Category: our needs

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Where we are born…

I have noticed that when we go through hard times, we often withdraw emotionally and physically. Yet, in our hiding places, God is working. He talks to our hearts. He reasons with our heads. He is training us in the silence until we are ready.

It is then we can emerge as unexpected heroes. We have overcome ourselves. We have dared to move out despite the fears we might carry. And we discovered that with God we can move on – step by step – in his strength.

(Based on the story of Gideon in Judges 6 – where he hides in a winepress and God calls him for there.)

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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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Where I forgot…

It can take years to realise that we have been unfair to ourselves. We can give all our energy to help others fulfil their dreams, but forget about our own. We can enable others to flourish, but neglect ourselves.

yellow lighted camp within mountain range during nighttime

Just last night I read a verse I have read a hundred times, and for the first time I noticed a word – YOUR. “Enlarge the place of YOUR tent, stretch YOUR tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen YOUR cords, strengthen YOUR stakes.” (Isaiah 54:2) 

God gave everyone of us a tent…

  • T – talents to develop
  • E – emotions to listen to
  • N – needs to fulfil
  • T – time to be ourselves

Finally, I too am paying more attention to my tent. 

Photo by Yash Raut on Unsplash