Category: Faith

Beloved, Cherished, Trusting

Lord, here I am – your beloved child, your cherished child and at least at some level, your trusting child. Therefore, I yield to your will; I seek your guidance; I trust you to take good care of me.

Meditation Thought: “In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:3)

How exciting a new birth is – the joy of creation, the awe for this little one who is so helpless, yet so precious. That must be the way you feel about me! It must be the way you feel about everyone!

If I can think of myself as your precious little one whom you are giving wonderful, loving care – but are also having to be ‘tough’ with at times because you know what is best for me, then perhaps I will trust you more fully and obey you more diligently, knowing that you will in the end be the one that was right after all!

Lord, here I am – your beloved child, your cherished child and at least at some level, your trusting child. Therefore, I yield to your will; I seek your guidance; I trust you to take good care of me.

Light of Life

With light we see clearly – we can appreciate what we see; we can travel the way we choose to go, and thus we can accomplish what we desire to accomplish.

Meditation Thought: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Light versus darkness – what a difference in these two situations! In darkness we are disoriented and confused about how we can get to where we want to go.

With light we see clearly – we can appreciate what we see; we can travel the way we choose to go, and thus we can accomplish what we desire to accomplish.

Who is this person who wants me to follow him? Is He the one whom I should follow? What is this man’s character? He obeyed God’s commands, even to the point of terrible pain and sacrifice in the body. He preached love and revealed God as a loving Father. He performed miracles to reveal the powerfulness and goodness of God.

Yes, I am willing to follow Him. I’m weak and cowardly but He promised that He would put an indwelling Spirit of God within me so that I could become a person who would develop the character and faith that He demonstrated for me and for others.

Lord, I’m a weak and selfish-natured person to be given such an undertaking. But that is the whole point, isn’t it? With this nature any improvements and works due to those improvements become a light unto Your path. Thank You!

Accept it

Since I didn’t create anything on my own, I can’t control anything on m own.

Meditation Thought: “…whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

“Think about such things. This is the key to opening the door that reveals the reality of My creation. You would have me orchestrate every detail so you could be comfortable and happy and content 100% of the time. This is not feasible. Our relationship could not have the depth we both desire if we did not have the interaction of dealing with problems and of solving them together. You do get frustrated – even somewhat rebellious and angry at times when you are aggravated with visitations. But think: How often have these annoying situations brought about visibly good results when you pray and when you try to deal with them competently? Yes, you know! Much good for you and for others has resulted. Your trials enable you to ease the way for others who have similar trials – just as you experience their helping you from the knowledge gained from their own trials. You may not like this arrangement, but it is My will and My plan. Accept it; there is a purpose, and you shall gain as you learn from each experience.”

Response: All right, Lord. I admit I’d rather have my own way – all ‘sweetness and light’ in my life, but since I didn’t create anything on my own, I can’t control anything on m own. I’m ‘stuck’ with You being my ‘parent’ as well as my Creator. I don’t often think of it as ‘being stuck’, but at downhearted moments, I have to admit that I’d like to have my own agenda. At one level I know I’m not that competent, just as a child is not competent to handle the situation he is exposed to at times. That doesn’t stop us from being ‘pouty’ at times, though, does it? Thank you for forgiving us when we realize that we hadn’t seen the whole picture clearly and that you were right after all!

Come My Beloved

“Come my beloved. Walk with Me, talk with me, and we shall do good in a hurting world.”

Meditation Thought: “Therefore, since we have been justified with faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” Romans 5:1

By faith I am standing in grace. It does not matter that I do not feel at peace and comfortable and happy at this moment. It does matter that God is with me; God is in me, and God is guiding me.

Moreover, He is guiding circumstances concerning me. How do I know? Because He told me so – He said so through prophets, through the faithful who have followed Him, and through the Word and through circumstances.

I am not in the situation I prefer – but I am in the loving guiding ship of my Creator, my Guide and my Protector. I trust you, Lord, whoever or whatever You are. I may falter – often – but You know how to guide me to places you want me to be, to think and say and do what is pleasing you – and therefore is pleasing to me and to others involved with me.

“Come my beloved. Walk with Me, talk with me, and we shall do good in a hurting world.”

(Context: Mom wrote this a few months after her Alzheimer’s diagnosis and just days after going through both a round of memory testing and finishing radiation for breast cancer.)

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