All That I Need by Carol Harrison

 I woke singing the old hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness published in 1923 with words written by Thomas Obadiah Chisholm. The words of the chorus, "all I have needed, thy hand hath provided, great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me." continued to echo through my mind all morning. All I have needed, but not necessarily all I want, comes from God because of His faithfulness and mercy. I checked out the verse that inspired this song in Lamentations 3:22 & 23. "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." 

I kept wondering how this fits with the blog post on the tool of prayer. Yet over and over God kept reminding me that prayer is conversation with God. Talking to him, presenting our needs and listening for his answers. 

There are times when my prayers are rushed sentences throughout the busyness of the day. At times they seem vague like thoughts directed to God. Satan, the father of lies and the enemy of our souls, whispers loudly, "See you're just a fraud. What a failure. You can't even watch and wait in deep and earnest prayer as you rush about."

So many times I start to pray at night and fall asleep. I try and spend time in prayer and interruptions happen and appointments must be kept. There are many times when words fail me and I don't know what to pray. Possibly because I don't know the entire situation or am overwhelmed by life events, the number of writing ideas bouncing through my mind, or my own feelings of inadequacy to articulate the praise God deserves. 

Then I read in the Bible how even the disciples couldn't stay awake and pray with Jesus on the night he was betrayed. At a time of need, a time when their lives would change dramatically and without total understanding until much later, they fell asleep. Not just once either. My human frailty is not mine alone. 

Yet the Holy Spirit takes my jumbled thought prayers and presents them before the throne of God who answers in ways I never expected. He sends affirmations to combat discouragement from unexpected places. Not maybe as quickly as I think it should be, for in our familiarity with instant communication, instant access to news, and even instant items to warm and eat, I find my self wanting microwave quick answers.

I've used the phrase, as many others have, that God answers prayer in His way, with His timing, and for His glory. It trips lightly off the tongue and yet there is so much truth in it for God knows my true needs far better than I do. He also sees the entire picture of what He desires me to learn and what He has in store for me to do. He only asks for my trust and obedience. 

In Philippians 4:6 it says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." The presenting my requests about major life situations comes the easiest. At times I forget about the "in every situation" portion. Nothing is too small to take to God. Nothing is too big. Each idea, each project on the to-do list, and each life situation should be brought before God and not worried over. 

The other part of this verse that often escapes my attention, at least at first, is that little phrase, 'with thanksgiving'. It is like God is asking me, "Can you trust me enough to thank me for supplying this need even before I reveal the answer?" Being thankful isn't a suggestion. It has nothing to do with the situation, although fantastic answers or great situations bring gratitude to our lips quickly. It is simply about thanking God for His great faithfulness and mercies that are new each day. 

As I stared at the blank page trying to figure out what to write for this blog post or any other piece of writing, I need to begin by being still and relying on God. Even when those times of prayer feel rushed or done in bits and pieces, I know I can't do life on my own or writing either. Sometimes the ideas translate into words quickly and flow on to the page. At other times, like this month's post, the blank page mocks me and I wonder if God had other plans for my time. Yet deep down I know that God's timing is perfect and doesn't always match mine. Patience is key. 

1 Thessalonians 5:24 tells me this about God. "The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it."

Prayer is so much more than taking a grocery list of requests to God and demanding immediate answers the way I want them. It includes time to praise God in word and song. It includes giving thanks and waiting in expectation to see what He will do. In Romans 4:21 Paul talks about how Abraham "was fully convinced that God was able to do what He promised."

When Satan tempts me to doubt God's faithfulness and days when my prayers are done in bits and pieces of scrambled thought and requests during the course of the day, I need to be still and trust God so that I remain fully convinced He will do amazing things. He only asks for my availability and my obedience to follow Him through every aspect of my life including the writing.

I also need to pause and reflect on how God has answered prayers in the past, how He provided words to write or what to say when I am speaking so others will be encouraged and pointed to Jesus. Some answers are huge and easy to remember. Others, like timely affirmations from unexpected places, need to be pulled into remembrance. Then I can rejoice over God's faithfulness. He meets all my needs and He never changes. 

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20,21

Carol Harrison, B.Ed. from Saskatoon, SK Canada is an inspirational speaker, published author, and storyteller. She has a passion for sharing stories from real-life experiences and God’s Word to help others find a glimmer of hope and a glimpse of joy. https://www.carolscorner.ca

 

 

Unchanging by Steph Beth Nickel

An earlier version of this post first appeared on Janet Sketchley's blog, Tenacity.

Livestreaming church services. Economic upheaval. Social distancing. Self-isolation. Pandemic.

It’s what we talk about. It’s what we think about. It’s what we pray about—when we can muster the energy to pray.

It seemed like a very good time to focus on some of those things that never change.

Here are 11 things to consider:

We are called to be outwardly focused.
As Christians, we’ve known this all along. But true confession time … Until recently, I didn’t realize just how self-focused I was. Do I really do what I do to 1) honour God and 2) bless others? I want these goals to be my motivation, but too often they haven’t been. These days provide the perfect opportunity to ask God to refine our motives. (All the while, we must extend grace to ourselves and remember that self-care isn’t necessarily selfish or self-centred. See below for further encouragement in these areas.)

There are always opportunities to minister to others.
Even now, there is so much we can do to bless others: post something encouraging on social media; pick up the phone and check on a senior who doesn’t have access to the Internet; offer to drop off groceries to someone who is apprehensive about venturing out. Even with social distancing, there is much we can do for one another.

Turns out our parents and Kindergarten teachers were right; it is nice to share.
This truth needs no explanation except to say there will be people who need financial assistance, a kind word, and/or a smile today. If we have the opportunity, let’s be generous with what we have and trust the Lord to provide for our needs.

We need one another.
Of course, this is another truth we’ve known all along, but it’s crystal clear with the current situation. Kindness and acts of service are crucial. There may be restrictions as to how we can help, but we certainly need one another.

Our healthcare workers need our prayers—as do our government leaders.
There has never been a more important time to add our government leaders and healthcare workers to our prayer list. With the everchanging information about this virus that is circulating—even among the professionals—it’s difficult for them to know what the right thing to do is. They need the Lord’s wisdom and protection. (If you're either a healthcare professional or a government worker, thank you so much for your service!)

During difficult, uncertain times, we have Someone to turn to.
We’ve all gone through difficulty in our life: illness, loss, economic hardships … God was faithful then, and He’s faithful now. When we’re confused, overwhelmed, and struggling to make sense of it all, God invites us to draw near to Him, promising that He will draw near to us (James 4:8).

God loves us.
Don’t you love the fact that the Bible teaches not only that God is loving but also that He is love (1 John 4:7)? We can rest assured of His love when things are going well—and when a worldwide pandemic has changed so much.

God was not taken by surprise.
When the world changes overnight—and sometimes, hour by hour—we don’t feel equipped to keep up. Could any of us have seen ourselves in this situation two months ago? I know I couldn’t. Still, God wasn’t taken by surprise. And whether or not we feel prepared to face the days ahead, He’ll see us through.

No matter what happens in our world, we can rest assured that God never changes.
This is, perhaps, the singular truth that sees me through each day. While my life hasn’t changed all that much, I still sense the heaviness of this new reality. I can vegetate on the couch and watch Netflix and sleep more than usual—or I can trust in our unchanging heavenly Father and seek to accomplish the tasks He has set before me.

We are called to extend grace—to others and to ourselves.
The word should can cause big problems. Of course, the Bible lays out hundreds of clear Shoulds and Should Nots. However, when it comes to facing our current, unprecedented situation, we must be careful how we seek to impose our convictions—even God’s—on others. Even as believers, there are many times we’d be in big trouble if it weren’t for the Lord’s grace and Jesus’s sacrifice on our behalf. We must remember that many of the people we interact with do not know Jesus as Saviour, which I believe provides the opportunity for us to show them we are Christians by our love—not our judgment.

There is a balance between self-sacrifice and self-care.
We can find several examples in the Scriptures that indicate that we are to put others’ needs ahead of our own. At the same time, we must remember that, unless we care for our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, we will soon have virtually nothing to offer those the Lord has brought into our life.

May we prayerfully seek God’s perspective in this uncertain times, as in all others.

Steph Beth Nickel is a freelance writer and editor (among other things). Steph is a regular contributor to HopeStreamRadio. She and Paralympian Deb Willows are working on a follow-up to Deb's memoir, Living Beyond My Circumstances. During these uncertain times, Steph is thankful for the new opportunities the Lord is bringing her way. You can connect with her on Facebook, where she spends far too much time: https://www.facebook.com/stephbethnickel