My niece Mala was on a drive with her Mom. She must have been looking up at the sky through the sunroof because she asked,
“Mom, have you ever been taken away by a dragon?”
My sister answered honestly that indeed, no, she had never been snatched away by a dragon. Mala was quiet for a while. Then she said,
“If I was kidnapped by a dragon, I would miss the ground.”
This week I came across a song I heard about a year ago and it rang true. It is a Psalm which was written by King David in a time of distress.
“Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, there is no help for him in God. Selah.”
Psalms 3:1-2 KJV
It was a time in his life where David was against the ‘sword and the wall,’ as a saying goes … a circumstance in life that I’m sure not many of us have had to face although from time to time I’m sure it may have seemed that way. In David’s trial it seemed hopeless and at that the moment, I’m sure, in the eyes of his enemies he was done for. There was not he could do.
Gone fishing
I have only been fishing once in my life that I recall. It was so memorable for all concerned that I was subsequently banned from the boat.
It started with a family fishing trip to Nimpo Lake. The rest of the extended family are all dedicated fishermen / women … so the pressure was on for me to try it too. The first clue that perhaps this sport wasn’t for me, was that my main anxiety was what I would wear. How to look like a fashion conscious Pentecostal fisherwoman?! Yeah, you see we had problems from the get go.
My husband and I took two rods and a small boat with a motor into the lake. He, of course, had to bait my hook and then he looked after the motor while we both fished quietly for a while. So far so good; then I got a bite. I was so excited! I actually had caught one big enough to keep and managed to reel it out of the water …. when it dawned on me that catching a live fish meant AHHH it was ALIVE(!!) and wriggling and desperately trying to fling itself off my hook. My husband was instructing me to bring it into the boat, but I didn’t want it to TOUCH ME!! (Eww gross!) So I had a fish dangling in mid-air and I was stuck. I couldn’t get it off the hook and I didn’t want to risk it touching me as I brought it into the boat. Husband was getting fairly exasperated with me at this point and commanded me in a very forceful whisper to ‘BRING IT IN!’ Noise travels well on a quiet lake (surrounded by homes) and he was desperately trying to avoid drawing attention to this fiasco. All thoughts of being quiet flew out of my mind as the fish came closer and touched me as it went by.
I screamed.
Answering the call
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27
Ring ring!
Hello?
Hi, it’s me.
I’m sorry, who is this?
It’s me.
But who are you? Why do you have my number?
Because child, you’re mine.
I’m your child? But who ARE YOU?
That’s for you to discover.
We’ve all heard our phone ring, and we look to see if we recognize the caller. If we know them, their name and number will be in our contact list. There are times when our phone will ring, and it shows up as ‘unknown caller.’ When we do not know the caller, we’re hesitant to answer.
Let your heart beat again
My Pastor’s wife recently sang to our congregation the song “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again”. The words of this song are so powerful, and so beautiful, with a depth behind them that you cannot ignore.
Life invariably will knock you upside the head, or even knock you right down; it is not what happened that is nearly as important as what we do when we are knocked down. There are times when circumstances in life may get so overwhelming it feels suffocating, the weight is so heavy it is crushing. In those moments we can choose to be crushed, to withdraw, to let our hearts begin to fail. However if we make the decision to never give up, to keep on keeping on, even when life is coming at you, it is in those moments that we are telling our heart to beat again, and even if it had begun to fail, the decision has already been made to live.
Pray until you find peace
Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 KJV)
A great friend I have been blessed with once made this statement during a message he preached, “Pray until you feel peace.”
It reminded me of times in my prayer life, when I was at a loss for direction, or in need of a restoration in particular circumstances of life.