No different from the past
No different from the rest
No different from the cliché
No different from the change
Some things never change,
like me not remembering
that some things never change.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
His Eye is on the Sparrow
As Christians we always try to make our plans around what we believe is God’s will. Before making any major life decisions, we commit the matter to Him, ask for His will to be done but then have the impossibly difficult task of waiting to hear what he has to say, we wait for the Yes, No or Wait that He is meant to give us.
Its challenging therefore when faced with a situation where once all the good Christian steps have been taken, and we think we’ve figured out what He wants for our lives, suddenly everything gets turned around or is topsy turvy and you find yourself questioning not only yourself but God. But didn’t He say yes to this? Wasn’t that His will for me? What now Lord? Over thinking and over analyzing every single thing we might see as a ‘sign’ from Him. Freaking out that we’ve made a huge mistake and wondering how annoyed God probably is with us.
From calmly walking down the set out path, to a sudden stand-still. We wonder about our own judgement of His will and our confidence in tuning into that still small voice is shaken. How easy it must have been for Abraham and Moses to have God speaking directly to them, telling them exactly what He wanted them to do. Does it mean they listened to God 100%? We think, “If I was told directly by God to do this, or do that, I’d obey – no questions asked.” No, they definitely strayed from time to time, but there’s no denying that we Christians now envy the direct hotline they had to God.
The problem of a mistaken discernment of His will is that we then tend to let our weaknesses take over – anger, frustration, fear, doubt and worry... Everything that is the opposite of being under His wing. We worry because the plans we’ve made, plans that most probably provide security and safety, predictability and stability, are no longer part of the agenda.
The bible talks about worry in the well known passage in Matthew 6. It says in verse 25,
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]?
33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
For those days when we are feeling low and wondering if God is bothered with our problems, it’s good to remember that God cares for and looks after the sparrows, a small and insignificant bird. We are worth more to Him than the sparrow.
We are worth so much that Jesus died for us so that we might live. We are worth so much that we were given the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are worth so much that we will one day be reunited with God, the maker of the Heaven and the Earth in paradise forever.
What do we do when we are stumped to figure out His will for us? Knowing the Father is the surest way of knowing His ways and only by reading the Word will we have the knowledge of who He is and what He would want us to do. Sometimes there are no right or wrong answers, but there are right or wrong intentions and motives. We need to check and see whether or not the ‘path’ we thought He had set out was actually designed by us, or chosen to suit our desires and ambitions. Or maybe He isn’t intending a 180 turn in the opposite direction, but just a detour along the way.
At the end of the day, the message is clear: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength. If this commandment is kept as the focus point in our lives, we should have no cause to worry so much about choosing the right path or be too overly cautious that we end up doing nothing. Remember that to walk the talk does actually require walking, and as worrying as it can be sometimes, we know that the Good Shepherd is always guiding, helping and walking beside us along the way.
Matthew 10
29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny[d]? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
His Eye is on the Sparrow
Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Refrain:
I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Its challenging therefore when faced with a situation where once all the good Christian steps have been taken, and we think we’ve figured out what He wants for our lives, suddenly everything gets turned around or is topsy turvy and you find yourself questioning not only yourself but God. But didn’t He say yes to this? Wasn’t that His will for me? What now Lord? Over thinking and over analyzing every single thing we might see as a ‘sign’ from Him. Freaking out that we’ve made a huge mistake and wondering how annoyed God probably is with us.
From calmly walking down the set out path, to a sudden stand-still. We wonder about our own judgement of His will and our confidence in tuning into that still small voice is shaken. How easy it must have been for Abraham and Moses to have God speaking directly to them, telling them exactly what He wanted them to do. Does it mean they listened to God 100%? We think, “If I was told directly by God to do this, or do that, I’d obey – no questions asked.” No, they definitely strayed from time to time, but there’s no denying that we Christians now envy the direct hotline they had to God.
The problem of a mistaken discernment of His will is that we then tend to let our weaknesses take over – anger, frustration, fear, doubt and worry... Everything that is the opposite of being under His wing. We worry because the plans we’ve made, plans that most probably provide security and safety, predictability and stability, are no longer part of the agenda.
The bible talks about worry in the well known passage in Matthew 6. It says in verse 25,
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]?
33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
For those days when we are feeling low and wondering if God is bothered with our problems, it’s good to remember that God cares for and looks after the sparrows, a small and insignificant bird. We are worth more to Him than the sparrow.
We are worth so much that Jesus died for us so that we might live. We are worth so much that we were given the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are worth so much that we will one day be reunited with God, the maker of the Heaven and the Earth in paradise forever.
What do we do when we are stumped to figure out His will for us? Knowing the Father is the surest way of knowing His ways and only by reading the Word will we have the knowledge of who He is and what He would want us to do. Sometimes there are no right or wrong answers, but there are right or wrong intentions and motives. We need to check and see whether or not the ‘path’ we thought He had set out was actually designed by us, or chosen to suit our desires and ambitions. Or maybe He isn’t intending a 180 turn in the opposite direction, but just a detour along the way.
At the end of the day, the message is clear: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength. If this commandment is kept as the focus point in our lives, we should have no cause to worry so much about choosing the right path or be too overly cautious that we end up doing nothing. Remember that to walk the talk does actually require walking, and as worrying as it can be sometimes, we know that the Good Shepherd is always guiding, helping and walking beside us along the way.
Matthew 10
29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny[d]? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
His Eye is on the Sparrow
Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Refrain:
I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
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