Whose way?

I love Andre Rieu.  Last night my husband and I sat down to relax with one of his DVDs.  One of the songs performed was "My Way" from Frank Sinatra.  "Old Blue Eyes" as he was affectionately known.  For the first time in my life (and I have watched that DVD many times), the words of the song struck me as odd.  Don't get me wrong - it's beautiful.  But somehow last night, the words spoke to me in a different way.


Here are the lyrics:


And now, the end is near, 
And so I face the final curtain. 
My friends, I'll say it clear; 
I'll state my case of which I'm certain. 
I've lived a life that's full - 
I've travelled each and every highway. 
And more, much more than this, 
I did it my way. 
Regrets? I've had a few, 
But then again, too few to mention. 
I did what I had to do 
And saw it through without exemption. 
I planned each charted course - 
Each careful step along the byway, 
And more, much more than this, 
I did it my way. 
Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew, 
When I bit off more than I could chew, 
But through it all, when there was doubt, 
I ate it up and spit it out. 
I faced it all and I stood tall 
And did it my way. 
I've loved, I've laughed and cried, 
I've had my fill - my share of losing. 
But now, as tears subside, 
I find it all so amusing. 
To think I did all that, 
And may I say, not in a shy way - 
Oh no. Oh no, not me. 
I did it my way. 
For what is a man? What has he got? 
If not himself - Then he has naught. 
To say the things he truly feels 
And not the words of one who kneels. 
The record shows I took the blows 
And did it my way. 
Yes, it was my way.


Which way are you living today?  Your way or God's way?  May we not miss heaven just because we insisted on doing everything our way.  May we heed God's word and start living His way!

God does not make sense today

Last week I wrote about the times when God doesn't make sense. Today I am feeling like that. As humans we get angry when God doesn't answer our prayers. It so human to shake a fist in the air with a desperate cry of "God how could You?"

David was in the same boat many times. In the Psalms you will read how he first is upset with God, even fighting with God! At the end of the Psalm he lays back and confirms his dependance on God and God's faithfullness. Read Psalm 13 for an example.

Last night we lost our pet mongoose. He was a child in the house and this morning I was shaking my fist at God. Only to collapse a little later, emotionally exhausted, ready to be comforted by my Father.

No I don't understand why and I probably never will. God doesn't make sense today but I know He loves me. Like He said to Paul, His grace is enough for me.

A grudge

Are you holding a grudge? I have news for you. That grudge is holding you.

You will not have spiritual growth as long as you walk with unforgiveness. Forgiving is not a heart thing. It's mind thing. You have to make a conscious decision to forgive. When you do, God will bring it into your heart.

Let it go. A grudge makes your life miserable. It steals your joy. It prevents you from seeing the blessings.

Besides, if you don't forgive others, God cannot forgive you! Is it worth it? Is that person really so important that you will give up heaven rather than forgiving?

Let go of the grudge so that the grudge will let go of you!

When God doesn't make sense

The thought came into my head randomly.  I have no idea why.  I can only assume that someone on this blog is desperate about something and feels that right now, God is not making sense.

You are not alone.  If you google the phrase 'When God doesn't make sense', you will get more than 255,000,000 results.  That's a lot of websites.  More than 255 million people, who have access to upload content to the world wide web, at some stage, felt that God doesn't make sense.

Why?

Sometimes we pray for something specific to happen and when it doesn't happen as we requested it from God, we think our prayers are not answered.  We try to put God in a box by prescribing to Him how He should solve our problems!  In the meantime, God who sees the bigger picture, might decide that there is something better and provides for us in another way.  Often times we miss that blessing because we are so busy complaining about what God didn't do, that we forget to be thankful for what He did!

Stop prescribing to God.  Ask for His will to be done.  And be open to whatever He sends your way.  It may not be what you wanted in the first place, but with time, you will realise that it is better.  We will never understand God and quite frankly, I think we should stop trying.

Paul said in Corinthians 13: 12-13

We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.




They key to success is in the last line.  Trust God, keep your hopes up and show the world what Jesus love looks like.  God will take care of the rest!

Everything God does is perfect!

A king who did not believe in the goodness of God, had a slave who, in all circumstances, said: My king, do not be discouraged, because everything God does is perfect, no mistakes!
 
One day they went hunting and along the way a wild animal attacked the king. His slave managed to kill the animal, but could not prevent his majesty losing a finger.
 
Furious and without showing his gratitude for being saved, the nobleman said "Is God good? If He was good, I would not have been attacked and lost my finger."
 
The slave replied only "My king, despite all these things, I can only tell you that God is good, and he knows the "why" of all these things.What God does is perfect. He is never wrong!"
 
Outraged by the response, the king ordered the arrest of his slave.
 
Later, he left for another hunt and was captured by savages who made human sacrifices.
 
In the altar, ready to sacrifice the noble savage had found that the victim had not one of his fingers, was released. According to them: it was not so complete to be offered to the gods.
 
Upon his return to the palace, he authorized the release of his slave that he received very affectionately.
 
"My dear, God was really good for me! I was almost killed by the wild men, but for lack of a single finger, I was let go! But I have a question: If God is so good, why did he allow me to put you in jail? "
 
"My King, if I had gone with you in this hunt, I 'would have been sacrificed for you, because I have no missing finger. "
  Therefore, remember: everything God does is perfect. IT is never wrong. 
Often we complain about life and things that happen to us apparently negative, forgetting that nothing is random and that everything has a purpose.
 
Every morning, offer your day to God.  Ask God to inspire your thoughts, guide your actions, to ease your
feelings. And do not be afraid. God is never wrong! 

Give it to God

Early in September I blogged about the job interview that came my way.  My husband and I prayed daily that God's will be done.  We asked in faith that if He wanted me to move to that specific company, He would open the doors.  If that was not where He wanted me, the doors must simply close.

In this past month, I have learned what it is to really give something to God and simply wait.  Yes, at times it was nerve wrecking.  Then I had to remind myself that God will give me what is best.  At times I was despondent when nothing seemed to be happening.  My husband reminded me that I must leave it up to God.

In the end, God opened the doors and they made me an offer.  Obviously now I know that that is where God wants me.  I was expecting a counter offer to come from the company I work for now.  And yesterday it happened.  Will I consider this?  No.  Why?  God has opened the door.  For me to consider turning away from that door will be a clear statement that I do not trust in God's provision for my life.  The counter offer is simply the devil trying to lure me away of being in God's will.

What decision are you wrestling with?  Give it to God. 

God is alive!

My husband read me a little story a few days ago.  It was about Martin Luther King, who at one stage, was depressed for days.  The breakthrough he had been waiting for had not come as he expected.

One morning, his wife came down the stairs, dressed in black as if in mourning.  When he asked her why she was dressed like that, she answered 'God has died'.  He was angry at her and accused her of blasphemy.  She looked at him and told him that he was acting as if God is dead, so she assumed that God has died.

How are you acting today?  Do you have faith that God will give you the best?  Or do you look as if your God has died?

Stand up and live - God is alive!