The Little Things

"I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart..." Psa 138:1

It’s Thanksgiving break and as believers in God’s Promises, we have much to be thankful  for - even more than the average person. But we struggle as much as everyone else when it comes to letting that thankfulness bleed into our lives and shaping them to have a more positive outlook.

When life kicks up into fifth gear, I find I have little time for anything but the essentials: school, Memorial Service, CYC, piano lessons, sleep, and food. My focus goes towards making it through the day - checking off the mandatory boxes - and moving on. I struggle to see an hour in front of or behind me, let alone remember and be thankful the events of  that day.

But how can I - how can we - change this unintentional thanklessness in us? God does so much for us each and, surely it cannot be too hard to find one thing each day that He has done for us?

And it’s not. Not really. To come up with a single blessing God has given us everyday is not a challenge at all.

So why don’t we do it? Why aren’t we as thankful as we used to be?

I remember it used to be so easy. Mom and Dad used to come in to say nightly prayers, and we would say one ‘please’ and one ‘thank you’. I remember there used to be so much to be thankful for when I was little: the sun for shining, the rain for give the flowers a drink, and for bringing Momma and Daddy safely home from work. My sister and I found that we couldn’t only say one Thank-You, sometimes there’d be a whole list of little things that we appreciated throughout the day.

So what changed? When did we stop being thankful for the little things? When did a sunny day become so unappreciated? Or when did the fact that Mom and Dad got home safe in that snowstorm become an assumed event?

God is in the little things: the green lights when you’re running late, the text of encouragement when you’ve hit rock bottom, an easier test when you feel you may fail, and the extended due dates after a busy night. Be thankful for the little things - write them down and put them in a box. Pull one out when you’re feeling down.

That’s not to say that God isn’t also in the large things - in the accepted college application, the new job, or the finalized down payment of your next house - but we tend to associate these successes with God. We remember Him when He helps us with the events that more obviously shape our lives, but it is the little things that remind us to be thankful each and every day.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation…” James 1:17

In the Hope of Israel, 

Mikaelah B

 "For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." Psalms 84:10

The Clouds of Doubt

“‘Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.’” Isa 49:15-16

At some point in our lives, each of us will have to brave the storm of insecurity. Whether we are a Jack of All Trades or a King of One, we all balk when faced with the clouds of doubt. But one doubt in particular stands out from the rest: the doubt that God could possibly want us to be a part of His family.

Broken and such sinners as we are, there is no way we could be of any use to Him - so why did He call us? Why not that one friend at school who is so much more self-sacrificing that ourselves, or that one coworker who never has a mean thing to say about anyone? Why did God pick us over them? Wouldn’t they be a better fit to do His will than we? Because we have so many problems, surely those problems do more harm than good - both to ourselves and to those around us.

Why did you choose us God? We are full of holes and mistakes, and we could list off 10 people who would be much better suited to the task - why didn’t You choose one of them to do Your will?

Thoughts like these are among those that pour down on us from time to time. And they cannot always be helped, for we are human, and sinners. We must remember that we will never be good enough to earn the Kingdom of God - and we are not expected to be. As we well know, it is our faith and what we do with it that will get us into the Kingdom of God. However much we wrestle with the notion that we will never be righteous enough or perfect enough, we must take to heart the words Paul wrote to the Ephesians in chapter 2 and verse 8: ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.’

God is going to give the Kingdom to us as a gift if we have faith in Him and what He says. A gift. We cannot earn it, no matter how hard we try, so we should not struggle and try to meet some imaginary bar of goodness that is too high up for any man to reach. God is erasing that bar, and simply giving us the Kingdom. We should be thankful and in awe of His great generosity instead of questioning His choices.  

We also mustn't compare ourselves to those around us. While they may seem like a more obvious choice in our minds, God’s ways are not our ways. He knows each and every person that has ever lived better than even they themselves have. We can only know a thin slice of that person’s life - out of context, out of proportion to the rest of their life. God knows the end from the beginning, and He has chosen us to further this end. His ways are perfect, and if His ways are through us, then why do we doubt? Perhaps that friend at school would be a wonderful addition into God’s family, and He has placed you in their life to bring them in - a role only you, as a friend of them, can fulfill.

God has chosen us each for a specific purpose both here and now, and in the future. He knows how we work, and what best suits us to do. He is shaping us to be kings and priests in the Kingdom.

He has chosen us each specifically our of the entirety of the world. And instead of doubt and apprehension filling our minds, it should be awe and wonder at the thought that out of an uncountable number of people throughout time, He chose you. He chose me. He chose us. He is choosing those who will be by His side and will do His work in the Age to come. And we should not doubt Him, but trust. Because His ways are perfect, and in Him can we trust more than anyone else.

Let us not doubt God’s choice in us, but rejoice in it and strive to do His will in this life so we may grow in faith and wisdom in the LORD our God.

‘The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.’

Zeph 3:17

In the Hope of Israel,

 Mikaelah B 

 "For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." Psalms 84:10

The Most High Rules in the Kingdom of Men

"The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men." Dan 4:17

In these past few days, tempers have flared as Facebook friendships have been terminated and other, more drastic measures have been taken against those of opposing viewpoints. To label this past week’s events as controversial is to put it mildly.

It hard for many of us not to get swept along in this wave of negativity. It is hard for us to remember that it is not for us to decide or to worry about the future of the nation we live in - whether it be the States or any other nation on this earth. The fate and fortitude of this world rests in God's Hands, and we should not stress over its future.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer 29:11)

Many of you, on the day of the election, posted the above verse on your pages as a reminder to your fellow Christadelphians. A reminder not to worry. A reminder that God has everything under control. And a reminder I wish to accentuate.

The events of this election, its results - and of every election previous - are of the Hand of God. No matter your opinion of its outcome, the LORD chose the U.S.’s newest President Elect for His purpose. And ultimately, the future president of the States, is the right one - because the Most High chose to work through him.

Pharaoh also seemed like a pretty unorthodox choice as a Gentile ruler through whom God was going to work. When it came to the Israelites’ chances of being freed from bondage, Pharaoh kept those odds very slim. But God works through slim odds and unlikely choices to further His Plan. It is His work through the unlikely that we see His miracles. If the Pharaoh of the time of the Exodus was a man like Cyrus the Great, God’s Glory could not have spread through the land of Canaan and its inhabitants would not have known His power.

But God had chosen Pharaoh to be the force through which He  would make himself known. It was because of Pharaoh - specifically of God’s Hand in his actions - that the nations surrounding the newly freed Israel knew who the LORD Almighty was.

How different is this present time different from then? God works through what may seem unlikely to our minds. Perhaps this power shift in the States will be the catalyst we have waited nearly 60 years for. Maybe the long-anticipated events of Bible Prophecy can finally take place - the ones that wouldn't have happened in the present way of things. We can not know for sure.

And that specifically is what we need to keep in mind. We cannot know God’s Plan and His strategy towards it. For His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. (Isa 55:8-9) We know His plan is for the whole world to know the Glory of the LORD (Hab 2:14) and every moment in this life is working up to that awe-inspiring goal.

We must trust that He knows what He is doing. Just like in any other situation. We must have faith. Whether we like the prospects of the nation or not, whether we have hope for its future, whether we agree with this change or not, we must continually remember this is all for the furthering of God’s Plan.

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Phil 3:20-21)

The Almighty is setting the stage for Christ to return, my brothers and sisters, and I cannot help but feel myself growing a little more excited every time I think of it. Christ is coming soon! We just must have faith that God will get us there!

We will all be changed, in a moment grasped in time, in the twinkling of an eye. The dead shall all arise, at the trumpet’s final call, then God is all in all.

We turned and saw the earth, the wilderness blossom and bloom.

In the Hope of Israel, 

Mikaelah B 

 "For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." Psalms 84:10

Hand in Hand with Suffering

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-3

I recently rediscovered this verse when we discussed in in last week's CYC class, and I thought it aptly summarized the point of this blog: of finding the good in the bad situations. But ‘Count it all joy’ can't mean we have to be happy in the midst of tribulation, can it? God doesn't expect us to be joyful during hard times, does He? They're called hardships for a reason, right? Because they're meant to be difficult?

So, James 1:2 doesn't mean we have to literally be happy. Then what does it mean? God doesn't expect us to be lighthearted all the time. The word ‘Tribulation’ itself indicates we will not like what is happening  expressly because it is supposed to be hard.

What is James telling the believers here then? What is he urging them to do when they face trials? Taking a look at Heb 12:11 gives us some insight:

“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

The writer of Hebrews also knows that trials are not easy, and we are not supposed to be happy while navigating through them. It's painful, he says. However, they are given to us to bring us closer to righteousness - and THAT should bring us joy, which is quite different from happiness. One can be joyful without being happy, a distinction that many people forget. When we're down and pessimistic towards the future, the knowledge that all the hardship is molding us, shaping us, and helping us towards righteousness, maybe we'll find it a tiny bit easier to push on.

Note however, that the writer of the Hebrews adds “to those who have been trained by it”. We have to let trial lead us, at least in part, of we want to be helped towards righteousness. We can't twiddle our thumbs as trial comes upon us and expect it to somehow magically get us into the Kingdom of God. We have to help it along.

So how do we do this? How do we let trials work in our lives? But how also do we keep in mind the words of James and of Hebrews as the trials come upon us? Because many times we forget. Many times we are so wrapped up in the heat of the moment, we forget the bigger picture. Or sometimes, we understand the principle, but do not know how to apply it in our own lives.

The answer is different for everyone. For me, as I have mentioned in previous posts, marking verses that are similar to those above helps me. Writing them out in colorful pens and putting them in places I see everyday helps me remember.

As for putting into practice the notion that God - through trial - is indeed working in my life for good, and living my life knowing this, I have yet to pinpoint an exact example from my own life, maybe it is because I have never thought of trial this way until very recently. But it is now a goal of mine to keep Heb 12:11 in my mind somehow. Somehow I need to remember that trial is pushing me toward the finish line of my Walk and not get bogged down in the mud of modern day.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Rom 8:18

In the Hope of Israel, 

Mikaelah B

I have to apologize for the late update - I've been a tad bit under the weather. If it's okay with you all, I may start posting on Fridays when my week has cooled down a bit. Thank you so much for your support! I love you all! 

 "For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." Psalms 84:10