#amazinggrace Archives - Page 2 of 3 -

Just One Friend

Who knew today happens to be National Best Friend Day?!

Do you have friends who would open the roofs of heaven to bring down a deliverance for you, like the friends of the paralytic man in Luke chapter 5? Well, you are blessed.

The house where Jesus was preaching was overflowing with people. So the friends of a paralytic man tore down the roof of the house and brought down the paralyzed man and laid him before Jesus. Luke 5:20 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to him, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house”. Immediately he rose up before them, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

Sadly, not everyone is blessed with such friends, like the man at the pool of Bethesda (John chapter 5). A great multitude of people with various kinds of diseases stayed by the pool of Bethesda, because it was considered a miracle pool. At an unknown time, an angel would go into the pool and stir up the water. When the water got stirred, whoever got into the pool first was healed from whatever disease he had. As expected, a multitude of sick people stayed beside the pool, with their eyes on the water so that they could get into the pool when the water got stirred by the angel.

Beside this pool, a man who had an infirmity waited for 38 years to receive his healing. Not a year or two, but 38 very long years!

Unimaginable, as for most of us, that would make the most part of our life till now. He had no friends or family who longed for him to receive a healing so he was there all by himself at the mercy of others to carry him to the pool when the water got stirred. His 38 years of wait says that there was no one there to help him out because everyone needed their own healing first. And once healed, they just left.

Into the hopelessness of his situation, the hope of all hopes walked in – JESUS! No one told Jesus about this man. The Son of God knew that this man was stuck in his situation for a very long time. And yet Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be made well?”. The man replied, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool”. Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. 38 years of being stuck became history the moment Jesus walked into his situation.

Just as the man who had loving, caring friends, the man who had nobody also was healed by Jesus.

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Just One thing

Luke 10:41-42 Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled by many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her.

Like Martha, the world pressures us into doing this and that to keep up with the rat race, while God expects just one thing from us – to sit still in His presence – To be still and know that He is God. Psalm 46:10. It isn’t easy to be still when we see others run around like ‘chickens with no head’ to accomplish “something”. It takes an enormous amount of faith to “sit still” when the world runs around crazily and makes us question ourselves if we are missing out on something if we sit still.

A lot of times, we finally come to the point of “sitting still in God’s presence” after being exhausted by unsuccessful running around. And we learn then that He was right about being still, as always. He asks us to leave our battles to Him and that He will fight them and most importantly, “win” them – unlike us who love to fight our battles, and then only to lose those battles. He says that He can fill the ditches with water even if we don’t see the wind or rain. He is Sovereign. He can do anything that He pleases. He has no limitations.

King David was also doing so many things. And then he had a very honorable desire to build a temple for Yahweh(2 Samuel chapter 7). But God said, “Not you, my child”. Yet God was pleased with David’s desire and God promised David with blessings of eternal kingdom. And what did David do when he heard that? He went and sat before God’s presence and humbled himself saying, “Who am I, LORD, and what is my family, to deserve such a blessing?“. And what did God do? 2 Samuel chapter 8 says repeatedly, “The LORD gave David victory wherever he went”.

1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7. casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

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The dreaded “bench”

Every now and then, life seats us on the dreaded bench- the bench that is broken, hard, uncomfortable, and with sharp edges. There is no one who is spared from it. Everyone gets their turn to sit on it. You are either someone who got off the dreaded bench just now, still sitting on it, or is about to sit on one. It is often a lonely place. No one would desire to accompany us on such a bench. No One, but Jesus! My Jesus! My Savior! My dearest friend! He is my everything! The One who took me out of the slimy pits and washed me off and made me clean and fragrant!

Isaiah 46:4 Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs, I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry and will deliver you.

Regardless of the kind of bench that we are seated on, God promised to be with us till we are old and gray, till our last breath! And He is more than enough!

When God puts us on a wait, He has a purpose. So many clouds of witnesses in the Bible who have gone before us can testify to that. Waiting can be painful and dreadful because of the uncertainty of its timeline and the outcome remains unknown.

Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk, and not faint.

Abraham and Sara have sat on this bench for a long period of time in their old age, waiting for the son whom God had promised to them. Just as God promised, they received Isaac even when Abraham had to wait till he was hundred years old.

Joseph saw two dreams when he was seventeen. He had to sit on this bench through slave time and prison time till he became thirty before his dreams got fulfilled.

God told Noah to build an ark and to warn the people about the upcoming judgment thru the flood. He had to sit on this bench for a hundred and twenty years enduring the mocking of people. The flood came just as God warned and Noah’s family was kept safe in the ark which he had built obediently and diligently.

Rachel had to wait on this dreaded bench for a child while her sister Leah was blessed with many children. God blessed Rachel with Joseph and Benjamin – Joseph became the reason all of Leah’s children were fed and protected, while out of Benjamin came the first King of Israel.

Hannah had to sit on this bench just like Rachel. Her misery was so great that she offered the child back to God if He would bless her with a son. And God blessed her with Samuel who became the prophet who anointed the first two Kings of Israel.

The list goes on. All those who waited on God in faith and perseverance witnessed the promise-keeping hand of God Almighty!

1 Peter 5:6,7 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Has God put you on this dreaded bench? His eyes are on you, just as the refiner’s eye is on the metal being refined in the fire. You are in the process of being made as precious in His eyes.

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A puppet

I am a puppet in God’s hands. I delight in being a puppet in God’s hands. I am not a lifeless puppet. I am a living puppet, with emotions, strong willpower, rebellion, and so on and so forth. I have tasted and seen that my God is good and faithful and there is no one like Him. Pleasing God in everything is my only priority because I love Him with my everything. I have no words to explain how good He is to me! John 15:10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love. My only desire is to obey God in everything that He tells me and to praise Him all my life.

Why do I consider myself a puppet in God’s hands? Not always do I “hear” God. Sometimes, I hear Him speak in my thoughts, though with no audible voice, I can hear Him loud enough to catch my attention. Whatever He says would align with His character which is mentioned in the Bible. One such thing would be, “While you are waiting for me to come through in your situation, why don’t you pray for others?”. I instantly understood that was the LORD and started to pray for others, even though my own situation was like a flat tire. These are situations where I could hear Him clearly.

But there are also a lot of times when I don’t hear any instructions, but, initiating a text with someone or a conversation about a topic with someone would result in encouraging and lifting up their spirits. I have felt so overjoyed to hear that from them. Because even I would feel amazed by how I did those things without knowing anything about their situations. My prayer to God is, “Lord, use me. Anytime when someone needs an encouraging word to lift up their spirits, please remember me. Please pull the strings of my heart as a puppet to accomplish what You would want through me. Here I am, O Lord. Use me”.

I know how lonely the pits of depression and loneliness and failures and humiliations can be. I have been there for long enough to know how painful and hopeless that can be. But, my God took me out of that with His nail-pierced hands for a reason. He lighted my candle when I was in the dark. So I want to light the candles of others who are in the dark. Keep my candle going, O Lord. Help me to be the candle that draws people to Jesus. Amen! Hallelujah!

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He hears us

1 John 5:14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

15. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

Exodus 2:24 So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

James 5:16 b The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

In order to receive answers to our prayers, we should learn to pray according to God’s will. To know God’s will, we need to know God’s character through God’s word.

In Deut 32:10, when God told Moses that He will make him a great nation, Moses pleaded with God to turn from His fierce wrath against the Israelites. Moses did not want the Egyptians and the other pagan nations to disgrace the God of the Israelites for destroying them in the wilderness. Deuteronomy 9:19 says, “But the LORD listened to me at that time also”. Rather than the blessing that God offered him to be a great nation, Moses desired God’s name to be lifted high.

Though Hannah went through the unbearable agony of barrenness, she prayed that if God would give her a son, she will give that child back to God. When Hannah prayed this prayer, God opened her womb and gave her a son who served as a great prophet. And God also gave her three sons and two daughters.

When Esther realized that God had appointed her as the queen so that she can stand in the gap to protect His chosen people, she called for a prayer pleading for her own life and the life of God’s chosen people. God protected Esther and His people.

When Solomon became the King, God appeared to him in a dream and asked him what he wanted. Solomon asked for wisdom to lead the Israelites. God was pleased with Solomon’s request. God granted him wisdom like no other. He also gave him riches and honor.

Mathew 6:33 Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

May we learn to turn our prayer requests into God’s Kingdom purposes. Then we can be sure that our prayers will be answered.

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My Calendar

Psalm 31:15 My times are in Your hand;

I surrender my life’s calendar unto God’s hands. We love to control the happenings of our lives, don’t we? We convey our requests to God to approve our plans and agendas that are thought through by us. When God opens our eyes to see how He ordains the happenings in our lives, we are filled with faith to surrender everything unto His hands that ordains everything so perfectly.

At the end of 2019, I was without projects. God gave me two verses to hold on to as I was waiting on Him. When I asked the Lord, if my family was going to suffer financially, He gave me the verse,

1 Kings 17:16 For thus says the LORD God of Israel:’The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth’.

I held on to this Word and continued to wait in faith. A month went by, still did not get any project. My faith started to run dry. Then I asked, “Lord, will I have to leave this place with my head down?”. The Lord gave me another verse, Isaiah 52:12 But you will not leave in haste.

When God gave me these two verses, I held on to them. Just as He promised, He gave me a project by the end of the third month. I did not feel a bit happy about that project. So I cried to God for days, questioning why He would put me on such a project after such a wait. Then He helped me to understand that He does everything for His glory and my good. Slowly my heart started to accept the place where God placed me regardless of my dislikes.

So unexpectedly, that contract ended after 5 months. And I was in a spot to find another role.. again! Within two weeks, I was confirmed for a role, which was even worse than the previous one. This was the worst of all! I couldn’t understand why God would take me from bad to worse. Soon after starting that role, I understood the reason why God put me in that unpleasant role. One thing was that God wanted to teach me some lessons and straighten me out as I had some attitudes that had to be fixed. The second reason was that during the pandemic, God gave me an opportunity to help the people who lost their jobs due to the shutdown. I thanked God for the opportunity and worked there, till God miraculously took me out from there at His time and placed me on another project.

He kept me there for two years. And after that, when I least expected, the contract got terminated abruptly .. again! I felt so shaken when this happened but soon God helped me to understand why this happened. Now as I see the seasons that happen in my life, God helps me understand. Though I don’t understand what would happen next, I wait patiently on God yet again, as He has never failed me. Also, I now understand that nothing that happens is about me rather everything is about Him.

So now, rather than pushing my agenda to Him for approval, I surrender my entire calendar unto Him. May He fill my calendar with whatever He wants to accomplish through me. Amen!!

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Hidden fingers

Sarah could not conceive, while Hagar did.

Rachel could not conceive, while Leah did.

Hannah could not conceive, while Peninnah did.

If God had not intervened in these women’s situations. they would have just died in their misery, with no one to rescue them. What could they do anything about it? NOTHING. Who could question God about their situations? No one!

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.

It was God who had closed the wombs of these women. People around them could not see God’s hand which kept their wombs closed. So they taunted these women with pointed fingers. But when God’s appointed time came for these women, He did open their wombs and rewarded them for their painful wait. He rewarded them with special children, who were not simply ordinary children. Sarah gave birth to Isaac when she was ninety years old, giving us all hope that it is never too late for God to save us from our misery in any situation. Rachel gave birth to Joseph, who was sent ahead of time to Egypt so that the covenant of God could be preserved during the time of famine. Hannah gave birth to Samuel who served as the prophet who anointed the Kings of Israel.

Has God put you on a wait? He has a special blessing for you to compensate your waiting time! Just as how these women could not do anything to change their situation on their own, I mean, simply nothing, we might also be in situations where we can do nothing about them. There is nothing we can do except wait upon God and look toward His merciful hand. We go through the process of pointed fingers by people too. That is part of the journey. Though it can be daunting, considering that we cannot do anything to change our situation, we endure patiently. Because our God is our vindicator.

God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac who was born when he was a hundred years old. If God had not stopped Abraham who was obedient with no wavering, what would have happened to Abraham for the rest of his life? Pointed fingers.

Merciful Father in heaven spared Isaac, spared Abraham, and took it on Himself when He chose to send His own son, Jesus, instead to be sacrificed on the cross of Calvary.

Psalm 30:5 Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

Psalm 26:1 Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the LORD; I shall not slip.

Romans 8:32 He(The Father) who did not spare His own Son(Jesus), but delivered Him(Jesus) up for us all, how shall He(Father) not with Him(Jesus) also freely give us all things?

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If Only

Israelites saw so many mighty miracles from God’s hand. They witnessed the ten plagues that devastated the Egyptians, the tenth plague robbing the firstborn of Egyptians and their animals. Then Israelites saw the Red Sea part and drown the Egyptians who chased them. Israelites were fed by manna from heaven every day without having to labor for it, and so on and so forth.

Even after witnessing God’s faithfulness, they complained to Moses, because they began to crave other food than manna. They started to wail and cry, saying, “If only we had meat to eat!”. They craved the food they ate in Egypt – fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, garlic, etc. They began to despise the manna which rained from heaven.

When Moses heard the cries of the people, he got frustrated and complained to God about having to lead these ungrateful people and asked God to kill him instead. The LORD became exceedingly angry towards the people. He told Moses to tell the people to consecrate themselves to prepare for the next day to eat the meat that the LORD would provide. The LORD will now provide meat and they will eat it not just for one or two days, but for one whole month – until they are fed up with the meat. The LORD was angry because they rejected Him and said, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”.

Moses said to the LORD, “I have 600,000 men on foot. How do you say that You will give them meat for one whole month? Will there be enough flocks and herds to slaughter? Will it be enough if we catch all the fish in the sea for their food?”.

The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” Numbers 11:23

Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail from the sea. It scattered over the camps of the Israelites. The land was filled with quail and it was within their reach to catch them. Each of them gathered so many of the quails. They cooked them and while they started to eat, while the meat was still between their teeth, the LORD struck them with a severe plague. There they buried the people who had craved other food.

We see the faithfulness of God and the ungratefulness of people. Often we are just like the Israelites. No matter how many miracles we see God do in our lives, we often doubt His power when we face difficult situations. We often wonder if God can fix that situation. If God could part the Red Sea and make a way if He could feed the Israelites every day for forty years with manna raining from heaven if He could quench their cravings for meat by providing quails for 600000 men for one whole month, is there anything that is impossible for Him? NOTHING. The LORD’s arm is not short. His arm is mighty to do anything that He desires.

Psalm 16:5,6 O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.

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Bread and meat

Elijah brought the word of the LORD to Ahab, the wicked king of Israel that till he says again, there will not be dew or rain in the land. After he said this, the word of the LORD came to Elijah asking him to get away from that place and to hide by the Brook Cherith. God told him to drink the water from the brook and that He had commanded the ravens to feed him there.

According to the word of the LORD, Elijah went to the brook of Cherith. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and in the evening. Though the rest of the land was under famine, Elijah was fed day and night with bread and meat, brought by ravens. One day, the brook dried up, due to the famine.

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah, asking him to go to Zarephath, and to dwell there and that He has commanded a widow to provide for him. So Elijah obeyed and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the city, he saw a widow gathering some sticks. He remembered the word of the LORD and asked her for a cup of water. As she was about to bring water, he requested her to bring a small piece of bread too. The widow got frustrated at Elijah’s request and conveyed to him that she had only a handful of flour in a bin and a little oil in a jar with which she was going to make a last meal for her and her son and die as they had no more hope left.

Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth”.

So she obeyed and did according to the word of Elijah, And God multiplied the flour in the bin and the oil in the jar. The widow, her son, and Elijah ate for many days, till the famine was over.

There are no other means which can provide for us like God faithfully does. Elijah obeyed and brought God’s word of judgment to the nation and he was impacted by the famine too. But God provided for him without fail. And through him, fed a widow’s family too. Isn’t it amazing? God could have continued to feed Elijah with the ravens and the water in the brook. The widow’s provision was coming to an end to the last meal anticipating only death after that. God dried up the brook just in time and sends Elijah to the widow’s place in order to provide for her! Our Jehovah Jirah! As we wait on the LORD, God is able to provide through unimaginable ways for His name to be glorified! Who could imagine that ravens could bring food diligently morning and evening?!

Psalm 34:10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.

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By Fire

Elijah said to Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, who led the people to idol worship, that till he says again, there will be neither dew nor rain in the land. Just as Elijah said, there was no rain in the land for three years which led to a severe famine. In the third year, God told Elijah to visit Ahab and that He will send rain on the land. Elijah told Ahab to bring the Israelites, 450 prophets of the pagan God Baal, and 400 prophets of another pagan God Asherah to mount Carmel. And Ahab did just as Elijah said.

When all of them gathered in Mount Carmel, Elijah rebuked the Israelites asking them not to waver between two opinions but to follow either Yahweh or the other false gods. Then he challenged the prophets of the pagan gods to bring the wood for two altars and two bulls for sacrifice. He told those prophets to build an altar and cut one bull and place it on the altar. The challenge was that without putting fire on the altar, they are to call their gods. The God who answers by fire is the true God. They chanted and called on the name of their gods till noon, cutting their bodies and shedding blood too. But nothing happened. No fire consumed their bull sacrifice.

Then Elijah asked the people to come to his side. He first repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. Then he took twelve stones, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. With these stones, he built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he built a trench around the altar. He put the wood and cut the bull and placed it on the wood. Then he asked the people to bring four waterpots full of water and pour it on the bull, and the wood. He asked them to do that three times – i.e 12 pots of water. The water filled the trench around the altar too.

Now, Elijah said to God, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that these people may know that You are the LORD God and that You have turned their hearts back to You again”.

Immediately the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust and it licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”.

Two groups of people. One group chanted and screamed to their gods for half a day, shedding blood and hurting themselves, and yet with no answer. The other party just talked to God and the answer came immediately as mighty fire from heaven that consumed the sacrifice along with the wood, the stones and the dust, and the water. Which side do we belong to? Even if we talk to a person, do we not expect an answer? ‘Silence is golden’ might sound good in a proverb. It is not when it comes to desperate prayers. What is the use of worshipping anything that does not answer? On the other hand, fire from heaven, can human minds perceive this idea? Fire from heaven at a word from the man of God.

Refer to 1 Kings chapter 18.

1 John 5:14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

May we not waver between God Almighty and the idols of this world, which can be money, status, power, beauty, or anything else. And may the God who answers by fire answer our prayers and even our thoughts! May Almighty God be so close to our prayers, petitions, and thoughts! AMEN!

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