Is there someone in your life right now who you feel needs God’s guidance?
How do you feel praying for the person might affect their situation?
How does knowing that God loves you and wants to help you change your view of prayer?
Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. But whoever loves God is known by God. (I Corinthians 8:2-3) I am a man so I of course have an opinion on, and solution for any problem you have. Most women would agree that God has created men so that we are problem solvers. Women listen and comfort, (generally) and men jump up trying to save the day (typically). As we begin to realize that we are not in control of our lives, we also begin to see that we are not in control of anyone else’s life either. Our opinions do not clarify an issue unless we are offering it up from within God’s love and for His glory. We cannot solve someone else’s problems, we can only ask for the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom, and move in the life of our friend or loved one.
Is there someone in your life right now who you feel needs God’s guidance? How do you feel praying for the person might affect their situation? How does knowing that God loves you and wants to help you change your view of prayer?
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The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalms 116:6-9) When I pulled out the lights for my Christmas tree this year, the first thought that went through my mind was, “This the very definition of beyond hope.”. Still, I began the long process of untying the knots that seemed to have formed all by themselves over the last year. I separated the strands one by one, repairing and replacing as I went, until I was finally rewarded with lights for my tree that worked and look even better than I thought they would. Much like my Christmas lights, our lives are never really beyond hope, no matter what we have done. Nothing and no one are beyond God’s redeeming grace.
Has there ever been a time when you have felt ‘beyond hope’? When? What advice would you give to a loved one facing an apparently hopeless situation? This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Deuteronomy 30:19-20 God has gifted us with free will. Every day we have the choice to choose life (living in God’s will) or death (sin). This choice does not just affect us. When we choose to ‘live’ our friends, spouse, and children see our dedication to living a Christ-like life. They see how God moves in us and changes us to become His witness. Our dedication and faith becomes something that can inspire our children and shape their spiritual lives as they grow up. On the other hand, when we choose to sin they see that as well, and it too can change and shape their lives but rarely for the better. No matter how independent you may think you are, every action in your life impacts those around you. This impact often stretches beyond those we know to those whom we don't know, like ripples reflected in a pond.
What does it mean to choose life over death to you? How do you feel this impacts those around you? |
Walking With GodWalter BlackwoodDirector of Out of School Care at Sunridge Community Church in West Kelowna BC, Canada Archives
February 2021
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