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| All images in this post are courtesy of Marco Carmassi. |
"In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in Your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue. Be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since You are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for You are my refuge. Into Your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me O Lord, the God of truth...I will be glad and rejoice in Your love, for You saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place." (Psalm 31:1-8)
When life gives you lemons...have you ever wondered how Jesus would answer that question if someone asks him that classic question right now?
Most of you are probably facing a hefty load of roadblock ahead, and by that I mean assignments, tests and the inevitable, approaching final exams. The road ahead may be bumpy and unpleasant but do you know that God is working through every single obstacle you are facing in your life? Just believe in Him, learn to let go of your problems and weaknesses, learn to surrender your life to His trustworthy plans and witness revelation upon revelation that's going to be fulfilled in your life.
I purposely chose a psalm of David to start off this post. It is a beautiful prosaic beginning to Psalms 31 where the King expresses His concerns, worries and weaknesses in such an intimate way to the Lord. His trust in God's perfect rescue surpasses His fear and doubt over his enemies. David was a mighty warrior and ruler before God because he humbled and consecrated His life exclusively to the Lord. King David seeks refuge in the Lord, for He is the rock, the truth, and the light that guides his feet. Isn't that powerful? To really entrust your entire life on He who truly understands every single part of you and the one who crafted you in perfection from the very first cell. Why would He bother with creating so many of us, so many broken-hearted, weak and selfish humans so vulnerable to sin when He, the superior Lord can literally do everything by simply moving a finger or speaking a word? Why must He create us in such a fearfully wonderful way and ended up sacrificing so many things, covenants and even His own son to reconcile us back to Him? Why does this relationship seem so difficult?
God knows our weaknesses. He knows our strengths. He knows the number of hair follicles on our scalp. He knows our deepest fears and secrets. And He holds our future in His hands. Nothing that we are seeing and experiencing now is for certain. Surrendering our lives to Him means that we let God take full control over the direction of our lives. Wherever it may be. We allow the Creator to mould us, lead us, guide us in the hidden gray areas of our past, where we hid our shame and fears. Slowly God is unraveling this pile of hidden mess one by one. He is slowly clearing the junk and the unnecessary in our lives so that we may radiate His glory from within.
In Psychology, I learnt that by the age of 2 (24 months), young infants would have developed and formed so many neural networks. All seems good and perfect. The young infant is literally a superhuman, having possessed so much more abilities that we could not seem to remember. Yet after two years, further brain development initiated synaptic pruning, which is the critical period where so many neural networks (if not millions) are being cut away. Why? I mean the more the merrier isn't it? Wrong. Too much neural networks will cause detrimental developmental disorders as the child grows up, with frequent epileptic seizures as the most common symptom of a lack of synaptic pruning. When our networks are being pruned away, our young entities lost a handful of abilities that cannot be recovered later in life. This may seem pretty unjust to the formerly superior brain, but pruning in itself plays a much more important role in ensuring proper development for the child.
Similarly, some of you probably feel that you are being tested, either in your personal walk with Christ, your intimate relationships and/or life commitments (e.g. work, uni, school, etc.) but always keep in mind that when you choose to entrust your life to Him, nothing is ever too difficult for Him to fix. As a leader, God knows where you're being led to. Rather than doubting Him, ask for confirmation. Instead of ridiculing, ask for enlightenment and wisdom. One of my friends recently shared an article about
There's More to Life Than Being Happy
I really suggest you all to give it a quick read when you see this. Cleverly and beautifully written, Emily deeply inquires and challenges the old motto "don't worry, be happy" into something much more insightful. Perhaps happiness is not the key to a beautiful life, but one that leaves external impact or social influence, a force that unites people around you, a radiating joy that wells up from the inner you and invades others. And this is precisely what God has in store for each of us!
"Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer up your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this word, but be (continuously) transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will." (Romans 12:1-2)
"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's spirit lives within you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy Him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple." (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)
Lovely readers, we are His treasured sons and daughters! Our Father has given us the best that He could give, Jesus - our divine intercessor and gateway to the Father. God has given the Holy Spirit unto all who believes. His work on the cross is completed and it is now our turn. Will we press on forward to pursue and seek His Kingdom or will we remain stagnant? I dream of running towards my heavenly Father and in doing so, He will elevate me over the world, overlooking the seas and the lands, empowering me to step beyond any strongholds or limitations currently holding me at bay. I dream of radiating His love and power, infiltrating heavenly goodness and harmony wherever I go. Of course, this does not happen overnight. Knowing that I am treasured in His eyes is one thing. Exercising this blessed privilege is another ♥