Category: Sunday’s Shaper

My Help

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Let’s read:

“I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.”
[Psalm 121:1-2]

This affirmation is beautiful.
But how many of us truly believe that our help comes from God?
How many of us remember that God is actually there to help us?
How many of us accept His help when He sends it?

I ask these questions in the hope that we would each search ourselves for our personal response and then adapt our ways and just stop cheating ourselves of God’s gracious mercy.

1 – How many of us truly believe that our help comes from God?
“It just happened…”
“I got lucky…”
“By coincidence…”

Can I tell you that God knows every single thing about you – from the tiniest strand of hair on your head, to the soles of your feet, to the dinner you ate, and the time you brushed your teeth – God knows everything!
Therefore nothing that happens to you is simply by coincidence, or ‘just happens’.
If you have a look at the bible, it tells us that God has already written every single thing concerning us, way before we even took our first breath, or first step;

“…all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.”
[Psalm 139:16]

(Also read the whole of Psalm 139)

God who made you, is always looking out for you and this is something the bible reminds us of more than once – (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5).
So please friend, rather than attributing things to chance, just take a moment to reflect a bit more, and begin to acknowledge the Grace, Mercy and Help of God in your life.

2 – How many of us remember that God is actually there to help us?
Trust me, I know…
I know how hard it can get, how cloudy it can get, how confusing it can be, how low you can reach at times, that even to look up no longer seems like an option.
But please, I encourage you to look up! And remember that you know a Living God who works miracles – He’s done many things before, and He’ll surely do much more.

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will consider all your works
    and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
[Psalm 77:11-12]

(Read all of Psalm 77 when you get a chance)

No matter how bad it may seem, you have to remember that there is nothing impossible for the Omnipotent (All-Powerful) God.

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”
[Jeremiah 32:17] 

And I haven’t missed out those of us who forget God simply because we’re too busy trying to figure things out logically, or practically – please be reminded that Wisdom and Power are His – Daniel 2:19-20, Proverbs 3:19-20 – God knows exactly what to do and how to do it! (And His way will definitely be better than ours).

3 – How many of us accept His help when He sends it?
Now this refusal of God’s help can be down to many things; pride, lack of clarity that it’s actually from Him, denial that you need help at all (acting like it’s all okay), trying to do things ‘practically’ (as mentioned above), or simply because we believe we don’t need it/Him.

Whatever our reasoning may be, I want us to rethink our decision and have a read of the various verses above that not only prove how ‘qualified’ God is to help us, but they actually show us how worthy God is of honour and praise! (And I don’t mean to belittle God by calling Him qualified, because He is Almighty, but I hope you get what I mean).
We should realise that we are truly privileged that He cares enough to always come when we cry (Psalm 46:1).

I want to remind you that we mustn’t be foolish to think that we can do it all alone, or that we don’t need God, for the bible tells us to,

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.”
[Proverbs 3:5]

Finally, I want to encourage you to go back and read the whole of Psalm 121  (I know, quite a lot of reading in this one) and in case this part skipped your eye, I want you to notice that verse 2 says ‘the Lord who made heaven and earth’, pointing out the fact that His ability to help you is Limitless.
This should tell you then, that He is simply the best place to run to; no-one above Him, no-one better than Him, and most importantly, no-one who knows you like He does!

So here’s a task,
“My help comes from the Lord” – say it out loud to yourself over and over again, and make sure that it sticks so strongly in your mind, that you don’t for one second again, try to do this problem-solving thing (or anything!) without Him.

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you.

Gracious Words; Speak Life!

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“I’m blunt”,
“I say it how it is”,
“I’ll tell him or her about themselves”.

These are statements that some of us may take pride in making,  believing that this form of ‘honesty’ is a good thing – actually, it can be extremely ineffective.

Let’s read:

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
[Ephesians 4:29]

I appreciate that you desire to be ‘honest’, and want to address an issue that you may have observed concerning your neighbour, however it is important for us to consider a few things before we speak;

  • Their emotions – how will they feel after you say it, in the way you want to say it?
  • Is it your place? Is it appropriate for the comment/critique/statement to come from you in particular? (Think of your relationship with this person – will it be better if someone else addresses it?)
  • Will it benefit them? Will it help them to change something negative into positive? Or will it simply just be something you point out (possibly spitefully) and then it’s just left in the air?
  • Are you able to be constructive in providing a suggestion of how they could improve or change the habit/behaviour/attitude/issue (if applicable)?
  • What is the best way to say this thing, in order for the individual to receive it in love and desire to act/reflect on what you have said?

We must learn to differentiate between when we are doing something for ourselves and when it is truly for the benefit of others and the glory of God.
Yes, we have the responsibility as the body of Christ to point things out and correct one another, however the bible tells us to speak the truth in Love! – Ephesians 4:15.
This means your comment/correction should not come with the intention to put someone down, but rather to help better them and contribute to their upliftment.

Along with the notion of, “It’s best for them to know”, we also commonly justify an impolite or insensitive comment with the fact that the truth will set us free.
However when Jesus said this in John 8:31-32, He was referring to the truth which lies in His word and in His teachings.
Therefore this verse does not justify you telling someone their dress is hideous, or their hair smells, because firstly, Jesus does not teach this – (He teaches us to Walk in Love); and secondly, many things we consider as ‘true’ are simply just our own opinions – therefore subjective.

When we just speak – we end up saying far more than we need to. But when we think first of the implications of our speech, revise what we are going to say and most importantly ask the Holy Spirit for direction before we speak, we will find that our words will indeed build up our brothers and sisters as the verse above advises us to.

Always remember,

“The tongue has the power of death and life, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” 
[Proverbs 18:21] 

I believe this verse, in the most simple way, reminds us of the fact that the words we speak (whether into our own lives or into the lives of others) have the ability to produce completely opposite outcomes, depending on what we choose to say.

I pray each of us will choose words that bring life; into our relationships, finances, jobs, schools, and our entire lives.
Take that into this new week; ‘I choose to speak Life!’

Have a read of these verses, and let us use them as a foundation to ensure we know why we should endeavour keep our words as pure, positive and gracious as possible.

“Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”
[Proverbs 16:24]

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” 
[Colossians 4:6]

“A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”
[Proverbs 15:4]

“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,” 
[Matthew 12:36]

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
[Psalm 19:14]

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you