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“ …But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit – just as it has taught you, remain in him” (1 John 2:27)

The art world becomes filled with excitement when some dusty attic reveals a long lost painting of a famous artist. The big question then arises; How can it be proved to be the real and genuine work of the artist or is it a replica of a well-known subject painted by someone else? Artifacts found in deserted caves are subjected to the same scrutiny. Are they really the work of some ancient tribe or clever replicas made to resemble those old treasures so profits can be made by selling them? Only the unwary buy a supposed genuine Swiss watch from a peddler on the street. True or false becomes a part of our vocabulary as we sort through the plethora of information available on the internet.

So how do we as followers of the Lord make sure that our faith and our Christian walk remains real and not counterfeit?

I heard a sermon on this subject and the speaker told a story which proved to be a graphic picture of what can happen if we allow counterfeit behaviour into our lives.

The story featured a little village of God fearing people that was surrounded by bandits and wild groups of roving thieves. The elders decided to surround the whole village with walls and for extra protection groups of men would be required to take turns at guarding the walls at all times, even at night, so no enemies could creep up unobserved. The men were faithful at first and the village was safe as any bandits passing by could see the guards always there, but slowly the men became tired of this constant guarding especially at night. One of the men had a brilliant idea. He suggested they make wooden replicas of the guards and at night when it would be harder to detect, leave them on the walls and they could sleep. The scheme worked for a little while until one night a roving band were surprised to see one of the replicas blown over by the wind. The game was over. The village was plundered. Replicas were no use against evil forces.

We need the same vigilance to ensure that we remain true and genuine disciples of Jesus Christ. If we become lulled into just looking like disciples, being replicas, not really living our faith fervently, we too are in danger of being overturned easily and led astray by any passing evil force. Paul was well aware of this danger and writes a powerful letter to the Ephesians urging them to think of themselves as warriors for the Lord and to think of Spiritual armour being available to withstand any attacks on their faith.

In Ephesians chapter 6 he writes about “the armour of God” He itemises this armour as; the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with the readiness of gospel peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit.

Jesus himself sums up the best test of a real disciple.

“…Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.”” (John 8:31)

Holding to the word of God is a great way to assure that we are genuine followers and when we practise what Jesus teaches we will bring glory to the Father’s name and deep within us we will have the assurance that our anointing is real and not counterfeit.

The final test of the authenticity of our faith is contained in these words;

“A new command I give you. Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)

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“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

Where I live in Vancouver, Canada, we have the reputation of having more people involved in fitness and exercising than anywhere else across Canada. Thousands turn out to run the local marathons. In any given morning scores of joggers can be seen pounding the neighbourhood streets. Companies have installed gyms on their premises and workers are encouraged to use them. Many people cycle to work, some on special bike paths installed by the city, to keep themselves in good shape. Keeping fit is seen as a very desirable and worthy thing to do. Just recently I was looking at an ad in the newspaper for a local gym and it featured a before and after photo of a middle aged man. The before photo showed the man with flabby muscles, rather large stomach and a doleful look on his face. The second photo (hard to believe same man) showed a smiling young looking face with rippling chest muscles and trim tummy. The caption urged the readers that they too could be transformed like this happy man had been, just by signing up at the gym.

The ad made me think about a different kind of exercise and a different kind of “transformational experience”. Of course it is wise to keep our earthly bodies healthy and fit, but how often do we spend serious time keeping our spiritual lives alive and well? Paul in the book of Romans, urges his readers not to conform to the pattern of the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) Too often the pattern of the world with all its distractions and busyness does cause spiritual neglect. Our hurried prayer time often just has to do, as there are so many pressing chores waiting. We would love to spend more time studying and absorbing God’s word, but we are so tired at night and morning starts the same round of things that have to be done.

We are all aware that neglecting to exercise our bodies results in poor health. We also know that exercise releases endorphins within our brains and we experience the glow and the feeling of well-being that follows that brisk walk or that invigorating swim. The same applies for our spiritual life. When we neglect to be renewed and restored by spending time with the Lord our relationship suffers, but the other truth also applies. What a beautiful warmth encompasses us when we spend that same amount of time taking care of our spiritual well-being.

Just as the man in the ad was transformed, we too can expect, by taking care of our spiritual exercise, to see remarkable changes in ourselves.

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Teenagers often plaster their bedroom walls with film stars or sporting heroes, hoping to one day look and act like them. They would be willing to spend hours in the gym to achieve muscles like their favourite football star. We have the perfect model in the Lord Jesus Christ. What a beautiful promise is found in Paul’s words that if we are willing we can be “transformed into his likeness”

What could we possibly want more than to be like Jesus?

Physical fitness brings results that prove we have been taking care of our bodies. Now we can run up those stairs that before meant lots of stopping on the way. The same applies to looking after our spiritual health. We begin to notice we feel more love for others. We find joy even in mundane tasks, we are more peaceful about the worries we are confronting. We are patient with others shortcomings. The more we strive to be like Jesus, the more the fruits of our labour are evident in our lives.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” (Galatians 5:22 – 23)

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“I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.” (Psalm 142:1 – 2)

Last week I was extolling the delight of shouting for joy to the heavenly Father and rejoicing in thanksgiving and praising his name. Many psalms spring to mind that are similar to the joyful praise exhibited in Psalm 100, but it is equally fascinating to discover that there are more psalms classified as ones of lament, rather than ones devoted to praise. I decided to take some time to revisit these psalms and to reflect on why this was so. It seems to be an oxymoron to say that my study of these psalms brought about a wonderful feeling of encouragement. A sense of peace and what surprised me the most, an urge to praise this God of all comfort who is ready to listen to his children no matter how painful the subject may be. I realized no emotion however raw, could not be brought out in the open to be shared with a loving and compassionate Father.

Billy Graham has a wonderful quote addressing the problem when trials and tribulations upset our well-being and sometimes our close walk with the Lord.

“The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayers with tears in my eyes and say, ‘O, God forgive me, or help me.’”

I find this quote very encouraging that a wonderful man of God, like Billy Graham, knows that there are times when he needs to cry out to the Heavenly Father and that he is able to rest in the knowledge that he has the permission to lament before the sympathetic ear of the Creator.

One of the Psalms that tells of the wonderful freedom of lamenting before the Lord, is Psalm 13. This Psalm embodies some of the most deep seated of emotions; anger, despair and sorrow. David erupts in anger towards a God who he thinks has forgotten him;

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1)

By allowing his anger to overflow, he is not in fear of retribution and implores God to look at his suffering. How many of us have wrestled like David with ugly thoughts, perhaps frightened to share with others in case they misunderstand?

“How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?” (Psalm 13:2)

Not so, David. He begs God to answer him.

“Look on me and answer, O Lord my God…” (Psalm 13:3)

The encouraging theme I found in reading the Psalms of lament was the fact that it is not a sin to grieve, despair or even complain. There seems to be great freedom to share ones’ innermost feelings with the Heavenly Father and when we do we are flooded with a deep sense of peace as we remember we can trust him to guide us through whatever is besetting us. David ends the Psalm with a burst of confidence.

“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.” (Psalm 13:5 – 6)

So when I read these beautiful words of the Psalmists and I am facing difficult situations where I desperately need God’s intervention, I take great consolation in knowing that I can share whatever hurt or feeling known to mankind with the sympathetic ear of the God of all Comfort.

Praise You In This Storm

I was sure by now

That You would have reached down

And wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day

But once again, I say, Amen and it’s still raining

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, “I’m with you”

And as Your mercy falls I raise my hands

And praise the God who gives and takes away

And I’ll praise You in this storm and I will lift my hands

For You are who You are no matter where I am

And every tear I’ve cried You hold in Your hand

You never left my side and though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind

You heard my cry, You raised me up again

But my strength is almost gone

How can I carry on if I can’t find You

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, “I’m with you”

And as You mercy falls I raise my hands

And praise the God who gives and takes away

And I’ll praise You in this storm and I will lift my hands

For You are who You are no matter where I am

And every tear I’ve cried You hold in Your hand

You never left my side and though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

I lift my eyes unto the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

The Maker of Heaven and Earth

I lift my eyes unto the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

The Maker of Heaven and Earth

And I’ll praise You in this storm and I will lift my hands

For You are who You are no matter where I am

And every tear I’ve cried You hold in Your hand

You never left my side and though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

- Casting Crowns, 2005 (https://castingcrowns.com/node/629)

Related articles

• Pause to Praise (withlovefromlatinamerica.wordpress.com)
• Wake up the dawn (myeverydaygod.com)
• I Have a Reason To Praise The Lord (christbiblechurchinternational.wordpress.com)

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“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.” (Psalm 100:1)

This is the 100th posting of my blog and thanks is due the expertise of my dear friend, who faithfully presents it in such a dramatic way each week. I have always loved Psalm 100 and thought it fitting that my 100th blog should honour the beautiful words of this ancient poem of thanks to the Almighty.

Just recently I was walking past a children’s playground and was suddenly struck by the joyful sounds emanating from youngsters playing together. Their shouts of joy were infectious and I felt myself smiling in response as I walked past. I thought wistfully of how long it has been since I shouted for joy and thought it such a pity that when we become adults we automatically feel we now have to act in a more circumspect manner. Not so, the writer of Psalm 100 says. Our love for the Lord has no such restrictions. When we take delight in him, our joy will have no bounds. Our love can overflow into loud exclamations. We can join with all the earthly creatures to praise his name in gladness with joyful songs;

“Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalm 100:2)

What is the reason for our joy? Knowing where one belongs is the most reassuring thought for any creature. When we belong to the Great Shepherd we can relax knowing we are protected and cared for. Repeating it to ourselves and then back to the Heavenly Creator has a profound calming effect upon our lives.

“Know that the Lord is God. It is he who has made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3)

Verse 4 begins with the word, “enter”. Since the advent of the personal computer, familiar words have taken on a whole new meaning. I am now looking at the word – Enter – on my keyboard and frequently see it appear on the screen often demanding that I enter a password before I am allowed to access a certain site or program. When I re-read Psalm 100:4 I suddenly began to smile as I thought this ancient piece of God’s word is telling us the right password that allows us to overcome any barrier, enabling us to have a wonderful relationship with the Father;

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” (Psalm 100:4)

“Thanksgiving and praise” what an easy password to remember and what a beautiful site it gives us access to. We are allowed to enter the court of the king of kings and no restrictions here, we may shout for joy, burst into jubilant songs, act like happy children or just be ourselves, knowing that we are a loved by a love that will never end.

“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever …” (Psalm 100:5)

Finally this Psalm reminds us of the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. No need to worry that our access will suddenly expire if we don’t renew, his promises will last forever;

“…His faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)

This psalm has been loved by countless generations and one of my friends told me that she had heard it referred to as; “Good old Psalm 100”, it is certainly one of my favourites and one I love to use in my prayer time.

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“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

When I was a little girl we lived on the East Coast of Australia. The area was known for its’ beautiful beaches and where my grandmother had a holiday cottage, there were spectacular sand hills, huge mounds of sand blown there by the strong North Easterly winds. My brother and I loved to try to climb these mountains of sand, but it took a lot of practice as the sand slipped away from under our bare feet and we had been warned by the adults that we could be buried underneath the sand as it moved. A warning we chose, in the ignorance of youth, to frequently ignore. Our game was to be the first to the top so the winner could shout to the loser, “I am the king of the castle and you are the dirty rascal” Where we had heard this ditty I have no idea. Kings and kingdoms have been part of storytelling and literature for ages and we knew even as children that being, “the king” and ruling over a kingdom had a lot of significance.

The theme of kings and kingdoms is frequently mentioned in Scripture and it is fascinating to consult a concordance and note how often our Lord Jesus Christ refers to the kingdom. In Matthew, we read that John the Baptist when he was preparing the way for the Lord, uses the kingdom word as he preached to the crowd;

“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea, and saying; Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 3:1 – 2)

When Jesus himself began to preach he used the same words;

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17)

As a school teacher, I knew for students to grasp any concept, the thought had to be repeated many times and in many different ways, so when we note the way Jesus emphasizes “the kingdom” we know he wants us to grasp the astounding truth behind his words. In Matthew alone there are over 50 references to “the kingdom”. Jesus uses parables to help us understand and the series of kingdom parables in Matthew (Matthew 13:24 – 52) enlarges our understanding of the beautiful gift of citizenship Jesus is offering if we accept his kingship.

So how significant is it for us to understand Jesus’ kingly rule in our everyday lives? Why did Jesus include the phrase, “Thy kingdom come” in the much loved Lord’s Prayer? Do these words just slip off our tongue without thought? In his book, “The Lord’s Prayer”, R.T. Kendall describes this phrase in these words, “Focusing on God’s interests. “ When we repeat these words are we impressed with the magnitude of what this means? How can we focus on not our own interests which so often takes up our prayer time with the Lord, but what the Father would see as being important? How do we bring great pleasure to our King by abiding by his commands and loving others into his precious kingdom?

There is also a fascinating mystery about this kingdom. Jesus tells his disciples that the kingdom of God is within them.

“..The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is, or there it is’, because the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20 – 21)

I see this as the Lord telling us that we can allow him to rule over our hearts, but then when he urges us to pray, “Thy kingdom come”, we are aware that the best is yet to come and we can pray for that perfect kingdom with the Lord Jesus as king over all, the ultimate kingdom.

What a comforting thought that when we love the Lord we are welcomed into his kingdom of light.

“Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:12 – 14)

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“Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the Lord.” (2 Kings 22:5)

Repairing and renovating often go hand in hand and those two words can evoke all sorts of emotions in one’s mind. How much is it going to cost? How much inconvenience will it entail? Will we be happy with the result? Can we trust those appointed for the job? My husband and I embarked on a major renovation on a holiday cabin which we wanted to convert to a year round permanent home. With much doubt and trepidation we accepted the quote from a young man who had just formed his own building company. When he arrived the first day with his team of what looked like to us, school boys, our fears deepened, but we need not have worried. The young boys were keen to prove they were worthy of the job and over the next few months became our friends. They ended up doing a wonderful job. The only complaint we had with the whole venture was the rapid weight gain our dog experienced. Our Beagle was always looking for that extra hand out and although I warned the boys not to share their lunches with him, those big brown eyes, somehow, over ruled my pleas.

I was remembering our renovation story while I was re-reading about another repairing and renovating story in the book of Kings, (2 Kings 22), which is also recorded in 2 Chronicles 34) Josiah, the boy king, loved his Lord God, but one day while looking at the sorry state of the temple decided a major overhaul was necessary and ordered repairs and renovations to begin and promised to supply the necessary funds. While the renovations were in process someone must have opened a dusty cupboard and found an equally dusty book that looked that it had not been opened for some time. Josiah was horrified to discover that this unopened book was actually God’s word, his law, and discovered how he and his people had not been obeying his commands. He called all the people together and had God’s word read and this was the result;

“The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord- to follow the Lord and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.” (2 Chronicles 34:31)

Josiah was blessed for the rest of his reign.

Sometimes our own lives need a little repairing and renovating. Allowing the Holy Spirit to shine in some of the dusty corners of our everyday living, reveals truths we are perhaps overlooking. Our love for the Lord may have taken second place to earthly pursuits. David faced a challenge like this in his own life and this was his prayer;

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

We may have a broken relationship with a loved one that is in desperate need of repair. Our attitudes to others’ problems may have hardened and need a complete overhaul and renovation. Sometimes life itself drains us of any joyful feelings and we are in dire need of renewing, but take heart the Lord’s word is refreshing and powerful and can repair even low spirits, brokenness and attitudes;

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16)

The good news about asking the Lord to do some renovating in our own lives, is there is no cost, no worry about how it will turn out, no wondering about the final result, just the joy of a closer walk with him.

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“To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness…” (Ecclesiastes 2:26)

I was interested to see in one of our local papers, a series of articles on “What Does Happiness Mean Today?” The reporter had interviewed different people from all walks of life and had asked them to describe what it meant for them to be happy. The stories varied widely as to what individuals considered happiness to be. I was not surprised to read that many of those being interviewed agreed that having lots of money was not the answer.

Some of the other reasons seemed to me to be trite sayings that we have all heard repeated many times. For example, achieving your goals in life; dreaming that big dream; believing you can do it; finding that perfect job/ partner; believing in yourself etc. One story caught my eye that seemed a genuine reason for happiness. The person being interviewed had been a very successful and wealthy business woman, but had grown tired of the cut throat business world. One day she had been walking past a church and saw a man begging outside. She reached into her pocket to give him some change when a thought suddenly struck her that this was not the answer. Proper food is what this man needs, she thought. She boldly went into the church to find somebody and found the pastor. She was surprised when he agreed the local poor needed help and they had the room in the church basement, but no resources or man power to help. The surprising end to the story is that this woman gave up her business life, worked with the church to set up a kitchen, joined the church and was able to tell the reporter for the first time in her life she was truly happy providing good food for the poor. These stories are usually found in Christian magazines, I was pleased to read it in the daily newspaper.

The book of Ecclesiastes has a very telling description of what is often the result of a life pursuing selfish gain, pleasure and one’s own happiness;

“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure…” (Ecclesiastes 2:10)

When this same writer surveyed how he had lived his life, this is how he viewed what now looked like a meaningless life.

“Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11)

I decided to explore what Scripture has to say about achieving happiness and discovered that happiness is never associated with the pleasing of oneself. True happiness emerges through our relationship with the Lord. That relationship inspires us to live meaningful lives and in so doing, blessings flow our way.

“Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Psalm 146:5) (KJV)

The other theme of the article I was reading was Love. Some folk believed that if you had someone to love and somebody loved you that meant real happiness. I agreed in part with those being interviewed, but all of us know that human love is frail and often conditional and can change abruptly when circumstances change. The only perfect love we will ever find comes from our Heavenly Father.

Happiness in Scripture is always equated with blessings and in modern translations the word “happy” is translated as “blessed”.

“Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways.” (Psalm 128:1)

So the striving for real happiness is close at hand, The Lord is anxious to pour out his lavish love upon us. His invitation to happiness based on his love is always available,

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed in the man who takes refuge in him.” (Psalm 34:8)

I found this quote while researching the word “happiness”

Real happiness and peace can be found in submitting to the commands of the Creator and the Sustainer of the world.

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“That creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:21)

A little girl asked her mother, “Why is it called Good Friday when it was the day Jesus died, it sounds like a bad day to me?” The little girl is not alone in asking that question and a visit to the internet will find pages on the same question. There is a lot of theological discussion to be found as to when the day was given that name and various derivations for the word “good”, but I found one site which had asked the general public to contribute their thoughts about what was good about this momentous day in history. It was a beautiful rewarding time for me to read about the goodness people saw in the act of Jesus giving up his life for us.

Perhaps the foremost reason people saw goodness in this day, was the incredible realization for all of us that reconciliation between us and God had been brought about by our Saviour.

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18)

Freedom was the next most common theme running through the comments. No longer shackled by sin, on this day of goodness we have been set free.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

Over and over again people wrote of this day as one of victory. Goodness had triumphed over evil. Death had been defeated. Eternal life had been granted to all believers.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

The list went on and on of people who could see goodness pervading this day ; the display of the incredible unconditional love of our Saviour who even though he was suffering horrendous pain could look lovingly at sinners and whisper to his Father,

“Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing…”” (Luke 23:34)

Good Friday is a somber day and one in which we spend much time remembering the agony that our precious Saviour endured for us. A time for us to reflect on the huge price Jesus Christ paid to set us free. A time to examine ourselves and to remember that although we are unworthy Jesus considered us worthy enough to die for. At the same time remembering the goodness that flowed through his mighty action on that day, makes us fall at his feet in deep gratitude as unworthy recipients of his grace and when we spend some time finding what the goodness of that day means to us personally, we grasp a deeper meaning for

“Good Friday.”

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“For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says; ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land’” (1 Kings 17:14)

I have always loved telling stories, especially to young children, and as I was an elementary school teacher when I was young, I was able to indulge in this passion to my heart’s content. Later as a Sunday school teacher I had equal satisfaction telling children the wonderful, exciting, true stories found in God’s word. The Old Testament stories held a special fascination for me and as many of them are filled with so much action, I would get quite carried away with my dramatic rendition and was thrilled to often see little faces concentrated on mine waiting for the next word to come out of my mouth. The stories about Elijah and Elisha found in the two books of Kings are some of the most exciting. I was reading 1 Kings recently and thought as I often have before, how much the stories still have to teach us in our modern society. Trusting God to provide is often the theme of the accounts of these two amazing prophets and as I was reading about the severe drought brought about by God (1 Kings, Chapter 17) I was struck by the pertinence these stories have for us today.

Elijah himself was forced to trust that the Lord would provide and during the first part of the drought he lived near a brook and God sent ravens to feed him. Imagine what was running through his mind. Ravens to bring the food! Where would they find food? Could they be trusted to return every day? Could he trust God not to forget about him?

The brook then dries up. Imagine what was running through Elijah’s mind now. Now I am in real trouble. What is going to happen to me? The next part of the story is a shining example of the wonderful way God provides for those who trust him. God sends Elijah to find a widow and when he meets her she is gathering sticks to light a fire and cook a last meal for herself and her son and then prepare to die because her food has run out. He asks her to first make him a small cake before cooking for herself and her son. Imagine what was running through her mind. Imagine what would run through our minds. Elijah tells her to trust that the Lord will keep her oil and flour supply constant until the end of the drought. She takes a giant leap of faith and does exactly what Elijah tells her to do and lo and behold her flour and oil last throughout the drought and she is able to share what the Lord has provided to also feed Elijah.

Trusting that God will provide often takes a leap of faith in our own lives. We may experience times like the widow when everything about the future looks bleak. In those times we are tempted to withdraw into our own fears and worries. We can forget that the Lord we follow is capable of overcoming huge obstacles which may look daunting to us. We forget all the times he has stood by us in the past.

The word “trust” is found all throughout the Bible. It is a general theme of God’s relationship with man and learning to trust him and his laws was a giant step for the children of Israel. Countless times the prophets and Psalmists urged the people to trust their Almighty God.

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid…” (Psalm 56:3 – 4)

A friend pointed out to me that “trust” is often associated with “obey” and I think the story of the widow illustrates this. She had to in faith and obedience use her last oil and flour to make the cake for Elijah, trusting that God would provide for her and her son. We too may often be asked to take that step of obedience in a situation we are in, trusting that the Lord will provide. The beautiful old hymn sums it up.

Trust and obey, there is no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Related articles

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• It’s a privilege to say “yes” to the crazy… (heatherlconrad.com)
• Honesty (newstrength.wordpress.com)

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“My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skilful writer.” (Psalm 45:1)

Perhaps one of the best known writers of love poems is Elizabeth Barrett Browning who wrote an exquisite piece numbering the ways she loved Robert Browning in, “How do I love Thee?” She begins by replying to her own question by saying, “let me count the ways”, and spends the rest of the poem writing down an in depth study of her own feelings as to why and how she loves this man. I was re-reading this poem recently and enjoying her words when it suddenly occurred to me that writing down why you love someone reinforces and strengthens your love, and how Robert Browning must have felt when he first read his lover’s words. It is a wonderful practice to do this in our everyday life, writing down exactly how and why we love our spouses/ our children/ our parents.

I then remembered a workshop I had attended some time ago entitled. “Prayer and Praise in the Psalms.” Searching through the psalms to find these love poems was a very rewarding experience, but the exercise at the end of the day has stayed in my mind. We were asked to compose our own Psalm of prayer and praise to present to our Heavenly Father and to write down and count the number of ways we loved him. It was so refreshing not to present the Lord with a list of requests or a list of fears or pester him with doubts and beg to be re-assured, but to simply concentrate on loving him and to describe how that loving him stirred our hearts and became part of our being.

The psalmists truly knew how to do this and to present their writings as a gift to the one they adored.

“I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known to all generations.” (Psalm 89:1)

Telling the Lord that one of the ways we love him is when we sing out aloud and praise his name is a great way to start.

“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love…” (Psalm 59:16)

Another one to add to the list is to tell the Lord that starting in the morning being aware of his love and strength sets us up for the rest of the day.

“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.” (Psalm 63:3)

Acknowledging that we love him more deeply than life itself gives great credence to his all surpassing love.

“The earth is filled with your love, O Lord…” (Psalm 119:64)

Loving him through nature is recognising the Creator’s gift to us.

Once we start consciously concentrating on our loving response to God’s love, a remarkable change takes place; our love for him deepens, we are more aware of his love, we become more lovable towards others, we even grasp that he sees us as loved children of his.

Perhaps this little prayer I came across would be a great start for any of us to write a psalm to our Heavenly Father and dedicate it to him.

“Instil in my heart a desire to know and love you more every day”