Spiritual Reflection

Spiritual Reflection – 30th December 2007 am

Isn’t it amazing how much rushing around is associated with Christmas.. We have been so busy as a church – it was wonderful… I would like us to take time to reflect on our Spiritual lives and have a year end stock check. Let’s make sure that everything is ok and still in working order.

I. A Time of Stillness – Psalm 46:10-11

Be still, and know that I am God.” We cannot know God if we are rushing here and there with so many things pulling us in so many directions.

God, family, church

One of Satan’s traps is to get us so busy and involved in activity that we have no time to be still in the presence of God. Sometimes God must force us to be still. We must take time to get to know our Lord, to spend time with Him and listen to His still small voice.

1 Kings 19:11-12 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: [12] And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

Maybe the men will understand this. Has anyone been trying to talk to you when there is something on the TV? How can you hear when there is so much noise going on, it is difficult.

How then can you expect to hear what God is saying to you if there is so much business (noise) in your life and He is trying to talk to you in that still small voice and you can’t hear Him.

Verse 11 – This is such good news that the psalmist wrote it twice. (Verse 7)

Think about it! The Lord of hosts is with us. God almighty is our strength. The mighty Jehovah of all the ranks of angels is our strength. One angel in one night could smite all Sennacherib’s (king of Assyria) host!

2Ki 19:35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

All the angels of God are gathered around His throne, they rush to do His bidding, they are sent to minister to those who are the heirs of salvation. But the good news is better than that. The Bible does not say that these hosts are with us but that the Lord of hosts is with us.

Is it possible to believe that, with ten thousand times ten thousand angels to occupy His mind, He could be with us? To think that He is with us… with us in a desperate domestic need… with us in a financial bind… with us in our loneliness… with us in our weakness… with us despite our faults and our failings… God is with us!

Let’s take time to be still. Take time to know His presence. Take time to feel His presence. Take time to hear His voice… Be Still

II. A Time of Waiting – Isaiah 40:31

Often times when we rush or are busy we can become week. We need to renew our strength – how do we do that? By waiting upon the Lord.

We all grow weary physically and spiritually. There are times when we need to have our Spiritual strength renewed. That strength comes when we quietly wait on the Lord in studying His Word and praying.

God knows how we feel and how we fear and He is adequate to meet our every need. If we trust ourselves, we will faint and fall, but if we wait on the Lord, we will receive strength.

The word “wait” does not mean that we sit around and do nothing. It means “to hope,” to look to God for all that we need Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. This involves meditating on His character and His promises, praying and seeking to glorify Him.

The word “renew” means “to exchange,” as taking off old clothing and putting on new. We exchange our weakness for His power. As we wait before Him, God enables us to soar when there is a crisis, to run when the challenges are many, and to walk faithfully in the day-by-day demands of life.

“I can plod,” said William Carey, the father of modern missions. “That is my only genius. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything.”