Words of life | Piece of the Puzzle

Words of life | Piece of the Puzzle

Posted on By Emma WilsonIn Words of Life

Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

Reflection:

I have completed two 1000-piece Jigsaws during this lockdown. At times I was convinced that someone had mixed two puzzles together and was having a laugh!
here are a lot of puzzled looks on faces at the moment, aren’t there? So many questions in all our hearts. When will things get back to normal? When can I see my loved ones?  It can feel overwhelming and even a bit scary as we try to make sense of everything. In our verse today God reminds us to ‘Fear not’. We need that reminder, we really do. We need to remember that He knows what the picture on the lid looks like.

Imagine each puzzle piece represents one year of your life. You can zoom right out, take the 2020 puzzle piece and know that it has a place in the Jigsaw; it isn’t a mistake. It’s a significant, pivotal, memorable year whose pattern and colour seeps into other years, but it’s a year ordained by God which He oversees. He knows how this year fits into your life and He invites you to rest in the truth of that as you navigate all the challenges it brings.

Prayer response:

Father, thank You that You see my life from the beginning to the end and every day of it is ordained by You. Thank You that You are always with me, always for me and always working everything together for my good. Help me to trust that Your strength within me is enough and that I can rest in the truth that You uphold me every single day. Amen.

Find the whole Words of Life series here

Words of life | For who is God, but the Lord?

Words of life | For who is God, but the Lord?

Posted on By Emma WilsonIn Words of Life

2 Samuel 22:32-33 (ESV)

“For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless.”

Reflection:

I don’t know about you, but I feel like this time of lockdown has been quite a revealer of my limitations, both in terms of how easily I am restricted by circumstances and external (lack of) freedom as well as a personal inability to be in control. It has highlighted my utter need for dependence on Christ. It has magnified an understanding that, outside of God, nothing can be 100% certain.

This verse brings me great comfort to those thoughts, because “Who is God, but the Lord?” and “Who is a rock, except our God?” You see, these limitations bring a freedom from needing to be in control of everything around us or needing to be ‘the strong one’; there is only one God and He is the Lord. He is the One who is our strength, our refuge, our rock, our salvation. Our need of Him is by His design and His desire; a need which brings freedom, grace and empowerment. When everything else seems out of control – sometimes including our thoughts and inner emotions – we can trust that God is still the Lord and He is still the rock.

Prayer outline:

Father, I thank You for Your grace and patience. I thank You for Your desire to be all that I need. You alone are God, the Lord, and I find security in that. I choose today to surrender afresh into Your capable hands and look to You as the One who is in control. I place You on Your eternal throne in my own life and let go of those expectations of myself (or others) to be what only You can be. Jesus, be magnified and glorified, lifted high as the steadfast rock and our salvation. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Find the whole Words of Life series here