“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” - Romans 15:13 (NIV)
Perhaps one of the most difficult encounters in the Christian life is when tragedy strikes a good and faithful follower of Christ. Here is a caring and hardworking father, an elder in church, who falls to lung cancer leaving behind a widow and young orphans. There is that prayer warrior mother who dies during childbirth leaving behind a devastated widower.
When these tragedies strike, they can lead to all sorts of speculation- perhaps there was something wrong with the person for being a subject to some evil power. The grieving can be left besides themselves, and, if not careful, become embittered.
For Christians, there is an explanation, and a reason not to give in to despair and lose faith. After a tragedy befell Job and he lost everything, “Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:20-22). What here Job acknowledges is that in spite of all, of everything, God remains in control.
In the whole scheme of God’s eternal purpose there is always a more powerful reason, when tragedies occur. There was once a case of a mother who fell to a bullet leaving everyone confused how such a good person could die at violent hands. This mother had a daughter whom she had been praying for her salvation since days but she would never accept Christ. Yet upon the death of her mother, she walked of her own and gave her life to Christ.
In 1956, four missionaries- Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming- attempting to contact and share the Gospel to the Huarani tribes in Ecuador, who had never been reached. One day they were brutally attacked and speared to death. But out of this tragedy, came an outpouring of support for missions around the world that has since led many to Christ.
For the one who has just gone through a tragedy, common in these days of a pandemic, much here may not strike sense. In fact, the best one can offer is to stand with the person in prayer. But there is a meaning that only becomes clear with time, like the light of the sun breaking through dark cloud.
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, sometimes it is difficult to understand and even appreciate when bad things happen to the good and faithful, yet in all, we never to lose faith, for you are in control, and our anchor of our hope, all this I pray in Jesus’s name!
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06/05/2024 - 07/05/2024 All day“Do not confirm to the pattern of this world, but be 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 12:2)
Almost all cultivators are aware that if soils are used perpetually without rains but constantly under work they are deprived of all nutrients. So, though once productive, they lose all power to yield fresh crops as before. But so is our Christian life when we do not regularly feed our spirit life with the Word!
In our leading verse, the Apostle Paul is urging believers to “renew” their minds rather than make them stale, lest they end up losing all power to yield fruit. But how is this done? We renew our minds by constantly reading the Word of God, for there are always insights with God speaking to us afresh. Psalm 119:104-5 says, “I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” The Apostle Peter reminds us, “Like newborn babies hungry for milk, you should want the pure teaching that feeds your spirit. With it you can grow and be saved.” It is a beautiful illustration for any who have seen a hungry baby sucking the teats of a mother.
Renewing our minds is also by reading about the lives of people of faith who have walked before us and their created works. The Christian faith started in the first century after Jesus was crucified and resurrected from the dead. Now over two millenniums it has produced giants of faith who have shared their walk with God through inspired teachings that are a treasure to dig into. By scouring the writings of the great saints before us, listening to their recorded sermons, songs and preaching, which these days can be found on virtual medial channels like Yu tube, reading their biographies, our faith is renewed.
And then we also renew our faith through fellowship. When the Apostle Paul urges us, “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” ( Hebrews 10:25), he is reminding us that our faith cannot grow in isolation. During the Covid pandemic lockdown one bitter issue was denying Believers opportunity to meet fellow followers of Christ to share testimonies showing the work of God in their lives.
So today, if your faith is on a low keel, or you want it to flower, one thing you can’t help doing without is “renewing” your mind. The blessings to unfold are endless.
Prayer for today:Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, what a treasure we have of your rich Word to dig into always; books around us of faith to inspire us; and believers to share our faith- may we make use of these, this I pray in Jesus’ name.
