Category: Faith

Paths of Discovery

When you find yourself chopping at obstacles in your path, frustrated, tired and discouraged – stop!

Meditation Thought: “See, I am doing a new thing!… I am making a way in the wilderness.” (Isaiah 43:19)

“Give me your attention… we are starting on an adventure together. Enjoy the thrill, the excitement, the anticipation of discovery. The way will be cleared before you, for I prepare it before asking you to go that way. You must look for the path I have cleared for you – otherwise you will have to fight the wilderness by yourself – finding it very difficult to penetrate. When you find yourself chopping at obstacles in your path, frustrated, tired and discouraged – stop! Look at where you are, and look at where I am – are you following me? Are you taking the path which I have cleared for you? The jungle of circumstances holds no peril for you, no difficulty, if you put your efforts into finding my path instead of into hacking a path for yourself. Direct your efforts where the results will be fruitful and satisfying, not frustrating.”

Power Source

We must be properly connected to our Source of Power in order for there to be light.

Meditation Thought: “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14)

The lamp cannot burn and give light without a power source – whether it is oil, electricity, battery. So, too, we must be properly connected to our Source of Power in order for there to be light. Without it, our purpose is never fulfilled. We may be an ornament without it – but never become the comfort, the guide, the help that we should be to the world. The more Power we allow to flow through us, the more light we shed – and the more helpful we will be.

Spiraling

But if we keep moving, we will come to the center – to the Beginning and the End, and the Meaning.

Our lives are like a spiral leading to God in the center. We go along the path, moving constantly, sometimes wondering if the path really does lead anywhere. But if we keep moving, we will come to the center – to the Beginning and the End, and the Meaning. If we stop in the path because of the difficulties we encounter, then we do not find the Treasure which is at the end of the path.

Avalanche!

What a different attitude we have as we travel along if we know that every time we come to a mountain, we can turn to God.

Meditation Thought: “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” (Mark 11:22-23)

Have faith in God. It is God’s power that moves mountains – not our faith. We must look to God in faith, but not concentrate on our faith, but on God. “I can’t do it – but my Father can” – confidence in Him, giving it to Him so that He can work without our interference. Let Him initiate the movement – we do only as He asks us. God may ask us to roll a stone to start the avalanche to move the mountain – in fact, perhaps it is our faith turning to God that is the stone that starts the avalanche – but it is God’s power that is released in the tumbling of tons of stone being moved, clearing a way where the obstacle was. What a change in perspective, to go from looking at a mountain blocking our way, to seeing it disappear before our very eyes as God moves it into the sea – now our way is easy, our view is clear. What a different attitude we have as we travel along if we know that every time we come to a mountain, we can turn to God and say: “This mountain is in the way Lord – would You please move it?”

Step One

We need to study the principles and pray for enlightenment so that we are acting with knowledge and with the will of God – which ensures that “all is possible”.

Meditation Thought: “All things are possible for one who believes.” (Mark 9:23)

The first step to any accomplishment is to believe that it is possible so that we will make the effort to succeed in it: we need to learn all we can about the situation, how to solve the problems and what cause will have what effect. When we learn the principles of life as set out by our Creator, we can apply them to each situation and know that they will work. But if we are ignorant of even one factor, the results can be vastly different.

We need to study the principles and pray for enlightenment so that we are acting with knowledge and with the will of God – which ensures that “all is possible”.

That’s a Win!

When you see the enemy’s strength, quickly turn your eyes from him to your Leader.

Meditation Thought: “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)

“I have sent a Hero to lead you to conquer your foes: Will you recognize Him, follow Him? If not, defeat will come. But the more you believe in Him, trust Him, obey Him, the more glorious the victories, the more enthusiastic you will be in the battles. Let Him use you – He knows your strongest assets and will use them well. Read your ‘marching orders’ every day, so you will be taking the right path to vanquish the enemy. When you see the enemy’s strength, quickly turn your eyes from him to your Leader – you know He has already been given the victory, and if you are right with Him, – both in the sense of obeying Him, and in the sense of being close to Him, the victory is yours also.”

Building a Tower of Strength

Your perception of reality will become as different as when you look at a beam of light when it is up at the little hole in the projection booth, and when you look at that same light as it hits the movie screen.

Meditation Thought: “Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

‘Delight in the Lord’ – and His delights shall be our delights – and His delights will be manifested in the world, or at least the Kingdom of His believers. Therefore if our delights are identical with His delights, it follows that we shall receive whatever delights us. The key is to be so ‘in love’ with the Lord that His desires become our desires also.

“Take heart – you will come to Me in fullness; first comes the acquaintance, then the friendship, then the tentative love, then the complete love. Be happy in each stage; none can be skipped, for one builds upon the other. Concentrate on the strength of what you are building, that the next stage will have the base in needs to become a ‘tower of strength’.

Your perception of reality will become as different as when you look at a beam of light when it is up at the little hole in the projection booth, and when you look at that same light as it hits the movie screen. There is nothing untrue about it up at the little hole – but what is revealed by it as it illuminates the screen is not comparable to what is revealed by it as it is barely out of the projector. So shall your perception be changed in what it illuminates of the Kingdom, as the area of focusing changes, broadens.”

Two Gears

Only when we can say “I’m yours. Take me as I am, imperfect, inadequate, but completely yielded does the gear slip smoothly into place.

Meditation Thought: “Anything is possible if you have faith.” (Mark 9:23)

Anything is possible if you have faith, because God is taking the action, not human beings. Faith is the lever that changes our gear from ‘our action’ to ‘God’s action’.

Maybe the gears are marked:
– ‘doubt’ and ‘trust’ or
-‘my will’ and ‘God’s will’ or
-‘my strength’ and ‘God’s strength’ or even
-‘my good works’ and ‘God’s grace’.

Whatever the labels, there is no doubt that the pace and the results are different in the two gears. We can be helped by suggestions on how to change gears, but only by our own act can we actually change them. We may have to pull and tug and experiment, but we must keep trying until we succeed in getting the gears changed.

The changing actually takes place when we relax and gently slip our heart and our will into God’s hands, but we may be unable to do this without some pulling and tugging – then giving up our struggle as inadequate, surrendering ourselves as having tried every way we knew and failing. Only when we can say “I’m yours. Take me as I am, imperfect, inadequate, but completely yielded does the gear slip smoothly into place.

Locking the Door on Fear and Worry

The formula of praise-trust-recall serves as a lock on the door of our heart to shut out worry and fear.

Meditation Thought: “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)

“Let not” implies a choosing of letting or not letting. Therefore we do not have to allow the trouble or the fear to stay with us when it first tries to enter. God has revealed a number of ways that we can close the door to worry and fear: praising Him in various forms (singing, words of praise), trusting Him (reading or reciting scripture), recalling His past deeds on our behalf.

In the act of closing out fear and worry, we also open up new possibilities for God’s working in our lives, solving our problems, bringing us joy. The formula of praise-trust-recall serves as a lock on the door of our heart to shut out worry and fear.

A Lighted Path

Listening and doing bring answered prayer.

Meditation Thought in response to Psalm 119:

In His faithfulness, God gives His commandments that we might have His knowledge working in truth. The lighted path brings us peace until we can see the evidence of His testimonies, and give Him praise for His glorious workings in our lives.

  • Knowledge – allowing the Spirit to manifest Himself in us to teach us the knowledge needed for action.
  • God’s Faithfulness (we can trust You)
  • Commandments – if we listen to Your commandments, we know Your will and doing Your will brings answers to our prayers.
  • Truth – (v.104 & 159) Through Your precepts I get understanding; the sum of Your word is truth which brings me to understanding which brings me to right action.
  • God’s Word lights my path
  • God’s testimonies are wonderful (v 129)
  • Great peace for those who love to obey.