Peace in the midst of thunder and lightning

Just like to share a testimony about how God has given me peace today as I was driving home after work in the middle of a thunderstorm. As a child, I was afraid of thunder and lightning and would often cower under my bedsheets whenever there was loud lightning strike. Late this afternoon, a massive thunderstorm accompanied by equally severe hailstorm and rain had hit Perth. I was in my car when the lightning started to happen, and in my mind I was having the same childhood fears of lightning strikes. As the lightning bolts struck various areas in the surrounding suburbs and the loud noise after each strike, I was acutely terrified and wondered if one of those bolts of sheer death and destruction would somehow land on me. For a moment I was quite terrified, but then another thought came to my mind. I thought to myself, why should I be afraid when I'm a Christian? Does not the same God who created heaven and earth also control the winds and waves, and they obey Him? In that thought, I suddenly felt a great sense of calm and quietness in my soul. It was as though I was in the boat with Jesus and His disciples when the storm came and the winds and waves tossed the vessel violently, yet unlike the disciples I was not afraid; not because I was brave or courageous, but because I remembered something that Dr Jim Berg said about God at one of the brother's fellowship meetings not long ago. He said that God's greatness commands our utmost respect and humility towards Him, but at the same time His goodness and love motivates us to hope and trust in Him. So, with those thoughts, I could rest peacefully and drive as though it was a clear and sunny day. Even though the thunderstorm got worse and worse as I drove, yet the loudness and the bright flashes of lightning strikes no longer gripped me in terror. I trusted that the God whom I believed in for my salvation loves me, and that since all of creation was at His command, I could rest in Him and not be afraid. On the way, I listened to hymns and I was praising God in the midst of the storm. It was quite a turnabout of what I was experiencing earlier, from the fear and dread of being struck by lightning, to peace and calm knowing that if Jesus was with me, then I am safe. I'm sharing this not because I want to boast about anything in and of myself, but to recount and testify of how a man who was afraid of lightning could be at peace in the midst of a raging storm. All because of a simple and childlike faith in the true and living God, may all praise and glory be to Him.

Hymns that overwhelm you with God's love

There are some hymns that help me to reflect on God's love for me and certain verses of these hymns which I struggle to sing aloud because of the way the words speak to me of God's love. One hymn I was reminded of tonight was Surely Goodness and Mercy which has been sung a few times recently. It was the first verse which I found hard to sing tonight at prayer meeting which goes:


A pilgrim was I and a-wand’ring,
In the cold night of sin I did roam.
When Jesus, the kind Shepherd, found me,
And now I am on my way home.


I found it particularly touching because it reminds me of how unworthy I am to be receiving God's love. Not only did Jesus die for my sins, he has come after me like a loving shepherd even though it was my fault that I am lost. I wanted to share this because it may help you to appreciate this hymn a little more next time you sing it. If you have a hymn or a particular verse that speaks to you, maybe you can share it in the comments below and your reasons why it is so impacting.

Delighting in the Lord

My time spent with God each day is something I've grown accustomed to and an integral part of my personal life, but somehow this past week and the week before I seem to find that there is no sense of joy or delight when I sit down to pray and read my Bible. At first, I didn't think much of it. After all, I've done what I considered to be a most important thing that I should have done each day so it didn't matter how I felt, as long as I've made sure that I've prayed to God and read a chapter of the Bible. But by the end of this week, I was feeling spiritually empty and exhausted. All I thought about was what I wanted and what I needed to do to get there. I had pushed God to the back of my priority list while I pursued my own interests and personal gains. In the midst of it all, it suddenly dawned upon me that I was on autopilot; driven by what was in my heart and mind at the time, and I had no thought at all about God being in any of it.

 

So, it came to me at that moment, and it hit me hard. I sat down, and by some routine or habit I wanted to grab my Bible and go through the motions in the hopes that somehow I'll be able to get back into favour with God. But instead, I sat in silence and soon tears began to fill my eyes. I thought, what a fool I had been. I had replaced God with activities and duties, in some ways like replacing obedience with offering back in the days of king Saul. Then I just suddenly wanted God so badly, and this might sound like I'm just imagining things or just plain delluding myself, but I pictured myself embracing Jesus tightly like a child who longs for his father and wants to be near him. For the next few minutes, I did nothing but think about God. After that, I went to read my Bible and the words of Psalm 141, 142 and 143 were simply indescribably precious and the tears flowed as I read each verse. That was something I had missed for a long, long time. A few weeks, maybe, but even that is far too long for me. I told God that that was what I wanted each day with Him. If I could just picture myself embracing Jesus each day and in the knowledge that He is near me and I can rest in His bosom, I felt at peace and rest in my soul. After reading my Bible and praying to God (this time really enjoying and relishing every moment of it), I looked out the window and happily beheld the beautiful sunset, blue skies and scenery, and told God that today has been a good day because of my time with Him.

Stillness

Like many, I have an endless to do list, and every day seems to be filled with duties that should had been done yesterday.  Every day its go-go-go until your body drops in bed. Pace of life seems to be growing faster and faster, more and more things need to be done in a shorter time frame.  On the way to work, cars are constantly changing lanes, weaving through the rush hour traffic; breakfast is eaten behind the wheel, that is, if you had remembered to grab it on your way out.  At the office, there's no room left to park your car, so you'd park yours on the lawn hoping and praying that the lawn mower doesn't flick rocks at your car.  In the office, you turn on your computer and Outlook downloads 10 megabytes of emails that were sent to you over night while you were sleeping. From there, answering all the work queries from the multiple "bosses" you have located in different countries around the world, you find yourself entangled with the office affairs that's always so interesting which makes you wonder if it should be an episode of some drama show like 'Home and Away'.  With ears tuning in the surrounding noises, eyes fixed on the screen in front of you and your mind continually rearranging your to-do list, you blink and suddenly… it's dark outside your window. On the way home, if you don't have something else scheduled, in your exhaustion you reflect on the day feeling relieved it's over but only to remember you have to do it all over again tomorrow.  This is a typical weekday for me.

But today was different.

In the middle of the day, I wanted to escape from the hustle and bustle, so I walked to my car that was parked under the maple tree and opened my Bible.  While all around me, people were rushing to and fro, the soft green leaves were quietly embracing the gentle breeze and the birds were singing peacefully, oblivious to the "life-threatening" deadlines that needed to be met.  Observing creation, I read, I reflected, I prayed and realized how little I spend time in the day to be still and know who is God.  In all the busyness, it's so easy to forget God, or even make other things our god. Today, this verse became real to me, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) and that I did.  I walked back in feeling refreshed and renewed.  Thank God for these little moments of retreat in Him, to be still and listen to His small voice and be reminded that all the surrounding 'chaos' are under His sovereign control, that strength can be found in Him, and just to refocus and be reminded that through it all, we are in His grace and His presence, always. 

Maybe tomorrow I will see Him there again. J