Photo Credits~

(owl:donaldthompson95 on flickr, luna:BillLepidoptera/harkphoto.com on flickr, willow/fence:trensamiro on flickr, all remaining: Merana Leigh)

Psalm 25:4-5

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;

guide me in your truth and teach me,


for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (NIV)





Drench yourself in words unspoken, Live your life with arms wide open,

Today is where your book begins, The rest is still unwritten. ("Unwritten" by Natasha Beddingfield)





It matters not how long we live, but how!



Saturday, April 2, 2011

Falling down...

Ok, so continuing on in my Lenten Studies & recently read C.S. Lewis comments about not being discouraged. We must realize that even at our best attempts to behave/be good, we are going to fail. Even with our best attempts, we are never going to achieve perfection...ever! But God is going to be there every single time we stumble, every time we trip, every time we out & out fall down...like the parents with outstretched arms encouraging the child to run to them.

We must remember, as C.S. Lewis says, "no power in the whole universe, except you yourself, can prevent Him from taking you to that goal" (of the perfection to which He is guiding us). Yes, only each of us, with our free will, can stand in God's way of bringing us to where we need to truly be. And to paraphrase Henri Nouwen, God is forcing us onward, upward, to a higher level by allowing situations where we must be more brave, more patient, and more loving that we ever dreamed of being before. To us, it seems unnecessary. That is only because we have no inkling of the tremendous person He intends to make of us, if we will just follow His lead. With that, I always go back to my Scripture prayer, Psalm 25:4,5 ~ Show me your way, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Yes, I believe it is wonderful to pray the Scriptures & this is one I do daily....several times a day.

Join in Spiritual Sundays for blessings & encouragement!

Artwork by Rick Hansen

6 comments:

  1. Great post. When I pray for marriages that are having troubles, I always pray that they not only become more loving but more loveable too. It is one thing to be more loving but others have to feel that we are loveable. Learning to let God guide us is a prayer I also pray daily.

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  2. Standing in agreement with you. We must be more brave, more patient and more loving.

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  3. Merana - so true, while there is nothing in the universe that separates us from the love of Christ, we can in our own free will, keep ourselves from achieving the purpose God has for us.

    Great reminder.

    Blessings,
    Joan

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  4. Our human condition wrecks havoc with one's soul at times, doesn't it? I believe that's why David was such a staunch advocate of storing God's word in the heart. Daily scripture reading is such a precious tonic!

    I also take great comfort in knowing that people like C.S. Lewis suffered terribly with doubt; and that Charles H. Spurgeon battled depression his entire life.

    Thank God the joy of the Lord is our strength.

    Blessings,
    Kathleen

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  5. my 15 year old always quotes...when I am afraid...I will trust in you.....I agree...it's good to quote scritpures...it takes away the negatives for me

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  6. Thank you for sharing this insight, Merana. I've heard it said that God isn't going to "drag" us into heaven. It is a choice we must make.
    Blessings,
    Charlotte

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