Dear…
‘Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!...Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.’
Psalm 107:1-2
I am a “one cart” horse or rather a “one song” repertoire vocalist as some will know, for “Give thanks” is the only song I can sing from memory, from the heart. But I am getting there in terms of doubling my capability, for while still the same song, I am now learning it in Mandarin, as part of my response to the Lord’s leading for ministry to the Mandarin speakers. With man, it is impossible, with God all things are possible.
The Spirit of God has stirred my heart these past few days with a desire to pen something that will truly address and speak to all of you, in a manner that only God knows is appropriate at this juncture of your life. The thought “A thankful heart” was the title inscribed upon my being, even as I struggled to follow the Mandarin characters of the lyrics of the song “Give Thanks,” on Youtube.
And how God indeed always affirms His will for this morning’s Daily Bread reading(Tues, Nov 22nd) was titled “Unexpressed gratitude,” from which the opening verse was the above Psalm 107:1-2
'Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me, yet Thy commandments are my delights.'
Psalm 119:143
The newspapers reported that 1 out of 10 Singaporeans will have depression problems. My sense is that all of us will enter into bouts of unhappiness, for the Bible rightly put it, "man is born to trouble." And indeed we live in a fallen world, compounded by our sinful yet finite understanding, trouble is almost our second skin.
And in staying close to God always, troubles will not go away, in fact, they seem attracted to determined followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. But the wonderful thing about our faith is that the Spirit of God, Who resides in our hearts, not just provides us that deep inner resilience, but imbue us with that almost wax like aura, that the arrows of the frustrated Satan and the deep claws of his demons, find difficult to grip on to our very being.
The experiential knowledge culled from walking closely with our Lord that indeed He is Sovereign, that He provides, much as He allows us to go through the trials of refinement, in answer to our prayers to be like Christ, has not just kept me going through this burdensome life, but to actually enjoy the day, much as the day is evil.
‘In Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, “For we are also His offspring.’
Acts 17:28
A thankful heart is the key that opens the door that will bring us unto the presence of God and His enabling grace. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. That, most of us who care to read the Bible knows. But God always affirmed our step of faith when we willingly take that step. A thankful heart teaches us to learn to submit to the will of God, much as our carnal self find it difficult to fathom His ways.
And like many who have experienced the sanctifying joy of the Holy Spirit’s ministering to our parched soul, peace and joy will lift us above the difficult circumstances enveloping our very being, But if it is just peace and joy, none of us will last the intense flames enveloping us. God will shelter us, like He did with the three faithful men(Daniel 3) who were thrown into the hotter than hot furnace for their steadfastness to God. And if shelter from our burning issues is not God’s will, He will show us His will and like Aseph, our woes will pale in comparison to His purpose.
'A man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.'
Proverbs 16:9
As I prepare to visit the core of Europe's present troubles, the intransigent Germany and the countries on its peripherals, I wonder, if by the time I return back to Singapore, would the world we know be very different from today? I know my present place of employ will be dramatically different after Dec 5th. Does one like most, put our troubling thoughts aside, and enter into the temporal intoxication of a holiday, to return to reality a few weeks later?
The peace God gives us is not in all brevity like such temporary diversions. The peace and joy that God gives us is independent of our circumstances. It is the reassurance that goes past our finite understanding. Yet it is a reminder that He is Sovereign, yet very aware of our finite needs, and like what His Spirit impressed upon my heart a decade back in Bangkok, " to stop questioning and start following." And in looking past our "troubles" and instead be very mindful of the distinct pebbles of grace our Great God has laid to smooth out our uneven walk of faith, we will not just be blessed with peace and joy, but be reinvigorated and imbued with His enabling grace and power to move forth down the preset path He has laid for the faithful.
'And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the Lord, this is that king Ahaz.'
2 Chronicles 27:22
Let us not compound our troubles like what the disobedient and sinful King Ahaz did, in turning further away from the loving hands of God. But instead, it is time to turn even more to God, for only He can lift us out of our present quagmire and what is to come.
Every Word of God is good, and let me close by pointing you to Psalm 119,and may these selected verses not just encourage, but empower you to know that God truly is with us, much as everything else seems to be fluid.
'My soul melteth for heaviness, strengthen thou me according unto Thy Word.'
Psalm 119:28
'Teach me, O lord, the way of Thy statues, and I shall keep it unto the end
Psalm 119:33
'Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.'
Psalm 119:105
'Make me to go in the path of Thy commandments, for therein do I delight
Psalm 119:35
'Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now have I kept Thy Word.'
Psalm 119:67
'It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn Thy statutes'
Psalm 119:71
'At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee because of Thy righteous judgments.'
Psalm 119:62
'Seven times a day do I praise Thee because of Thy righteous judgments.'
Psalm 119:164
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
23rd Nov 2011
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