“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you”
(Isaiah 43: 2)
Apprehension, anxiety, fear of the future is sweeping over many parts of the world and lockdowns and isolation is heightening these feeling in many people but for those already struggling with depression it has an even more powerful affect. I have a young friend who is caught in this dilemma and finding it very difficult to cope. I was praying for her early one morning and then I went to read the passage set for my Bible study and it was these beautiful words from the Lord spoken through the prophet, Isaiah, (Isaiah 43: 1-2) sent to God’s people to comfort them as they were struggling in difficult times. As I finished reading them, I felt these words were meant for my young friend.
This is the amazing outcome of God’s powerful words. Later when I phoned my friend to read them to her, I was startled by her response. I was greeted by a glad response. She recognised the words but had forgotten them and said she sang a song using these exact words when she was younger, but never knew they were from the Bible and I did not know they were a song. Later she sent me the song and as I listened, I cried at the goodness of our Lord to send to my friend, just what she needed to hear. She now can sing the song when she feels like she is being swept away.
The Lord constantly reminded the children of Israel, and the reminders are still relevant for us, that He cares for us whatever situation we find ourselves in and that he is always nearby, never too busy to listen. All we need do is talk to him and tell him the fears that are assailing us
“The lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him.” (Deuteronomy 4: 7)
While I was thinking still about the image of rushing waters, I thought of the other image of our Lord Jesus Christ that is so powerful to hang on to. The Rock!
We know if we are ever caught in a swirling river, hanging on to a rock can be a life saver. Jesus uses this well, known parable to illustrate the power of rock. He tells of two builders who are going to build a house. One chooses to build on rock, the other chooses to build on sand. When storms blow, it is obvious who chose the right location. The house on the sand is swept away while the one built on the rock stands firm.
“The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” (Matthew 7: 25)
We have somebody like a rock to hang on to while the storms of life swirl around us . We just have to call out to him, and he will be there right beside us.
When we think of the word, generous, we often associate it with money, but it can also be used to describe actions as well as the gift of money. The world is reeling from the effects of this ugly virus stealing from us our loved ones, denying us our normal routine, taking away jobs and robbing us of the social contact we all need so much with friends and family. Fear and panic sometimes bring out the worst in humanity, such as the me first attitude that results in hoarding food and essential items, but it can also bring out the love that Jesus entreated his disciples and of course all believers who have followed him, to practice.
We are living in a world filled with fear and panic. The spread of this ugly virus is sweeping through the world and the media is filling us with more dread every day as the numbers grow and strict rules come into play which are limiting our social contact with others which is so necessary for our human spirits . Even our churches are closed for worship. What we need to remember is that we do not need a building to talk to our Heavenly Father. He is ready always to hear our fears, to comfort us with his love, to help us make decisions, to direct our paths and he loves for us to tell him how much we love him, all we need to do is to pray to him. 
We have many powerful stories in the Old Testament, that tell us of how the children of Israel were involved in terrifying situations, often visiting armies, with vast numbers of soldiers far outnumbering them, attacking them. When they remembered to cry out to God, he answered them by reminding them that he was with them and always would be, so when we cry out to him, he does the same for us. He reminds them that the battle is not theirs but his (2 Chronicles 20: 17) so too for us. We cannot possibly defeat what happens, but we can hand the battle over to him so that fear does not paralyze us.
Father to our families, our friends and we can still use the phone the internet to send out the gospel so spirits will be lifted and despair will not take over
The terrible corona virus that is sweeping through the world is bringing chaos to travelers and even to virtually making people prisoners in their own homes or to keeping passengers confined to their cabins on cruise ships which have infected passengers aboard. I was watching one such passenger discussing his plight over the internet with a reporter and he was describing his feelings of being those of prisoners in jail and all he could think of was, when he would finally be set free.
The Pharisees took offence at what Jesus was saying and hotly denied being slaves to anyone, not understanding what Jesus was really meaning by being trapped by sin and being enslaved by many parts of their lives that inhibited them from discovering the joy of being able to shake off those ugly thoughts and actions that were eating away at their very beings not allowing them to run with that great sense of freedom.
I was chatting to my sister, who lives in Australia, just recently and she couldn’t wait to tell me about a surprising story about her birthday celebration. A friend had invited her to lunch on her birthday at a very expensive restaurant set in a beautiful setting overlooking the beach. Both enjoyed a lovely meal with each other as they had been friends for many years. When my sister’s friend asked for the bill, they were amazed when the waiter told them it had been paid. They were very touched by the person’s kindness and left the restaurant with lifted spirits in the fact that in this present world of, a “me first” attitude, someone would think of someone else to bless with an act of kindness
This is exactly what the giver to my sister and her friend did. Giving does not always have to be in the form of money. Giving our time for somebody else is also a gift of kindness. My sister visits an old lady in a home and reads to her. No money is involved, but lots of kindness is.
One of my granddaughters had applied for a new exciting job just recently, and after several interviews, she heard the good news that her application had been accepted. We all rejoiced with her at the good news. I was watching a fascinating documentary a few weeks ago on the TV that was dealing with the importance of being accepted, it is very important for the vulnerable ones in our society, such as new immigrants, the mentally challenged, the disabled. The program I was watching was focusing on young immigrants. By learning how to play hockey they had a wonderful tool to help young ones find friends and feel acceptance with their peer group. The young man coaching the youngsters gave a wonderful testimony as to what this had done for him, when he was a lonely newcomer to Canada. The participants were provided with used but good hockey equipment to get them started. I loved the looks of joy on their faces
think that God doesn’t accept us as true followers. God assures us that yes in his eyes we are certainly accepted, in fact the Lord is not influenced by appearances, he is more interested in our hearts. If we have a heart that loves the Father and his word, we are certainly accepted
practicing what the word of God says. When the reverse happens, bickering and division, we cast doubts about the truth of being followers of Jesus. Paul puts it very clearly…
Just recently I had the most incredible example of what the Lord was saying to Isaiah when he said his people would be covered with the shadow of his hands. I was scheduled for an eye operation and as I had had a terrible result from the first operation on the other eye that left it damaged, I was very nervous about the outcome of this one. I asked my Bible study and friends to pray for me on the day of my operation and an amazing thing happened, as I lay on the operating table the nurse wrapped me in a warm blanket and suddenly I felt a wonderful sense of calm and felt the Holy Spirit was standing right beside me. I felt covered in prayer
The most important part of being protected is firstly asking the Lord for that Heavenly and then accepting it. Too often we take things into our own hands, thinking we can handle any thing that comes along. When we do this and not pray and not ask for prayer from other believers, we are ignoring and dismissing that wonderful offer of being covered with the mighty hand of God as we face life’s challenges. Coming from a hot country, Australia, we knew if we were not covered in sun cream or protective clothing, we would certainly get sunburnt, how foolish we are not to accept the beautiful covering of God’s protection in any situation we are in.
The Christmas season has begun, and the shops are crammed with gifts, overshadowing the real reason for why we are celebrating as shoppers are encouraged to forget restraint and spend, spend, spend. We lose sight of the fact that we are the recipients of the most incredible gift ever given to man and by the Heavenly Gift Giver, our Heavenly Father. His gift of his son, Jesus Christ would surpass any of the gifts already given to the nation of Israel. He was to be the long-awaited Messiah, the deliverer of the sacred gift of forgiveness the one who would allow us to have no barrier between us and the Father.
Several years ago, when I was visiting relatives in Australia, my sister took me to a heritage farm that was still functioning and using the old equipment used by the first settlers and the farm is now funded by the Government and turned into a tourist destination. I was fascinated to see two cows yoked together pulling a wooden plough. When they stopped, visitors were able to ask questions to the farm worker. I couldn’t help feeling sorry for the cows and asked him was it hard to put them together with the yoke. I was surprised by his answer. “Not at all”, he replied. “In fact, we always put the same cows together and they form a bond with each other, and the yoke is not heavy, and you can see when two are together they can pull the load so much more easily”.
Here in Canada we are going into winter and the days rapidly become shorter and the dark nights longer. As the darkness comes, I feel my own darkness stronger and almost overpowering me. One of my daughters gave me a set of three large battery, operated candles. They look exactly like real candles and when they light up one cannot tell the difference. Last week another daughter set the timer for the batteries to automatically come on as dusk begins to turn to darkness and a day later, I was once again overcome with my own darkness when suddenly the candles turned on and light flooded the room. Then Jesus’ words also flooded the room and I remembered his promise to light up any darkness that threatened us and comfort also flooded my heart as I realised that he was with me.
When John the Baptist, was heralding the coming of the Saviour, the long, awaited Messiah, he described him as the true light that will give light to everyone.
