Tag Archives: inspiration

Death then Life

Freedom, God, Inspiration, Peace, Spiritual, , , ,

A Liberating Pattern

Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash

I am churning with this thought this week…

Sometimes you have to let things die to live…

But I’m not thinking about things like relationships.

I’m thinking about character.

Take for instance, complaining.

To complain, is to connect with others who also complain. There is camaraderie, there is mutual approval. You are at the same level. But what if you decide to stop complaining?

It’s hard. It’s very hard.

You have to lose something.

You have to lose the ability to connect and seem relevant in certain social situations. You have to lose the right to express your frustrations and feel important and righteous.

It’s a death. And it’s unpleasant.

I know. Cos I went through this.

It’s awful to hold complaining thoughts in your head and not allow them to see the light of day. To not allow their expression through your lips. The pressure builds and builds. And it takes will and determination to stop it. And it feels like death.

But on the other side of death is something surprising.

There is more freedom. More peace. More life.

To not complain, means to also let go of the thoughts of complaining. Because you don’t want that pressure building up in your head, so it’s best to just let it go.

So then you think differently. And you find yourself less burdened, happier and without the clutter that was there. It’s new and it’s a revelation.

It’s not with perfection. None of us attain that this side of eternity.

But it’s a breakthrough.

And the victory is inspiring.

What’s next? What else do I need to die to? What other opportunities for life are on the other side of a decision?

And the courage to face the death of luxury character flaws increases. And the hope of discovery becomes rejuvenating.

Such death becomes less fearsome, because one knows what is on the other side. So one can face bravely the awfulness of letting go. And trust what happens next.

…

I think of the seed that must be buried in the ground. From there it is able to shoot out new life and grow.

…

I think of Jesus, the son of God. Who willingly faced death on a cross, for the joy of obtaining salvation for the world. Death first, then life.

He even said, you have to lose your life to find it. And he wasn’t talking physical death. But death of your own concept of self. Laying down your own life, for the ways of God. The ways of God that don’t make sense to our worldly thinking. But which when activated bring life out of death.

A living, breathing reality. A reality marked by true freedom.

Unlimited

Excited, Freedom, God, Inspiration, Spiritual, , , ,

The Fruit of God: Endless and Amazing Discovery

Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash

God is unlimited.

What is the fruit of that?

A heck of a lot.

Think about it.

I remembered a song about God — “Your faithfulness reaches to the skies”. And I thought, literally that is not true. It might be nice poetic licence. But the reality is that his faithfulness is never ending. It is without limit.

People compare things about God to the sand on the seashore. Because you couldn’t even begin to count every grain of sand. An impossible task for us as human beings. But even the sand analogy is no good. Because sand is limited. There comes a point when there is no more sand left. But God is not limited.

Or what about the water in the ocean? How could we even begin to explore every depth? But yet again the analogy falls short — there is an end to the water!

I thought about the joy and pleasure of revelation; the acquiring of beautiful knowledge. And subsequently the human fulfilment that is found in growth as a person. This too, I realised, is without limit. We will never in our lifetime run out of things to learn about, or ways to grow as a person.

But it goes further… after physical death, if you believe as I do that our spirit continues on, then the journey continues. And in this journey, there is still the potential for growth, for revelation and the acquiring of knowledge. And this is in the same category of unlimited. Because the creator of the universe and subsequently all that there is to discover is unlimited.

The fruit of God. Endless and amazing discovery!

Is This The Most Inspiring Passage in the Bible?­

Bible, Emotions, Excited, Inspiration, Joy, Spiritual, , , , , , , ,

Psalm 84 scroll

Psalm 84

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.

Sigh of deep relief and satisfaction! Wow. My spirit sucks in life when I read these verses. It reminds me of God’s presence and how good he is and how deep his life fills me, at those times when he overwhelms me. I am brought back to the place of inner life and sustenance and I DRINK. Hahaha. Nothing like it.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

Birds get a mention. I like sparrows. They’re cute and little. Feeling a bit jealous of the sparrow here. Imagine having your babies right near God’s altar. Wow. Talk about safety and atmosphere. Woopee!

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.

Yep!

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

Oh this is the one. One of my most favourite verses in the Bible. Inspires me to tears. HEARTS SET on PILGRIMAGE. Each word speaks volumes. It’s not your brain set on pilgrimage, it’s your HEART. Oh the innermost part that has such powerful decision making ability. The part that sees broader than the intellect, that knows what the mind cannot. And the heart is not wishy washy here. It is SET!!!!!! FIXED!!! LOCKED!!! Absolutely decided 100%, not moving away, not turning aside. Course set. No more questions! And what is it set on? Oh the joy! PILGRIMAGE. Hahahahahahahaha. Love it!

Pilgrimage. Knowing this is going to be a long journey. Knowing there are going to be many ups and downs. There will be dangers, there will be massive obstacles, there will be temptations and pitfalls, but glorious joys and the opportunity to massive overcoming. It’s a journey with God and in God and to God. And it’s terribly difficult and its amazingly liberating.

It reminds me of another of my favourite verses,

James 1:2-4 – “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

It’s JOYOUS, facing the trials, because they bring GOLD that you can’t get any other way. Every trial is a privilege, an honour, an opportunity. When you go through it with God, in his ways, then you get GOLD. You get maturity, wisdom, patience, humility. Oh wow. The list can go on and on and on. And all of these things are amazingly invaluable, more precious than a mansion with big trees and gorgeous flowers. And they build and grow and bring LIFE. Cos God’s ways are smart and life bringing.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.

I can’t believe this Psalm just keeps getting more and more awesome. It’s nearly at bursting point. Talk about inspiring. As we pass through the valley of weeping, we don’t just trudge through and come out gasping. No! We make it a place of springs. We make our pain and our trial something amazing and beautiful and life bringing. Bad turns to good. Pain turns to victory. What triumph. What glory. Every trial a privilege and an honour. Let’s stop running from the pain and let’s embrace God’s path through and get true riches! And yep – this means going from strength to strength. Mighty warriors these pilgrims are. Truly satisfying way of living. Stuff of heroes!

8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
listen to me, God of Jacob.
9 Look on our shield, O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.

Let’s keep going…

10 Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;

Here we go again. Drinking in the awesomeness. So TRUE. Roller coaster at theme park doesn’t compare to the presence of God.

10b I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

I would rather scrub heaven’s golden streets and bask in his presence, than be queen of popularity with God haters. Seriously, we are going to be blown away when we meet Jesus face to face one day. The comparison between the house of God and the tents of the wicked will be ridiculous. Maybe like saying, hey – how would you like to lick that worm, or hey – how would you like to be served by the world’s best chef every day for the rest of your life. I wish everyone could have just a taste of God’s presence, of the inner life that he brings. He is SO much more than a belief and we don’t have to wait until heaven to experience his glory. We get tastes here and some of them are long tastes, and they change us. And you never want to go back to anything else. It’s all muck and slime in comparison!

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.

12 Lord Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you.

Blessed, blessed, blessed. Means happy, happy, happy. Yep. When I trust him, my heart is free. When I worry – that’s not a path of life. NOT fun as I know from experience. That’s not God’s way. God’s way is trust. That’s the path of pilgrimage. That’s the path of favour and honour. That’s the path I LOVE!