Trust – Redeemed

November 6, 2022

The Door

Our Golden Retriever, Holly is a beautiful dog. She is an oversized blonde ball of fluff with an adorable personality. You will have noticed she is a great source of writing material for me! But sometimes, Holly is a bit ditzy.

We have a sliding glass door which leads onto our back deck and then down into our backyard. Holly has learned to sit at the door whenever she needs to go outside to go to the toilet. Often when we let her out, we will leave the door open enough for her to fit through so she can come back in when she’s ready.

One Saturday afternoon, James was working in the yard, and I was inside the house. Holly wanted to go out so I let her out and left the door open as usual so she could let herself back in. About five minutes later, I heard her bark and turned around to see her sitting at the door. The problem was, she was sitting at the side of the door which was still closed, staring at me to come and open it so she could come in! She didn’t realise that if she just moved slightly to her right, she would be right in front of the side of the door that was open. She didn’t move until I physically went to her to open the side of the door she was sitting in front of so she could come in, laughing at her as I did so.

How often do we miss the open doors in front of us? Or how often do we sit looking longingly at the closed door without realising the open door is right within our sight?

Other times we choose not to see the door which is wide open in front of us. We choose not to go through the door because of fear, doubt, insecurity, or even what others will think if we step through the door.

Revelation 3:20: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

John 10:9: I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

Jesus says in Scripture, He is the door. When He was crucified the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. It was torn from the top, opening the way for us to enter into life with Him and all He has for us. We have been given the freedom to go in and out as we choose. Access all areas. 24/7. He is always there.

We don’t have to wait for the door to be opened. It’s already open. It is us who sit and wait. We wait for the right person, the right moment, the right environment, the right visiting ministry with the right prophetic word. But read what it says in Ecclesiastes 11:4: Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. Essentially this is saying if you wait for the perfect time, you will never do anything.

The door is open. Take a step. You never know what you will find on the other side.

What step is God calling you to take that you’ve been putting off? Make today your day to take the first step!

October 13, 2022

Stuck in the mud

A game we used to play as kids at school was a game called stuck in the mud. The concept was that one person was in and if they tagged you, you were ‘stuck in the mud’ until someone came and rescued you by crawling between your legs.

James and I love bushwalking. We often end up on tracks that are overgrown and boggy underfoot. Sometimes the boggy bits are easy to navigate, sometimes they’re not. There is nothing quite like the squelch as your boot sinks into the mud and then the slurping noise it makes as you lift it out, covered from toe to heel in thick gooey mud!

On one memorable coastal walk we encountered several muddy and boggy sections of the path, they got progressively worse as the track wound deeper into the bush where there was little sunlight to dry the mud out. We navigated several mud crossings trying to walk around the mud or finding branches to walk on over the top of it. Eventually though we gave up trying to avoid the mud and decided to walk straight through it until we came to dry land again. It was easier but way messier! On this particular walk there was also a river crossing where we had to jump the river to get to the other side. It wasn’t a huge jump and probably looked worse than it actually was, but I was apprehensive, I was not keen on the idea, and I was afraid of losing my footing or missing the jump altogether and landing in the fast-flowing water of the river. However, with James securely on the other side of the river and encouraging me on, I made the jump and we continued on our way.

I was afraid of getting ‘stuck in the mud’. There were times on this walk where it would have been easier to go back the way we came rather than persevere through the at times almost impassable conditions.

We continued on the path until it opened out to a rockface that had to be seen to be believed. Spectacular would be an understatement. There are not enough adjectives to describe the view that opened up before us. It was breathtaking, rugged, and so worth the hike to get there! As we sat on the rocks to eat our picnic sandwiches we marvelled at the wild beauty of where we were sitting. It was simply stunning, and we spent a long while exploring the area.

The point I’m making is this; if I had given up when I wanted to, I would have missed this amazing sight. And I would have stopped James from experiencing it as well.

So many times, we let fear stop us from experiencing the best God has for us. It’s too hard or we’re afraid of getting stuck. But we do get stuck. We get stuck on the obstacle in front of us and take our eyes off the path beyond. How many times have we missed what is waiting for us because we get stuck at the roadblock? What I have found with muddy paths is that you can’t stop. You have to keep going because otherwise your boots become caked with mud and heavy to wear. And the heavier your boots get, the harder it is to keep walking.

Sometimes we need someone alongside us to encourage us to keep going, or someone to rescue us as in my childhood game. The cries of the children ‘stuck’ in that game were almost frantic as they called out to their mates to crawl between their legs and set them free. Are we that desperate to become unstuck? Are we that desperate to cry out to someone to rescue us and set us on the right path again? If we’re not, we should be.

The Holy Spirit is the friend we can call out to, to help us become unstuck. The bible tells us many times that He will ‘never leave us or forsake us’. When you’re stuck, cry out to Him. Whatever your circumstances, there is always a way out. It might involve getting a bit messy, but He will comfort, help and guide you to safe ground if you just trust Him.

So, let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9

November 13, 2021

The Gentle Whisper

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:11-12

Isn’t it funny how you can hear a scripture so many times but then one day you read it, and it suddenly makes sense?

As I was having my quiet time this morning, this is the passage of scripture I read. And the imagery struck me as if seeing it for the first time.

The context of this passage is that Elijah the prophet is hiding from Jezebel who had threatened to kill him after he had overcome the false prophets of Baal. As Elijah was hiding in a cave, God spoke to him. But it wasn’t in the way most of us would expect.

Some of the things that struck me about this passage:

In verse 11 it says, “Go out and stand on the mountain”. Elijah had to do something. He had to leave the safety of his hiding place and ‘go out’. He couldn’t stay where he was if he wanted to hear what the Lord had to say. ‘Going out’ involved action on Elijah’s part. I imagine it also took a great deal of courage, especially when someone was after his life! He could not be a passive onlooker in what God was about to do. It is the same with us. We can’t just sit back and wait for God to move. Although He can, and sometimes does move on our behalf and without us doing anything, I have found it works better when we engage ourselves with His will and proactively step out in faith.

The rest of verse 11 describes what happened when God passed by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. This does not describe a serene encounter! Elijah must have been terrified. I know I would have been! Just imagine mountains being torn apart and rocks shattered, the noise alone would have been deafening. Now imagine trying to keep your feet in such a strong wind. The visual imagery in this is spectacular. And, if that wasn’t enough it was followed up with an earthquake! Still, we read, God was not in any of these things.

And then in verse 12: After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. It would seem God wasn’t finished with the natural disasters to get Elijah’s attention. Winds, earthquakes, and fire. If I was Elijah, I think I would have high-tailed it out of there by now! But what happens next? God speaks in a gentle whisper. And what does He say? “What are you doing here Elijah?” This is the second time He asks Elijah what he is doing there. As if He didn’t already know! And when Elijah tells God why he is there, that people are out to kill him, what does God do? He sends him back! Verse 15: The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came…” I have to wonder what Elijah was thinking at this point. Seriously?

My point is this. Often, we are so busy trying to hear God in the ‘noise’ we forget to be still and listen for him in the whisper. Sometimes He has to do something radical to get our attention. Especially in those times we are frantically trying to run away. Obedience to God’s will is hard, and at times costly. But as we read earlier in this chapter when Elijah was first on the run from Jezebel, God provides for us and sustains us in our trials (verses 3-8). We can’t outrun God. And we need to listen for Him in the unexpected, in the quiet places. And when He speaks, we need to be ready to do what He says.

Get up. Go out. Listen. Take a step. Even if it’s frightening or it doesn’t make sense. Trust His gentle whisper. He will never leave you or forsake you.