********************************************************
********************************************************
Sept 1, 2005
God's Hand Reaching Out
Isaiah 41:10, 13 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
How does God reach out to us, speak to us, guide us? Some say its thru nature - a sunset, a rainbow, the song of a bird or thru a Bible verse or a prayer or thru music. Sometimes God communicates thru encounters with other people - sometimes its a friend, sometimes a stranger. Whoever it is, he or she is probably unaware of relaying a message from God! Has this ever happened to you? The following is one of these encounters, when behind human words or acts we perceive the outstretched hand of God.
You've probably seen or heard the following statements before.
God allows U-truns.
God is in the business of removing roadblocks.
So when you come to an obstacle blocking your path - how do you know what to do? Both of the above statements could be correct. The obstacle could have been placed there because you need to change direction, or it could be there simply to make you wait on God's timing - so how do you know which it is?
This is the situation I was facing. I thought God was calling me down a certain path only to find this path blocked. I did question whether or not I was on the right path, whether I heard His call correctly and should wait on His timing or if I should change my direction. My prayer was something like this, "Lord if I heard Your call correctly please confirm it, let it grow. If this calling is not form You, I renouce it. Lord, I want to follow You alone, I want to follow with my whole heart."
A few days later the Lord answered this prayer in an amazing way. Though I heard no audible voice, the Lord did speak to me thru 3 songs and a person's words. The first song.
Everyday, it's You I live for
Everyday, I'll follow after You
Everyday, I'll walk with You, my Lord
Every day Lord I learn to stand upon your word
and I pray that I might come to know you more
And You would guide me in every single step I take
that everyday I could be a light unto the world
When I heard these words it's as if the Lord said, "I heard your prayer, I know you want to follow me, I'll help you." The next song.
Don't let my love grow cold
I'm calling out, light the fire again
Don't let my vision die
I'm calling out, light the fire again
These words confirmed to me that I heard His calling correctly, especially light the fire again. I wanted to be used by Him again. Then the following song.
Arms Of Love
I sing a simple song of love To my Savior, to my Jesus. I'm grateful for the things You've done, My loving Savior, my precious Jesus.
My heart is glad that You've called me Your own. There's no place I'd rather be than
In Your arms of love, In Your arms of love. Holding me still, holding me near, In Your arms of love.
This song really touched me because it paints the following image. It's also interesting that only a few weeks ago I pointed out the connection between this song and image to someone else.
This image has special meaning to me. It is an image that the Lord has used to confirm a calling He had for me in the past. It was touching to me that the Lord would use this image to confirm my calling again and reassure me that I was on the right path. This was enough to reassure me, but it wasn't all. After the service I ended up having a converstion with someone. During the conversation the person ended up telling me something like this "I feel the Lord directed me to this church, so I will not change my direction until I hear from Him again." This surprised me, it was very clear to me that it was the Lord telling me not to change my direction, to keep going on the path that I was on. The Lord had definitely answered my prayer. So for now I would stay on the path He put me on and not change direction.
___________
___________
Thank You Lord that Your hand is always there waiting, outstretched, reaching for each of us. Help us each be aware of Your outstretched hand, Your voice. Open our hearts and minds that we might clearly percieve and follow Your lead. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm 95:6-8 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts ...
********************************************************
********************************************************
********************************************************
Sept 1, 2005
God's Hand Reaching Out
Isaiah 41:10, 13 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
How does God reach out to us, speak to us, guide us? Some say its thru nature - a sunset, a rainbow, the song of a bird or thru a Bible verse or a prayer or thru music. Sometimes God communicates thru encounters with other people - sometimes its a friend, sometimes a stranger. Whoever it is, he or she is probably unaware of relaying a message from God! Has this ever happened to you? The following is one of these encounters, when behind human words or acts we perceive the outstretched hand of God.
You've probably seen or heard the following statements before.
God allows U-truns.
God is in the business of removing roadblocks.
So when you come to an obstacle blocking your path - how do you know what to do? Both of the above statements could be correct. The obstacle could have been placed there because you need to change direction, or it could be there simply to make you wait on God's timing - so how do you know which it is?
This is the situation I was facing. I thought God was calling me down a certain path only to find this path blocked. I did question whether or not I was on the right path, whether I heard His call correctly and should wait on His timing or if I should change my direction. My prayer was something like this, "Lord if I heard Your call correctly please confirm it, let it grow. If this calling is not form You, I renouce it. Lord, I want to follow You alone, I want to follow with my whole heart."
A few days later the Lord answered this prayer in an amazing way. Though I heard no audible voice, the Lord did speak to me thru 3 songs and a person's words. The first song.
Everyday, it's You I live for
Everyday, I'll follow after You
Everyday, I'll walk with You, my Lord
Every day Lord I learn to stand upon your word
and I pray that I might come to know you more
And You would guide me in every single step I take
that everyday I could be a light unto the world
When I heard these words it's as if the Lord said, "I heard your prayer, I know you want to follow me, I'll help you." The next song.
Don't let my love grow cold
I'm calling out, light the fire again
Don't let my vision die
I'm calling out, light the fire again
These words confirmed to me that I heard His calling correctly, especially light the fire again. I wanted to be used by Him again. Then the following song.
Arms Of Love
I sing a simple song of love To my Savior, to my Jesus. I'm grateful for the things You've done, My loving Savior, my precious Jesus.
My heart is glad that You've called me Your own. There's no place I'd rather be than
In Your arms of love, In Your arms of love. Holding me still, holding me near, In Your arms of love.
This song really touched me because it paints the following image. It's also interesting that only a few weeks ago I pointed out the connection between this song and image to someone else.
This image has special meaning to me. It is an image that the Lord has used to confirm a calling He had for me in the past. It was touching to me that the Lord would use this image to confirm my calling again and reassure me that I was on the right path. This was enough to reassure me, but it wasn't all. After the service I ended up having a converstion with someone. During the conversation the person ended up telling me something like this "I feel the Lord directed me to this church, so I will not change my direction until I hear from Him again." This surprised me, it was very clear to me that it was the Lord telling me not to change my direction, to keep going on the path that I was on. The Lord had definitely answered my prayer. So for now I would stay on the path He put me on and not change direction.
___________
___________
Thank You Lord that Your hand is always there waiting, outstretched, reaching for each of us. Help us each be aware of Your outstretched hand, Your voice. Open our hearts and minds that we might clearly percieve and follow Your lead. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm 95:6-8 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts ...
********************************************************
********************************************************
