Category: A fact about God

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Our constant Repositioner

Verses about how God can change/reposition our perspective, even though our circumstances might remain the same…

‘Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.’ (Micah 7:8)

‘The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create.’ (Isaiah 65:17-18)

‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ (Matthew 11:28)

Whatever our situation, there is always another perspective – God’s. He will take us to impossible places and say, ‘Trust me that all things do work together for good.’ (Romans 8:28). He can reposition our hearts.

(photo by Lucas Martins: pexels.com)

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That dangerous weapon called anger…

It can happen so fast. Out of the blue, someone can blame us for their relational problems. ‘It’s all your fault that people don’t talk with me.’

It happened to me and it surprised me that they give me so much sway. In another, it horrified. They wanted me to take responsibility for their actions and anger. They wanted me to smooth things over.

I declined the job offer, so they instantly changed tactic – using shame. Maybe now I would fulfill their wishes if I felt they were the victim.

I had to walk away. I read the Bible. It said, ‘I have heard the insults.*’ I could rest, because anger isn’t the way to make friends.

(photo by Piet Bakker: pexels.com) *Zephaniah 2:8

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When taken hostage by gaslighting…

It can be deeply painful when someone hates us for doing good. It hurts when our sense of justice is mocked, because it doesn’t bow to their demands. The Bible puts it so well. ‘You have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness’ (Amos 6:12). These kinds of people will try to poison us, to gaslight us into agreeing with their reality.

But the Bible guides us when we are in danger of being taken as a hostage: ‘They shall never enter my rest’ (Psalm 95:11). We can say, ‘NEVER!’ We can say, ‘No! You can’t come in! You will not disturb my rest.’ We can choose who we let into our lives. We can choose those who love good.

(photo by Leonie Fahjen: pexels.com)

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Finding the reason to live…

I have been to places so profoundly dark, that I couldn’t see my hand, even when I waved it in front of my eyes. Because, the absence of light is darkness.

I have been in places where leaders didn’t care if I was happy or sad, so long as they had control. They didn’t care if I was dying inside, as long as I did it in silence. But the absence of care is actually cruel. The absence of love invokes fear.

I have also experienced people who believed in me, who dared to tear down the blinders which had tricked me into darkness. Because – and this is true for many of us – in the presence of those who love us and care, we find our reason to live. We find that their ‘perfect love casts out fear.’*

*1 John 4:18 / (photo by RUN 4 FFWPU: www.pexels.com)

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Bible psychology – How to live

A small sign pointed up, so I stopped and looked. High above, on the church tower, it said: ‘Do not forget to live.’ It hit me hard.

I do it all the time. I get caught up in work, business, in pleasing others – my head down, my life filled with concern. I forget to live. And sadly, I forget HOW to live, because the pressures of life pull me down.

God, however, isn’t ‘the God of the dead, but of the living’ (Mark 12:27). So, today, I stop and pray: ‘Please show me what living looks like and remind me what it feels like.’

Today, I watch the sun and shadows, the sparkling dew. The world rushes by, but I stop.

(sundial of a Warwickshire church tower)

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A time to see…

Emotions overcome many things, sometimes even the facts. A fact about ourselves is that God “has made everything beautiful in its time.” Yet, we might say, “Dream on. I just took a look in the mirror and, well … Let’s not go there.”

But, if we look deeper, we could see down into our hearts. Sure we might want to hide things, but God has put something profoundly beautiful inside us. “He has also set eternity in the human heart.”

Eternity. A longing for something that lasts. A longing for a relationship that never ends. A dream of never being forgotten, of being remembered and loved. And this is God’s dream for us – him forever relating with our beautiful hearts. Now this is a fact.

Quotes from Ecclesiastes 3:11