I Love Devotionals by Wendy van Eyck

A small change

2018-01-11T05:59:00.000+02:00

When I started this blog I wanted to do three things with it:

- Have an outlet to practice writing,
- Get published, and
- Remind you that Jesus is with us in every hard thing.

In the 5 years since I started this blog my life has changed. The media landscape has changed. The life I imagined for myself has changed.

Last month after another scan our oncologist told us there is only a 2% chance of Xylon’s cancer recurring. Thank you, Jesus! It feels like a new start for us.

There were so many other new starts for me since I started blogging here. I’ve changed jobs twice. Last year, I left full-time employment to start an agency providing communications services to nonprofits.

I’ve moved towns, renovated a home, taken on two dogs, run 7 half marathons.

Some of the changes and new starts I’ve shared here and some I haven’t felt fitted the confines of writing devotionals. I haven’t known where to put that stuff. Slowly I’ve pivoted my twitter and LinkedIn profiles to share my broader interests but I’ve left Facebook and this blog with a narrow focus.

More and more I find the things that God is putting in my heart are about living mercy and justice and walking humbly with him (Micah 6:8). And as a Christian, and a white South African, I’m finding that means more and more speaking up about racism, prejudice, and inequality. Even when those conversations are hard and uncomfortable and messy. Maybe especially then.

These are topics are only things that challenge me personally and the wider Christian church but they are also the things the nonprofits I work with care deeply about.

I try to live a life where the values I learned from Jesus aren’t separated from my everyday or work life but the more I think about it on this blog and my Facebook page I’ve many times kept the every day out of the spiritual. For almost two years now, I have struggled with what to do here on the blog and on Facebook and at the end of last year, I felt like maybe it is time to do a small pivot.

What does this mean for you?
On the blog
I will still be writing and sharing here. I’m setting a goal to share a devotional or prayer here once a month. I know my posts have been infrequent and I will try to improve on that. From time to time, I might share guest posts or books I’ve been reading. If you are a current subscriber to this blog you will only receive posts I share on ilovedevotionals. If you don’t want to miss a post, you can subscribe here.

On Facebook
It means that I’ll be sharing more broadly on my Facebook page so if you follow me you’ll see posts about devotionals that I’ve written for this page but you will also see links to posts I write for ibelieve, quotes or bible verses that encourage me. You will also see me sharing posts I write on how to grow a nonprofit cause or fundraiser. Then from time to time, I’ll share interesting articles or videos that I find online and I think add value to discussions about racism, prejudice, and inequality. If you aren't following me on Facebook you can like my page here.

Thank you for joining me over the years as I’ve shared my journey of walking with Jesus. I hope as I walk this new path that we can continue to go together.

Where is God when bad things happen? (an update on Xylon’s health)

2015-05-25T05:30:00.000+02:00

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8 (ESV)

I’ve been crying bitter tears since Thursday.

On Wednesday the doctor told us that Xylon’s cancer has recurred.

It took me 24 hours before I cried. And then it was sobs right onto my husband’s chest.

God was meant to have healed Xylon this time. This is not the story he is meant to be living. Not the way I thought our story would be.

Every morning since Wednesday we’ve woken up hoping that this recurrence was just a bad dream. But every morning we realise this is our life, again.

There are still treatment options (if we choose to pursue them).

Right now I’m just sad. And a little angry to be in this place again (for the fourth time).

I'm struggling to find hope, to find God, in all of this.

I’ve always tried to share our story as honestly as I can.

I’ve always tried to portray that faith in God is not an easy thing. That being a Christian isn’t about appearing perfect or like you have it all together.

And that believing in Jesus doesn’t mean that you get rescued from bad stuff just that he is there with you in it.

I still believe all of this. Even though right now it’s hard to live it out.

So I’m just going to let my heart bleed here for today’s post.

I have very few words. Xylon and I both do. Mostly we just hug.

Most of the words, I can think of, are promises that I don’t know if we can fulfill, so I’d rather just let him know I’m there. Maybe that is how God feels right now too.

I don’t know what to pray. Xylon says he can’t speak to God right now. I get that.

I’m just defaulting to, “God, we don’t know what to do, but our are eyes on you.”

I guess, the honest truth is there are some places I don’t want to go – even with God. They are places I can’t imagine going without him, but that doesn’t mean I’m jumping up and down like a kid saying, “pick me, pick me!”

I’m still praying for a miracle. You can join us in that if you’d like. Let’s #prayforzero (zero cancer). (tweet this)

Because despite all of this, I still believe that God is a healer, that he is a God of the impossible, and that he can heal Xylon.

I just don’t always understand why he hasn’t yet.

Ponder: What helps you understand God in the midst of disappointment in your life?

Prayer: God, we don’t know what to do, but our are eyes on you. Amen.

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One thing you need to remember about your life

2015-05-18T12:40:00.000+02:00

For now, we can only see a dim and blurry picture of things, as when we stare into polished metal. I realize that everything I know is only part of the big picture. But one day, when Jesus arrives, we will see clearly, face-to-face. In that day, I will fully know just as I have been wholly known by God. 1 Corinthians 13:12 (VOICE)

If you look at our couch now it looks like something we spent a lot of money on.

But that's not the full story of our couch. In fact, that's not even part of the story of our couch.

We were given our couch because it was being thrown out.

The fabric was torn, it had stains from all kinds of bodily fluids and dirty hands and the cushions no longer held. Did I mention, it was also mustard yellow?

The previous owners had decided there was no salvaging it.

Xylon and I weren’t married and he lived in a one bedroom flat with just a bed, a microwave, and bicycle.

The thought of having something to sit on that you didn't need to pedal, even if it was past its best days was enticing. So he took the couch that was going to be thrown into the garbage.

We spent an afternoon with a rented steam cleaner sanitizing the couch and then covered it in a number of throws.

A year later, once we were married, this old couch moved with him into our new flat and became "our couch".

One of our wedding gifts was upholstery fabric for the couch. My sister-in-law, who works in the furniture industry, helped us source a good quality upholsterer at industry prices, and two weeks later our couch came home.

After some tender loving care the couch looked better than it ever had.

When we shared the picture with the previous owner they said, “Can we have it back?”

Sometimes it’s impossible to see the hard story when it’s covered up to look like new. (tweet this)

Most days I forget that if you look at our couch now you'd never guess its story.

Or that if you looked at Xylon and I walking hand-in-hand along the beach you wouldn’t know our story either. The one where half our total anniversaries have been in hospital wards while he had chemotherapy.

I felt God reminding me this weekend that I don’t know the full story of my life.

I only see in part. God sees the whole. (tweet this)

Your life is part of a bigger story. The hard parts aren't the whole story, they're just a chapter, and they're not how the story ends.

One day, Jesus will arrive, and we'll see the whole story, but for now just remember that this - this hard stuff you're walking through now - is only part of the story.

Ponder: What is happening in your life at the moment that you need to be reminded is only part of your story?

Prayer: Jesus, I realize that everything I know is only part of the big picture. I can’t wait for the day when you arrive, and I will see clearly, face-to-face. Thank you that for now I can rest in the confidence that I am wholly known by God. Amen.

PS: I thought since I was writing about our couch it would be fun to include a pic of it. So I snapped all the pics in about our house for this blog today. Sadly I couldn't find a pic in it's "before" condition so you just get an "after".

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How to know if it is time to leave your past behind

2015-05-11T05:30:00.000+02:00

A note from Wendy:

Today’s devotional is written by Fran Thring. I’m always partial to lending this space to another South African blogger. I hope you’ll enjoy her story (and feel challenged) about something as every day as a dining room table. I know it got me thinking.

Guest post by Fran Thring:

You and the Levite and the alien who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given you and your household. Deuteronomy 26:11 (NIV)

I live in the Dubai of Cape Town. People visit my apartment, walk through the double doors. And stop. “You live here?” I always feel slightly sheepish, “uh, yeah...”

I should not be living in that apartment.

I should not be living in that part of town.

I moved there after a year as a full time volunteer at my church. I hadn’t seen a vitamin in weeks, I was homeless and my bank account - let's avoid that topic shall we?

The apartment was a miracle.

From the moment I gazed through the double doors of my Dubai in Cape Town, life was fabulous. I lived in paradise.

There one problem though, this 5 star living didn’t come with a dining room table.

Flat screen TV, check.

Walk around kitchen, check.

Balcony overlooking the pool, check.

But no table.

A girl needs a table; a house needs a table and gosh, life needs a table.

Left with no option my housemates and I did what every self-respecting African does- speak to people who know people. There was bargaining, a trip to the wrong side of town, a man with missing teeth, and a week later we were the owners of a rustic 10-seater Oregon pine table. Perfection. It completed life like a salty cracker a good hard cheese.

That table was loved. From Mexican dinner parties, 21sts and pancake breakfasts to late night popcorn fights the table became an axis in a whirlwind of friends.

In 2014 I trudged through one of the hardest years in my life. I’m not sure what it was- a concoction of unmet expectations, exhaustion and loneliness, perhaps? My best friend moved back to the States and wrapped up tightly in her overhead luggage was my fabulous life of dinner parties and friends. Daily, I came home from work, curled up on my couch or sat at my table to face an onslaught of memories I had resolved I could never match.

Looking back, I know now, seated at that table – I had a choice.

I could open my heart, gently let go of the cold hard hurt growing clammy within its walls, or, I could sit there. Alone, stuck in my memories. Choices.

The bible says “you and the Levite and the alien who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given you and your household.” Deuteronomy 26:11 I could look around me at my household, the soft brown couches, balcony and double bed and see good or see bad.

I had to allow my apartment to gently remind me: Jesus cared enough back then and he cares now.
He is faithful.
That apartment reminds me good too comes undeserved.

Ponder: How long have you sat in your past?

Is it time to let things go and open your heart to the new people and opportunities God has waiting for you?

Who can you invite to join your table?

Prayer: God, thank you that you don’t let us sit in the past but invite us to move forward. As I inch towards the future keep my eyes open to the people you would have me invite to share their lives around my table. Amen.

About the author of this guest devotional:

I am kind, wildly ambitious, self-motivated, silly, fun-loving and energetic. I love the thought that when we are not stingy with the world, cool things happen. Writing and Jesus keep me sane(ish). Somedays I eat banana chips for dinner. I've started to blog here: franthring.com.

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Photo Credits (Creative Commons): unsplash.com | Design: Wendy van Eyck

A few thoughts on why Christians are leaving the faith in droves

2015-04-30T05:30:00.000+02:00

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)

“I offered her a banana during our cycle and she told me, ‘No thanks. I want to try this new product that I bought that says it is 100% natural energy,’” Xylon tells me on his return from his bike ride. “I looked at the banana in my hand and wondered how much more natural can you get?”

I laughed when Xylon told me this story but it stuck with me. It happened months ago but I still think about this incident a lot, about how his riding partner that day would rather eat something promoted as real fruit than a banana.

I’ve been thinking about this as I read this report about how Christians are leaving the faith in droves.

Sometimes faith is hard. Real hard. (tweet this)

When Xylon got cancer it was hard to believe in a loving God.

When my nephew was born with Down Syndrome it felt easier to question whether God exists then to believe he is in control.

Sometimes religion seems like an easier option than faith. (tweet this)

When Xylon got cancer bargaining with God that I would never miss a Sunday of church seemed easier than trusting that God cared for Xylon more than I.

When my nephew was born with Down Syndrome promising to pray three times a day if God would heal him seemed easier than burrowing into the arms of God and allowing him to change me.

Sometimes it’s easier to hold on to what we have, than to exchange it for what we cannot see. (tweet this)

There are plenty of times when I struggle with my faith, when I question God’s existence, but what I’m learning is that I’d rather have Jesus – his wounds, his love, his Godness and humanness – than anything else posing as the real thing.

Ponder: What makes you question God’s existence? And the flipside what convinces you he is real? (I’d love you to put your thoughts down in the comments on my blog)

Prayer: Jesus, help me to know you are real. Help me not to be tempted to trade the real relationship I have with you in for something that looks good. Amen.

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Photo Credits (Creative Commons): gratisography.com | Design: Wendy van Eyck

For those who feel like the broken things will never be made new

2015-04-06T10:23:00.001+02:00

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5 (ESV)

One of the things I love about Easter is the reminder that God makes all things new.

All things.

All.

Easter makes me believe that God can take all the broken things and make them whole again.

All things.

All.

I don’t know about you, but I often don’t see God’s redemption in all things because I’m looking at the broken things, thinking how they can’t be fixed.

As Easter comes to an end I’m reflecting on the thin places in my past where God has come and exclaimed,

“Look, I am making all things new.”

All things.

All.

Some thin places I'm reflecting on:

The little cactus that blooms red buds out of hard, dry soil, and reminds me that God can make something out of pain.

And there is my nephew being born in the same hospital where my mother nearly breathed her last. A symbol that God redeems heartbreak.

My husband lying in hospital waiting for his bone marrow transplant and God bringing the story of Joseph to mind so I don't forget that God can mend broken dreams.

So today, as I think about all that Jesus did for us on Calvary, I’m praying God will open my eyes to how he is making all things new.

All things.

All.

And I’m looking for the invitation from God that whispers:

Welcome to our beginning!

Ponder: Ask God to reveal one moment in the past week that he has brought life where there was death. (I’d love for you to share what God shows you in the comments.)

Prayer: God, open my eyes to you bringing new life to all things. (tweet this)

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Photo Credits (Creative Commons): Unsplash.com | Design: Wendy van Eyck

When God pushes you out of your comfort zone

2014-02-20T06:00:00.000+02:00

Moses raised another objection to God: “Master, please, I don’t talk well. I’ve never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer.”

God said, “And who do you think made the human mouth? And who makes some mute, some deaf, some sighted, some blind? Isn’t it I, God? So, get going. I’ll be right there with you—with your mouth! I’ll be right there to teach you what to say.” Exodus 4:10-12 (MSG)

I like quiet. I like reading. I like doing most of these things on my own.

My husband on the other hand likes noise. He likes talking. He likes doing everything with anyone.

Sometimes this causes problems. It creates a push and pull effect. A simple question like, “Shall we go to this event?” can turn into a long negotiation.

This happened recently when Xylon received an invite to an event that evening.

He really wanted to go. I really wanted to go back to our friends’ apartment and have a quiet evening.

But every objection I brought up Xylon had an answer for.

A couple of hours later I found myself attending the event with him, listening to speeches by Former US President Bill Clinton and Morgan Freeman, and thinking sometimes it is good to be pushed out of my comfort zone, that sometimes it is only when I do things that make me feel uncomfortable that I learn.

I live a small life when I stay inside my comfort zone. (tweet this)

The moments when my husband tries to nudge me out my comfort zone often makes me think of the story of Moses in Exodus 3 and 4.

Moses raised another objection to God: “Master, please, I don’t talk well. I’ve never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer.”

There is Moses coming up with excuses and God countering every single one.

There is Moses stammering about being scared and there is God saying I’ll be right with you.

There is Moses talking his weaknesses and God pointing out His strengths.

As I read this story, I wondered if Moses ever had a moment when he looked back on that conversation and was so grateful that God pulled him away from herding sheep to shepherding people.

Moses would have lived a very small life if he hadn’t allowed God to coerce him into a God-imagined future.

All of this has made me ask myself, “Am I listening for God inviting me to live a different life? Am I open to him nudging out of my comfort zone into the future only he knows for me?”

Ponder: What uncomfortable thing is God asking you to do right now? Imagine God was countering your objections like he did with Moses what do you think he’d say to you?

Pray: Lord, nudge me out of my comfort zone into the life you’ve imagined for me. Amen (tweet this)

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Photo Credit (Creative Commons): Field of Daisies: xlt.lv Barefeet: Merra Marie Curtsy: Danielle Moler | Design: Wendy van Eyck

When you’re wondering if God can really see the future (& a free printable for the days when you think he can’t)

2014-01-13T04:45:00.000+02:00

I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:8 (NIV)

I squint at the road ahead. I can barely see through the rain.

I wait for wipers to wash the water away, but they only make the road ahead seem even murkier.

I look at my husband who is driving and wonder how he sees the road ahead. I am tempted to tell him to pull over.

There is no way he can see where we are going.

I try to focus out his side of the window and notice that his side is clear. The wipers on his side of the car work just fine.

I remember him telling me that the car shop didn’t have two wipers so he just changed his.

My fear is unfounded.

I breathe out. My husband can see the road ahead.

I stop looking out the window and focus my eyes on my husband’s face and engage in the conversation about what our future might look like. I forget that my view of the road is so blurred.

I do that kind of thing all the time: try to take control of a situation by worrying.

Driving on the highway in the rain I have to remember that my husband can see more clearly than me.

It's the same with God. I get uptight because he can see the road ahead more clearly.

I doubt the Psalmist every drove but he wrote a verse that I’ve found myself holding onto,

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

I am trying to stop focusing on the things I can see and focus more on the God who sees all things. (tweet this)

Instead of peering into the future and panicking because I can’t see where God is leading me I’m trying to speak to God about the dreams he’s put in my heart.

I’m finding when I speak to God about my fears for tomorrow I focus on him instead of my cloudy view.

Stressing about tomorrow, when God has so much more planned for me then I can imagine, seems foolish. (tweet this)

So I am keeping my eyes on the Lord because with him at right hand, I will not be shaken.

Ponder: Do you ever wonder if God can see the future more clearly than you can?

Prayer: Lord, help me to keep my eyes on you. Amen. (tweet this)

{Free Printable}

I find it helps me to print out verses that remind me of the truths about God to help me through days when I wonder if his promises are true. If you’d like to print this verse and put it somewhere you’ll see it often go here for the free PDF download.

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Photo Credits : Old House kevin dooley Road marking visualpanic & Flowers seyed mostafa zamani | Design: Wendy van Eyck

Have you settled for an average life?

2013-12-12T08:51:00.000+02:00

Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT)

For six months my husband received chemotherapy once every fourteen days. I would sit with him while the drugs fell down the drip in a race to his veins.

Some days his neighbours would be withdrawn. Other times I would sit next to someone who just wanted to chat for the five or so hours it took for the infusion to happen.

We met some of the most feisty, gutsy men and women on these days: warriors who lost breasts, bladders and colons but still refuse to let death win.

On the days when I sat next to someone quiet I would look around the room and remember how fragile life is.

And how brave, beautiful and inspiring the people who choose life in the midst of pain, suffering and illness are.

I learnt so much about life during my time in the treatment room.

I realised I can choose life.

In Deuteronomy 30:19 God says, “I have given you the choice between life and death…choose life.”

So often I have taken that to mean choose God.

Watching my husband’s fellow oncology patients, I discovered I can either let death steal from me, or I can choose to fight for the life I want.

These men and women I met each week fought for life.

On the other hand I thought about how many times I am complacent in my life.

I’ve settled for the life I have rather then reaching for the life that is possible. (tweet this)

I forget that when I was young I dreamt of a life filled with adventure. I dreamed big for God and expected that he would fulfill the desires he put in my heart.

God gave me big dreams because he wants me to do great things for him. (tweet this)

Each time I fail to pursue the life I believe God has given me, I am choosing death.

In the treatment room the choice is painfully apparent: life or death. Often I pretend that I’ll be able to select one of these options forever: life or death.

The truth is I am not able to. It is time to start choosing to fight for the life that I desperately want.

I am choosing life. Will you join me? (tweet this)

Ponder: What does the life you want look like? What choice have you made recently to fight for the life you want?

Pray: Lord Jesus, I want to choose life. Remind me of the dreams you’ve given me and show me the path you want me to take. Amen.

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Photo Credits : Candy Floss noraptors Dandelion LifeSupercharger & Grass MSVG | Design: Wendy van Eyck

Is cancer (or any illness) part of God’s will?

2013-11-07T08:02:00.000+02:00

I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: “Look! Look! God has moved into the neighbourhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone.” Revelation 21:3-4 (MSG)

Four months ago my husband was in hospital receiving a stem cell transplant.

It’s hard to believe if I look at him now. He looks healthy, we cycle together, and we’re both talking and dreaming about the future.

Most of the time, for us, cancer isn’t a daily reality in our lives. And we like it that way.

It’s hard to completely forget though when every month there are visits to the oncologist and today his morning is filled with a PET scan.

The first PET scan since his stem cell transplant. It’s an important one and how we find out if the stem cell was successful, and if all the cancer cells are dead.

It’s one of those things you know you have to do but you dread because you might not like the outcome.

We’re praying it’ll be clear. Is there really any other way to pray?

Even praying, “Let your will be done,” seems traitorous and risky. I only want God’s will to be one thing: a clean bill of health from my husband.

I’m scared to admit that, let alone write it. So often I feel that as a Christian I’m supposed to be accepting of bad things because it’s part of “God’s will”.

I believe God is in control. I have felt God holding me from the moment my husband was diagnosed, through 17 chemo’s and his transplant. I have witnessed God perform miracles when it comes to my husbands’ health. But I don’t think cancer is part of his will.

God can use cancer to fulfill his purposes, but I don’t think God condones cancer.

I think God hates cancer as much as I do. (tweet this)

I find it pretty strange that cancer would be part of God’s will, when Revelations 21:3-4 says that when God takes us home to live with him forever there will be no sickness, pain or death.

Sickness, pain and death: three words that could sum up the cancer experience for millions of people.

Yet God chooses to have none of that in heaven. In fact, he hated those things so much that he sent his own son - Jesus - to die, so that we could live forever without sickness, pain or death.

Jesus’ pain and death were used by God to ensure that one day there will be no more suffering. God didn't waste Jesus' suffering.

I’m not sure why there is sickness, pain or death now. I wrestle with the idea that a good God can allow bad things to happen. I don’t have all the answers to why God needs to wipe so many of our tears away.

All I have is, hope. A steady confidence that God doesn’t waste anything in my life - and that he definitely does not squander sickness, pain or death.

All I have is the hope, that even in the face of things like cancer and PET scan results, I can be carefree before God because God is most careful with me.

Ponder: Do you believe that illness is part of God’s will?

Prayer: Jesus, help me see beyond sickness, pain and death to hope that I find in you. Amen. (tweet this)

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Photo Credits : Clothes Pegs Jsome1 Flowers & Tree seyed mostafa zamani | Design: Wendy van Eyck

For the times when the future scares you

2013-10-31T14:00:00.003+02:00

God, listen to me shout, bend an ear to my prayer. When I’m far from anywhere, down to my last gasp, I call out, “Guide me up High Rock Mountain!” Psalm 61:2 (MSG)

I don’t like not knowing what is ahead of me.

I realised this while driving this morning.

A delivery truck pulled in front of me and then braked.

The lane I was in stopped moving and I didn’t know why.

It frustrated me so much. I sat and watched other cars pass me and all I could do was sit and wait for my lane to move. I didn’t know what was holding me up and I couldn’t see past the delivery truck in front of me.

I felt myself getting anxious.

Then I wondered if maybe I was anxious about more than not being able to see what was causing the delay in the traffic.

I start a new job tomorrow. And a few months after that my husband and are planning to move continents. There is a lot of uncertainty in my life at the moment.

I don’t like not knowing what is ahead of me.

I like certainty and control.

In the last few years with my husband’s cancer diagnosis I have had very little of these things.

In fact the one constant in all of this was my job. Now that is changing too and I find myself identifying the phrase in Psalm 61:2 about my heart being overwhelmed.

I remember the prayer David utters right after that,

“Lord, guide me!”

I start praying it. Praying it as I drive behind a big delivery truck.

Lord, guide me.

Praying it as I pick up a few things I need before my new job.

Lord, guide me. (tweet this)

And I’ll be praying it tomorrow as I walk into a new job not knowing what is ahead of me.

Lord, guide me.

I may not know what the future holds but I do know the one who holds the future. And for now, that is enough. (tweet this)

Ponder: What things are you worried about the future? Have you reached the point where you are ready to pray, “Lord, guide me!”?

Prayer: Lord, guide me.

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Photo Credits : Binoculars Dirk Dallas daisy and grass via photopin | Design: Wendy van Eyck

When everything changes

2013-10-14T05:15:00.000+02:00

By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God. Hebrews 11:8-10 (VOICE)

It’s been almost a month since I resigned.

Four weeks since I spoke to my staff and told them I won’t be walking into that office the same way I have for the last six years.

There was no easy way to say it. There was no easy way to prepare my staff for the changes that will come. The new things for my staff and my self.

I’ve been overwhelmed at times with the weight of these changes.

You see, I don’t really like change, and with this decision to resign I threw myself into a whirlpool of change in my life: where I work, where I live and even eventually, if things go according to plan, the language that I speak.

It’s ironic because I love new places, trying novel things and learning about different cultures but discovering is different to changing.

Discovering simply requires uncovering something. It’s like the moment when I realize that I get angry when I’m insecure.

Change on the other hand looks for transformation and adjustment to whatever comes our way. It’s the moment when I bite my tongue, remain vulnerable and decide not to react in anger out of insecurity.

Discovery is easy. Changing is the hard part. (tweet this)

Lately I’ve been wishing that I could just discover rather than change, that I could adventure through life without having to transform who I am.

These feelings have come because there has been backlash to my resignation and unkind words spoken. I’ve wondered if this choice to move forward, to change, to grow, to move out of a rut is worth it.

As I’ve thought about the roots of these feelings, I’ve discovered that much of it comes because over the last few weeks, I’ve been keeping my eye on the changes that are happening, rather than on God.

The shift from eternity to my problems happens so easily.

In the Bible there is a chapter on faith in Hebrews 11. It talks a lot about Abraham and how he said yes to God’s call even though he had no idea what it meant.

The part that really drew my soul was the line about how Abraham kept his faith through all the changes this decision brought by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations.

Abraham was a man who changed everything about his life because he believed in the promises God had made about his future.

When everything changes if I don’t keep an eternal perspective it is hard to believe that God is the one in control.

Now I’m trying to let this discovery change me.

When I start to feel that I’d rather adventure than transform, I think about Abraham, and what his choice to change meant for the eternal kingdom that God is building.

Ponder: What have you discovered about yourself recently? How will use that discovery to change?

Pray: God, help me to keep my eyes focused on you and to see all these changes in my life from an eternal perspective. Amen.

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In my free e-book Life, Life and More Life I share some of the thoughts on how to make every moment count gleaned from my experiences of loving my husband through 18 sessions of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.. If you would like a copy please subscribe to receive my devotionals every Monday and Friday.

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Is God trying to ruin my life?

2013-09-25T05:30:00.000+02:00

[A note from Wendy: Usually I post devotionals every Monday and Thursday. However I'm taking a bit of blogging break. I'll be back to my normal routine from the 14th of October. Until then I'll be posting once a week every Wednesday. Today I'm giving this space to Jenna de Wit who is very bravely speaking about pursuing dreams.]

{Guest devotional by Jenna de Wit}

May God give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. Psalm 20:4 (NIV)

As a young girl, I had big plans for my future; I was going to change the world.

There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I could, one day, make an actual difference in the world and nothing was going to stop me.

Years later, and ‘one day’ still features in my life plan.

I’ve come to realise that I am so incredibly afraid of taking steps toward my dreams that I’ll put any excuse in the way.

As a matter of fact, it’s taken me months to write this blog because of that fear. I was so afraid of the truth I might reveal about what God thinks of my dreams that I didn’t even dare to begin.

You see, I was always under the impression that God would think my dreams were silly, and childish, and a complete waste of time, so I didn’t really speak to him about them.

I was also afraid to say to God, “here I am, send me!” and actually mean it, because I thought God would most likely send me in the complete opposite direction of my dreams, to make a life in a rural town in the middle of nowhere, as a missionary.

While I fully appreciate people who do travel the world and leave every comfort behind them to evangelise, I knew in my heart that it wasn’t for me.

Do you know who else knew it wasn’t for me? The One who placed the moon and the stars in the sky, the One who created you and me, the One who knows my heart like the back of his hand. God.

God gifted each and every single one of us with talents, passions, and a nagging desire to fulfill our dreams.

It was James who said, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the heavenly father of lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows” (James 1:17)

God wants you and me to make full use of our gifts and follow our dreams, the dreams he gave us.

I know, the idea of pursuing your dreams is scary, and a million reasons why it won’t work are probably flooding into your mind, but there is one reason why it will: God.

He will never leave you to face this world on your own and he will be by your side every step of the way.

God has great plans for you and me, bigger plans than we could ever imagine. (Tweet this)

He didn’t ever promise the road will be easy and the chances are you’ll take a few detours along the way but fear not, putting your trust in God to guide you will always, always lead to triumph.

Ponder: Do you have a passion or a dream that you have been ignoring? Knowing that God is by your side, how can you take a small step toward that dream?

Prayer: Lord, give me the courage to pursue my dreams. Amen

{About the author of this guest devotional}

Jenna de Wit is a PR Account executive, living in Johannesburg, South Africa who has a passion for writing and a passion for Christ. She is a pinterest addict and beach lover who is always trying to inspire as well as be inspired by life. Read her blog Crazy Beautiful and find her on twitter at @Jen_deWit. You can read her previous guest devotional about how God is fighting enlessly and tirelessly for you here.

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In my free e-book Life, Life and More Life I share some of the thoughts on how to make every moment count gleaned from my experiences of loving my husband through 18 sessions of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. If you would like a copy please subscribe to receive my devotionals every Monday and Friday.

Photo Credits : Stationary jinterwas Compass Calsidyrose Suitcases bubbo.etsy.com | Design: Wendy van Eyck

When hanging on is a struggle

2013-08-01T09:58:00.000+02:00

You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does. 1 Peter 5:9-11 (MSG)

“My son is being admitted on Friday, they still don’t know what is wrong.”

“My friend with Leukemia....”

“I had a miscarriage on the weekend.”

“My wife crashed her car.”

“My boyfriend is suing for custody.”

This past week I’ve had all of these conversations.

Tough words have been forced out of mouths. I’ve watched as tears are held back out of bravery or pride or the fear that once they fall they might never stop.

I’ve felt helpless and hopeless and tired.

I’ve spoken inadequate words to fill voids of silence.

I’ve felt angry that there is so little that can be said or done. I’ve wondered at how there can be so much pain and suffering packed in among the thirty or so people I interact with on a weekly basis.

I was thinking about this when I read 1 Peter 5 this morning.

You are not the only ones plunged into these hard times.

It’s the same with Christians all over the world.

So keep a firm grip on the faith.

The suffering won’t last forever. (tweet this)

It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good.

God gets the last word; yes, he does.

These words written thousands of years ago reminded me that everyone struggles with hard things, with pain, with loss but my story doesn’t end there.

My generous God gets the last word.

I still feel helpless and tired, but not hopeless: the suffering won’t last forever.

Ponder: What is happening in your life right now that is making you feel hopeless? Do you believe that a day is coming when God will end your suffering?

Pray: God, life is hard. I’m struggling to keep a firm grip on my faith. So hang on to me when I’m letting go. Amen. (tweet this)

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Photo Credits : Closeup knots: psyberartis tanakawho Container: Stuck in Customs Iron Heart: tanakawho (all found via photopin cc) | Design: Wendy van Eyck

Do you want God's greatest blessing for your life?

2013-07-29T05:30:00.000+02:00

One day, the Eternal One called out to Abram.

Eternal One: Abram, get up and go! Leave your country. Leave your relatives and your father’s home, and travel to the land I will show you. Don’t worry—I will guide you there. I have plans to make a great people from your descendants. And I am going to put a special blessing on you and cause your reputation to grow so that you will become a blessing and example to others. Genesis 12:1-2 (VOICE)

“Lord, take me to the place of your greatest blessing.”

I read this prayer somewhere in my teens. Those 10 words resonated deep within my soul. They scared me a little bit.

I realized that speaking this prayer gave God permission to walk me up hills, through valleys, to show me sunrises and to hold me through dark nights.

If I wanted a comfortable life I would be better off not saying this prayer: in my heart, out loud, at all.

I know it isn’t a traditional prayer of protection.

Every time I pray this, it feels like I’m daring God. (Tweet this)

It feels more like an invitation for God to come and shake my life up, then like a plea for God to show me his favour and protection.

I pray it anyway.

I pray it because I don’t think God is reckless with my life. I pray it because I believe God is trustworthy.

I pray it because I don’t want to miss out on any of the blessings that God has for me, even when those blessings come through tears.

I whispered this prayer beneath a canopy of trees on my wedding day, “Lord, take me to the place of your greatest blessing.”

Eight months later I prayed it out between sobs when my husband received his cancer diagnosis, “Lord! Take me…to the place of….Your. Greatest. Blessing.”

Sometimes, like that day, as I’ve prayed it, I’ve felt the weight of this prayer.

The significance of telling God that even though I’m terrified of what I am about to go through, I trust that through it, and out of it, I will find the place of God’s greatest blessing for my life.

I think Abraham must have felt a little bit like this when Genesis 12:1-2, says, One day, the Eternal One called out to Abram (God hadn’t named him Abraham yet but it’s the same guy), and said, “Abram, get up and go! Leave your country. Leave your relatives and your father’s home, and travel to the land I will show you.”

As I read this, I am reminded how sometimes the path to God’s greatest blessing is the one I would never choose to travel.

Often finding God’s blessing calls for upheaval, for goodbyes and hellos, and for trusting God when the future is unclear. (Tweet this)

Sometimes when I pray “Lord, take me to the place of your greatest blessing,” I fail to acknowledge that this isn’t a prayer for safety. This is a prayer for blessing, and God's favour and protection does not always mean a sheltered, pleasant life.

If I look at Abraham’s life, I can see he was greatly blessed by God, but a good life didn’t fall in his lap.

Abraham went through a lot of tough things and even at the end of his life he only glimpsed the full glory of the promise God had made to him.

It’s almost been a month since my husband left hospital after his stem cell transplant but I’m starting to think of the future, beginning to think again what life might look like and I’m finding this prayer on my lips again,

Lord, take me to the place of your greatest blessing. (Tweet this)

What ever it means this time, wherever it means you’re taking me Lord, I’m ready.

Ponder: How do you define blessings in your life?

Pray: Lord, take me to the place of your greatest blessing. What ever it means this time, wherever it means you’re taking me Lord, I’m ready. Amen.

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Photo Credits : Purple Umbrella: 55Laney69 Girl in gumboots: Stuck in Customs Puddle: ecstaticist (all found via photopin cc) | Design: Wendy van Eyck

Do You Have A Dream?

2013-05-20T11:07:00.000+02:00

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! Ephesians 3:20 (MSG)

Photo: seyed mostafa zamani via photopin cc | Design: Wendy van Eyck

“Careful if you dream for God because nothing is impossible. If he wants you there, he’ll take you there and you will never, ever, be the same again.”

My youth was spent singing these lyrics, believing these lyrics, waiting to see the impossible.

As a young teen I had crazy big dreams with God.

I thought I was going to be own a huge media empire.

Then my life took some twists and turns and this dream seemed stupid, naïve, adolescent.

A decade or so later I went to an interview and God reminded me of my media dream. It had revolved around a warehouse where young people and teenagers could hang out and discover that Jesus not only loved, but liked, them.

During the interview, I was told that the set for the TV show, which I would be working on, would be a warehouse.

This was the blooming of my teenage dream into something I could never have imagined.

On the drive home, I kept saying thanks to God and laughing.

I think God was laughing too.

My dream would have reached two or three hundred kids; God’s dream reaches millions across the entire African continent.

My dreams were too small; God’s dreams were beyond my wildest imaginings.

That was the day I learnt God isn't limited by our small dreams. (tweet this)

I’ve been working there for 6 years now. It’s been hard and it hasn’t always felt like I’m living a dream. Often it has felt like hard work and sweat and tears but it’s been amazing to live a dream.

Some of the best dreams you can live are the ones you can't even imagine right now. (tweet this)

I don’t know about you but as I’ve grown older I find that I dream less.

I’m not talking about the kind of dreaming that interrupts you sleep but the kind of dreaming that hopes for the future, that wonders what God has in store, the kind of imaginings that wonder what big things God wants to do with my life.

I’ve been wondering if my lack of dreaming about the future somehow holds God back from “WOW”-ing me.

Of course, God doesn’t need my dreams to do amazing things but he does need my heart to be available to him.

Somehow I think dreaming for God is part of that. It’s part of making ourselves available to him and saying, “I’m in God, no matter what crazy plan you have up your sleeve.”

I don’t know about you but I’m daring to dream for God again, won’t you join me? (tweet this)

Are you currently dreaming some big dreams for God? If so, why not write them down and share with a close friend? If you haven’t dreamt for God for a while why not pray this prayer with me?

Photo: seyed mostafa zamani via photopin cc | Design: Wendy van Eyck

You can share this devotional on twitter by clicking here. I’d also love for you to connect on my facebook and twitter pages or leave a comment here about a time that God has shown you that he cares.

This One Is For The Outcast, The Forgotten & The Person Held Back By Their Past

2013-03-21T08:06:00.000+02:00

Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, taking all his meals at the King’s table. He was lame in both feet. 2 Samuel 9:13 (MSG)

photo credit: D. Sharon Pruitt via photopin cc
Design: Wendy van Eyck

Do you ever feel like an outcast?

Have you ever felt forgotten?

Are you the person who feels crippled by your past?

Believe it or not there is a story in the Bible written just for you. It’s a story of seeing invisible people, being kind to the forgotten and sharing life with a person marked by the burden of their past.

This story is found in 2 Samuel 9 and goes something like this:

David, now Israel’s King, sets out to discover if any of the previous Kings descendants are still alive.

Only one grandchild was still alive. His name was Mephibosheth and he was a cripple.

With the rest of Mephibosheth’s family murdered, and he himself having been disabled while running away from a massacre at 5 years old (2 Sam 4:4), it is understandable that he was shaking when he entered the Kings’ court.

“Don’t be afraid,” King David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

Mephibosheth was living in obscurity just the day before: forgotten, broken and alone. Then the King seeks him out and changes his fortunes forever.

I love this story because it reminds me that when we deserve no blessing, or think we are nobody, God comes and finds us and blesses us with more than we can imagine.

When God, our King, seeks us out, we can find ourselves dining at the King’s table as though we are a son and not the crippled child of an outcast family.

God doesn’t invite us to the table because we are an outcast, forgotten or limping, he asks us to sit with him because of who our Father is, simply because we are a part of his family.

If you feel like an outcast: God says, “Come sit with me, you are one of the family.”

If you feel forgotten: know that God has remembered you and he’s searching for you, longing to bring you back.

If you feel crippled by your past: God is looking beyond that to your future. He is giving you what you need for the right now and enough to take care of you into the future.

You are loved, seen and whole. (Tweet this)

If you are feeling alone, forgotten or overlooked know your King is out there looking for you, seeking you out to lavishly bless you, for no other reason than that you are related to him.

What others have said about you, your family name or your past no longer defines you. (Tweet this)

God does.

God has noticed you, your inheritance has been restored and he has completely changed your future.

Question: What holds you back from living like you believe this?

A prayer for the outcast, the forgotten and the person crippled by their past:

photo credit: D. Sharon Pruitt via photopin cc | Design: Wendy van Eyck

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God Can Make Something Out of You

2012-12-31T05:22:00.000+02:00

First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss. Genesis 1:1-2 (MSG)

Photo: Creationswap.com | Design: Wendy van Eyck

Do you know anyone who has ever created something out of nothing?

I mean: nothing.

Not someone who can with a few brush strokes bring forth art.

Not someone who can put a few stitches here and a few stitches there and come out with a dress.

I’m talking about someone who really creates out of nothing. Nada. Diddlysquat.

I don’t know anyone who has ever done that. Except for God.

Genesis tells us God created the earth out of nothing.

I love that the bible tells us that. I love that it tells us God created all that we know out of zilch.

The earth God created is beautiful, breathtaking and magnificent.

No one would he ever think God made the earth out of nothing.

Which makes me think that if God can create beauty out of vacuums how much more can he create with our lives?

Maybe you believe that you are worth nothing.

Or that if you weren’t around nothing would change in the world.

Perhaps you’re reading this thinking that you’ve got nothing to offer.

Or you’re the one thinking, “Why bother? Nothing will ever change.’’

Possibly, your life has been so broken, horrible and dark that you believe that nothing will ever be right again.

But all these nothings are nothing to God.

If God could create the earth out of a void he can do something pretty amazing with the nothing you have to offer him.

God can take the “nothing” that you have and turn it into something beautiful, breathtaking and magnificent.

He’s done it before and God can do it with you.

Why not give God a chance to make something out of nothing with your life? Ask God to create something out of the nothings in your life this year.

If you’ve seen God make something out of the nothings in your life please share in the comments. I really believe your story could be an encouragement to others.
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Where Is God In Unknowns & Questions?

2012-12-03T05:32:00.000+02:00

We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! 1 Corinthians 13:12 (MSG)

Photo: Creationswap.com | Design: Wendy van Eyck

My husband may or may not have cancer.

The Doctors cannot confirm whether it has reoccurred. They cannot say that he is cancer free either.

All we can do is wait and see what happens.

See if the next biopsy shows more cancerous cells.

Or if the next scan shows the lymph node returning to its normal size.

We’re living in limbo.

Sometimes in conversation we find ourselves allowing our dreams for next year to mingle with hope and then one of us says, “If chemotherapy doesn’t happen.”

That reality tugs at us, reminding us how nothing is normal now, and that we don’t really know anything about what the future holds.

We’re living between the now and the not yet.

We’re trying to see the future but unknowns cloud our view.

In the midst of all the unknowns we’ve found God hanging on to us, not letting us slip or fall, and we’re returning his grip, trusting that he really is in control.

On the toughest days, when I’m tired of living in the unknowns, I hang on to 1 Corinthians 13:12.

I pin everything on the fact that what makes no sense to me now is already clear to him.

I like that this verse is in the bible because it tells me I’m not the only one that struggles with uncertainty.

It reminds me that God sees us now. And he has already seen us in the future. And that nothing is unknown to him.

He’s not sitting with the Doctors trying to figure out what is growing in my husbands’ body, he already knows.

God is sitting with us in the unknown.

He is crawling into the spaces between now and the future, tracing tears and catching fragments of broken hearts.

I’m beginning to see that if we stay here in the unknown, in this time where nothing makes sense, and we look for God instead of answers, we’ll find that he is already here.

Because it is in the unknown that God becomes known to us. (<-- Click here to tweet this)

Can you think of time when you knew that God was with you in the midst of unknowns? Ask God to make Himself known to you in the midst of the unknowns in your life.

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How To Deal With Whatever Hard Things Come Up

2012-11-01T03:33:00.000+02:00

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, & don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. Matthew 6:34 (MSG)

Photo: Marian Trinidad (Creationswap.com) | Design: Wendy van Eyck

This last month I've been focused on one thing: getting a television channel going from scratch to on air in 6 weeks.

I’m leading the team and my to-do list is long and detailed.

One moment I’m choosing channel logos, the next I’m hiring a new producer, and a few minutes later I’m writing a treatment for a new show.

When I sit back and look at the big picture, and see how much still needs to be done, I become overwhelmed.

I see this task as impossible.

But when I focus on the next thing to be done I begin to think this channel will get on air if I just tick one task off at time.

And through it all I’m beginning to understand why Jesus spoke these words in Matthew 6:34, why he told us to give our entire attention to what God is doing right now, and not stress about what happens tomorrow.

There is so much in our lives that we can’t control.

One thing we can control is what we focus on and what we give our attention to. (<-- Tweet This)

We can give our focus to fear and anxiety or feelings of inadequacy or we can allow ourselves to give our attention to what God is doing right now.

We can believe that right now he's with us and giving us everything we need to make it through the hard stuff right now.

That in this moment God is teaching us to focus on how he is helping us through life and as we do that we'll learn to cope.

And in doing so, he is reminding us that our fears for tomorrow, and worries a month from now, are not where our attention should be.

Our eyes should be on God, and when they are, we’ll make it through whatever hard thing comes, because he’ll be holding us.

And with him as our focus we can handle whatever is thrown at us: one day at a time.

What are you worked up about at the moment? Take a minute to pray and ask God to show you how he is helping you through these hard times.

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A version of this devotional originally appeared on GatewayNewsZA.

I Want More For My Life

2012-09-13T18:06:00.001+02:00

God, the one and only—I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not? He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I’m set for life. Psalm 62:1-2 (MSG)

She didn’t say it, but I heard it.

I want more for my life.

She said, “I didn’t think I’d still be doing this at my age.”

Comparisons rolled out her mouth:

I wish I had children like C.
I’d love to dress like Y.
If only I’d gone to the same university as X.

I gently reminded her she’d only just turned 25.

I reiterated she was much closer to the job she wanted to do then I was at the same age. And I told her that what she was learning now, that this preparation would be invaluable in getting her where she wanted to go.

That she should view this as a time of preparation for bigger things.

She still looked dissatisfied.

I’m pretty sure growing up David (of David & Goliath fame in the Bible) was constantly comparing himself to his brothers: Did he sling a stone as well as they did? Could he run as fast as them? Did he play the harp as well as them?

It’s not in the bible but I wonder how often as David watched his brothers go off to war and he went off to tend sheep he thought, “I want more for my life”.

David took the mundane (watching sheep eat grass) and used it as a time of preparation.

All that time doing something he didn’t want to do was used honing his skills with a catty. He played the harp to the rocks and the birds.

This shepherd boy who became a king told us with his life that contentment is found in God and not our circumstances.

When the opportunity arrived for him to take down Goliath with one small stone, David was ready.

When King Saul needed someone to calm him with music, David was well practiced.

The remarkable thing about David is that he didn’t allow comparisons to discourage him.

He didn’t sit back and think, “I’ll never be a soldier like my brothers” so why even try?

If you’re frustrated with your life at the moment, focus on doing the small things well.

After all you never know when God might give you the opportunity to slay a giant, speak to a king or lead armies of people and when those small things will serve you well.

Ask God what he might be preparing you for at the moment and to help you see how he is using the little things you’re learning now to do big things with your life later.

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How To Be Like Jesus

2012-09-10T10:15:00.000+02:00

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Acts 3:6 (NIV)

Photo credit: creationswap.com

Something odd happened when I went to the supermarket.

I was standing in the snack food aisle trying to decide between corn chips or pretzels when a man approached me and said, “Sorry to bother you.”

“My wife and daughter were killed in a car accident two weeks ago,” I heard as I realized he was still speaking to me. “And I spent all my money on their funeral but now I need to buy diapers for my grandchild, could you please help me?”

My mouth opened and out came the words, “Sure, go choose them, I’ll meet you back here.”

Even as I was saying it, I was processing the cost of what I was saying.

I paid for the diapers and walked out with him. An internal battle raging about whether or not I should ask if I could pray for him.

You see the day before I had read in the Bible of the time when Peter and John had met a beggar who had asked them for money.

They said they didn’t have any money but would he mind if they prayed for him?

Then they asked that God would heal him and the man who had been crippled for forty years stood up and walked.

It struck me when I was reading Acts 3 how quick I am to either pass beggars by saying I have nothing offer or on philanthropic days I offer money that does very little good.

I’d challenged myself to try and offer active, life-changing prayer to people I met, rather than just paying them to keep silent, and leave me alone.

It struck me that Peter and John didn’t only offer prayer but the dignity of recognizing the beggar as a person with value before God.

The man clutching diapers and I stepped out into the sunlight, and I realized the moment had come for me to follow Peter and John’s example and resemble a little of Jesus incarnated.

I still hesitated though because this man could walk, and it seemed a little stupid, to pray for a man in the middle of mall.

But God got the better part of me so I recklessly said, “Would you mind if I prayed for you quick before we go?”

He said he’d really like that.

I laid my hand on his shoulder and I closed my eyes.

I’m not sure why I closed my eyes because I’m normally a wide-eyed prayer but perhaps the absurdity and solemnity of the moment demanded it.

I prayed that God would continue to provide for his needs, that his heart would know healing and that in these hard times he’s experiencing that he would know God to be very near.

The prayer was uttered in a minute, and I will probably never know whether that prayer changed his life.

Something odd happened yesterday when I went to the supermarket: I learnt how to be Jesus to another person for a minute.

Sometimes I choose not to do things because I don’t know what the outcome will be.

Even worse, I sometimes choose not to do things because I think the other person will think I’m strange or I’m just scared I’ll fumble and looks like a klutz.

I wasn’t any of things to this man who approached me. I wasn’t strange, or fumbling or klutzy.

For a few minutes I was a person who was doing life a lot like Jesus: offering not just hope for the here and now, but for the future.

How would your life look different if you behaved like Peter and John in your everyday life? Ask God to show you one person to pray for today.

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Sometimes Improvement Requires Inconvenience

2012-08-31T10:47:00.001+02:00

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you cross rivers, you will not drown. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, nor will the flames hurt you. Isaiah 43:2 (NCV)

Photo: Creationswap.com | Design: Wendy van Eyck
I was driving home with a friend the other night and the conversation turned to all the road works that the government has been working for over a year.

The roads must be getting better in the long term but at the moment it feels like the roads are getting worse, much worse.

As we spoke I realised that what we really want most of the time is improvement without inconvenience.

I want things to advance, to grow and to change without my world being affected.

And I’m not only referring to road works.

I want to become more like Jesus without having to struggle with myself or issues or the reality of pain.

I often find myself thinking, “Just make it better, easily, please God” or "Can we get this over with quickly, Jesus."

Driving the other night I realized whether I like it or not, growth often means being inconvenienced.

God isn’t scared of shaking my life up in order to see me grow to look like more like him.

There are so many popular verses about how God will comfort and guide us; it’s easy to avoid the stories of people who were really inconvenienced in order to grow.
•        Think of Moses running away from home
•        Think of Jonah in a whale
•        Think of Daniel in a lions den
•        Think of Paul being blinded

Think of just about anyone who God used to dramatically affect the world and their life was inconvenienced.

These biblical stories aren’t just about being annoyed by having to take a detour to avoid road works; these are the kind of inconveniences that make you wonder if growing into the person God wants you to be is worth it.

When you’re inconvenienced and when life is hard, and you’re swimming against the current or when you’ve been burnt by someone you thought you could trust, or even been through a hard time physically, you can lean on the truth that God will be with you.

That one promise is worth all the inconvenience in the world.

Do you believe that God is with you no matter what? How do you deal with inconveniences in your life do you believe that God can use them to help you grow?

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A version of this devotional was originally published on www.gatewaynews.co.za

What Is God Trying To Show Me?

2012-08-07T11:51:00.000+02:00

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

Photo: creationswap.com | Design: Wendy van Eyck
I remember hearing a story once about a man who stopped and asked an old couple for directions.

A young man and his wife pulled over and explained they had just moved to town. And asked the old couple if they knew where they could find the post office.

The old man replied, “I certainly do. I was born in this town, raised 4 fine children here in this city. I plan to die in this town too. Now where was it you wanted to go young man?”

“Er, the post office”. The young man knew his wife’s idea to ask for directions had been flawed. Why did she have to ask this couple who were likely to take so long to recall the directions, the post office would be closed or rebuilt somewhere else, by the time they were finished.

“Of course, the post office! I didn’t think young things like you mailed things anymore, what with that electronic mail, what do you call it? Ah, yes, eee-mail. Now where did you want to go?”

“The post office!” the young couple exclaimed in unison.

Unperturbed the old man replied, “To get to the post office, turn left at the next traffic light, which will take you past the bakery where you can buy the best chocolate croissants. At the stop street, you will see the drycleaners in front of you, right next to a small restaurant “Michael’s”: they serve the best Sunday lunches. At the stop street turn left again, past home affairs and the traffic department. Take a left again at the traffic lights; you will see the post office on the corner just passed the library.”

The young couple sighed “thank you” and drove off before the old man could tell them about his four fine children.

The old couple stood for a moment before the old woman turned and enquired, “Love, why did you not tell them to just go straight through two traffic lights and they would find the post office on the corner?”

With a twinkle in his eye the old man said, “Well, I could have told them that…but then they would not have known where to buy the best croissants in town, or where to eat Sunday lunch or where to obtain passports or renew car licenses or where the library was.”

Sometimes I think God is like that old man, he just wants to make sure we have everything we need for living.

God doesn't just want to make sure we can perform the task we need to; he wants us to be able to perform life excellently and enjoy a good chocolate croissant while we do.

Next time you feel like you’ll never fulfill the purpose God has for you, stop and ask God what he might be trying to show you on the way. And you might just discover that God is making sure you have everything you need to live the life he has for you.

What do you think God is trying to show you at the moment?

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You Can Look Like New

2012-07-15T11:51:00.001+02:00

There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. Philippians 1:6 (MSG)

Photo Credit: Creationswap.com Design: Wendy van Eyck

I DON'T LIKE DEFROSTING the freezer. I will let it get to the point where ice is falling out in gigantic chunks like the Antarctic due to global warming before I do anything about it.

There I was water melting round my feet when I decided that I would deal with the freezer. Even though it was 9 at night and I was already tired. It was time.

I pulled out the draws, switched off the freezer and sat down with a plastic spoon, some hot water and a towel to get rid of months of accumulated ice.

It wasn’t as quick as I hoped and soon I was tiring. I wanted to sleep. I thought about just leaving the job half done. After all, a half defrosted fridge would be better than a completely undefrosted fridge I reasoned.

Just as I thought this, Philippians 1:6 popped into my head. I pushed it out because I didn’t really want to be reminded at that moment that God has promised to finish the job he started of making me into a completely new person in him.

The verse kept coming back (and I kept chipping ice away). As I kept removing every trace of ice from the freezer I thought about how wonderful it is that God isn’t going to give up on us, he isn’t going to stop half way through transforming us into his likeness and say, “yeah, well, that’ll do!” He keeps right on going until one day on his return we will look just like him.

I finished defrosting the freezer and returned the draws to their rightful place and called my husband over to show him our brand new freezer. It looked completely different to how it had begun.

And I felt God whisper, “When I’m done you’ll look completely different too.”

What are trusting God to change about you? Do you believe he will be faithful to complete it?