When discouragement strikes

Discouragement!

My life in the recent days was filled with such very unpleasant word. I felt so ill each day I go to work till the night before I close my eyes. It is horrible. Yup, I understand that no matter how I shake my head from disappointment, there’s no way I could escape the horrible thing.

Every morning and night, before getting up on the bed, before laying my head on the pillow, my heart is throbbing in pain and anguish. I cry out to the Lord to comfort my weary mind, body and soul. My strength in mind and body is getting weak, my joy is shrinking into vast sadness.

The pain still persists now though I am still hoping that soon it will fade away to joy and peace of mind. My faith in Him is still on hold even though I am panting with blood sweat on my hands and body.

When discouragement strikes, I just recall how God has placed Paul into his unthinkable ministry to many different people. He rejoiced in the midst of rejection, punishment and even death. He rejoiced in the midst of all the discouragements from the apostles, friends, and all the people around him. Same goes with Job who underwent such huge wave of pain and suffering. He was struck down but not destroyed. 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit  you may abound in hope. 

                                                                                                          (Rom. 15:13)

Amen.

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Water of Life

Water!!!

Everyone in the house was calling out for a stable supply of water. We haven’t been getting normal supply of water for the recent two weeks. I just wondered our neighbors told us that they don’t have any problems regarding that. Well, I am pretty sure that we pay our water bills regularly. We didn’t call the directory because we were still patient and hoping that the next days the water will soon flow smoothly through our water pipes. When we cannot tolerate the situation anymore, we immediately phoned the water service directory to ask about such inconvenience. Unexpectedly, they were not aware about the problem we have been enduring for weeks; then they reported about installing the machine that enables to create stronger water pressure in order to reach our area.

Well, the lesson we learned was to quickly alert the water station about the problem so as to be able to fix the inconvenience immediately.

It was pretty challenging during the days of slight suffering about the water shortage. We cannot move much when there’s no water. We cannot cook,bathe,wash clothes and everything. Thus, water is vital to man’s everyday living for without it, he will not survive.

The water on earth is like the word of God. The absence of it is totally nothing while its presence springs up life. Without the word of God, life could be meaningless for man will be like a rolling stone without any specific direction. Man may not be able to understand the mysteries in life. He will be left confused and clueless about the circumstances in his life. He won’t be able to understand why happiness and sadness exist, why there’s suffering and healing, grief and joy. If all these things he doesn’t comprehend mixed up in his mind, he might as well commit suicide for everything seems pointless and insignificant to him.

But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

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Accepting someone's passing

"Why did it have to be him? He didn't deserve to die. He was a better man than most. It's just not fair!"
"That was so sudden! How can we live without her now?"

Those are just a couple of lines that we often hear when we go over the wakes. Words full of emotions and yet seemingly empty inside.

The passing of someone whom we cherished most seems to be the most painful event that will ever happen to us. Being left by someone you endear feels like melancholic emptiness from the inside out incapable of accepting the painful face of reality.

Many of us still finds it hard to accept the passing of someone they love. They cry a river during wake and most especially during the burial. Attachment that has been made so strong for years is so hard to untie when either of whom will leave.

Death is a painful process that everyone needs to be understood by heart and it's the attachment that makes the parting so painful. 

Let us look towards God when we face such hurting circumstances for He, the almighty creator of heaven and earth, is the only answer. Listen to His words and so we will receive His wisdom and comfort.

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would i have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. [John 14:1-3]



Rest in the loving hands of His to the ones who bore my parents.

Plea of the Weary

When was the last time when you found yourself caught up with seemingly endless paperwork?

How does it feel when you wanted to have a break from your work but you couldn’t do so?

What would you feel when you see everybody get all things done so easily while you could barely finish a portion of your work?

I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.  Job 3:26

For all these recent days I got caught up with all of these things. I can’t feel my eyebrows and my body has grown weary.

In spite of all these miseries, I still firmly believe that something good is yet to come for I know everything works perfectly in His hands. No matter how complicated things may arise, I will praise Him for He is bigger than anything else on Earth. In fact no cosmic body can ever surmount His greatness.

May the Lord forgive me in times when I cry out in anger and anguish. May the Lord give me peace and wisdom to see things beyond human perspective. May the Lord touch my weak soul and through the Holy Spirit cleanse my heart and mind with his holiness. May the Lord touch my heart and whisper through quietness that He is in me. Therefore, when I am weak, I am  also strong.

Let thyself be glad and rejoice for our God’s mercy and love that through His son we see hope, compassion and faith...

AMEN.

Oh Great Thou Art

Oh great thou art

‘Lo pierce thy heart

With love above

Against all odds

Gracious is thee

Who fell from his

Great is thy him

From love had found

Angels in heaven

Demons in hell

Anguish and jealous

To a couple like we

Heavens may grumble

Earth too may stumble

Thy love’s compassion

In the end may triumph

The Plea of the weary

Let me feel you

Cause I need you

In my brokenness

Let me confess

That you are God

And you are near

Forgive my sins

For what I did

This suffering

Is what I need

Give me your strength

And I’ll stand still

To live my days

Into your will

Lead me oh Lord

To aim for North

Live with passion

Not with fashion

All these things

I pray to Thee

That thyself’s grief

Will be set free

Read the manual first!

Whenever I buy a new gadget, I have this very bad habit of not reading the manual because of over excitement to use it. As soon as I purchase it, I would normally explore it with my stubborn hands and then all of a sudden, a problem occurs, then followed by another until I get so anxious about it. When I reached that point, that’s the time when I will  have to find where I put the manual so that I can try to fix it. Well, after a few episodes of stubbornness and ignorance, I learned that the manual should always be kept and read first to enjoy using my gadget and keep it always in its best working condition.

The word of God is also like the manual of every gadgets, or appliances we buy in malls or stores telling us the procedure on how to use it, the dos and don’ts, what to do when certain problems occur, and how to maintain its good function for a long time. It has always been there since Adam and Eve first set their feet on the Earth.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalms 119:105)

That’s how important Bible is in our life. It must be kept handy so that we may always decipher the mysteries of life in our daily living. We must leaf through its pages especially when such problems arise so that we can fix it. We must be fully aware of the dos and don’ts in life so that we will be saved. Memorize and apply the procedure on how to live a happy and decent life filled with compassion. Maintain reading the bible so that you will grow and bear good fruits through your actions. Most importantly, have a strong faith that everything written on the Bible will work out on you.

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