability to do it. If he asks you to step out in faith, then don’t fear the emptiness ahead, he will make a way and he will fill your cup to overflowing!

Step out and find yourself standing

and reach out and come back with a handful!

 

Luke 1:37 KJV - For with God nothing shall be impossible.