Someone came over to our place for lunch one day.
In our conversation he told us that
in his job as a interior design consultant
part of his job is to ensure the quality workmanship and timely handover
of his clients' projects.
He discovered something strange that had been happening recently,
in projects where he paid more attention to and
had more frequent site visits, the more the faults he found
and the longer the contractors took to complete the home furnishing
and decorations work.
whereas, for those projects which he did not pay much attention
to it, even if there were some mistakes the contractors made, the clients
were able to accept and still praised him for the jobs well-done.
in our regular prayer time together, Ken and I were worshipping the Lord
while I was worshipping, I heard Ken praying over some areas which we had
been praying over and over and over again for a long time already ...
sometimes, I almost wanted to ask Abba if He had forgotten to hear us
and rush the answers to us ... if He does hear us, why is it that
it is taking Him way too long to bring forth what we have asked of Him?
somehow the clause which I heard in our sermon in church kept jumping out in my spirit:
"Grace flows in worry-free areas in our lives."
and I began to see that for those areas which we literally did not
bother to pray about, we had so much grace in those areas ... and had so much
good stuff going around for us in such ...
for those areas which we had been praying and praying as if He did not hear us
somehow the answers seem to be rather slow ... and not forthcoming ...
perhaps these are the areas which we had not learnt to leave them at the throne of grace
and we are still holding on to them and embracing them ... sigh ...
Philippians 4:6,7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
....
recently something happened in our family ...
My father-in-law's fingers were caught slammed by the door ...
he had grafting and stitches ... and has to stay with us for awhile
till he recovers and able to manage on his own ...
and in this situation, I am really trying to keep myself sane
and look for ways to stay joyful and not be too disturbed.
somehow, the thought keeps ringing in my mind ...
"why is it that I do not know how to keep myself joyful in better times
and do not enjoy the good times when I am already living in such all these while and only try to keep myself joyful when such a minor tragedy happens at home?"
could it be that we are so used to expecting bad times that we find it normal and when it comes to having a good time we forgot to find the joy in these normal days?
what has gone wrong?
our thought life and our attitude towards life?
and the ringing message of a sermon I heard came to my mind to also keep my sanity is :
"This too shall come to pass"
I could literally see my father-in-law's fingers recover over a period of one
month or so .. .and see him leading independant life once again back at his own home ...
a former stroke patient of age 70plus ... my father-in-law
it really dawns on me to pray for myself and for him and all our loved ones
the gift of being the seed of Abraham ... growing old gracefully like Moses, whose
eyes were not dim nor his strength abated, like Abraham too and Caleb also ...
full of years, strength and vagor ... going to meet the Lord in the pink of health
at the time when we depart ... not like those of the world ...
a modern day example is Smith Wigglesworth, and John G Lake ... living
in divine health and enjoying the zoey life of God.
this too is a gift from Abba for those who reach out to take it, living victoriously
as heirs of the world.
honestly, being heirs, if one has no health to enjoy it, to me is useless.
Thank God for His provision in Jesus His Son, who came for the sole purpose
to give us life and life in abundance.
Believe and receive, reject and go without.
So if we are currently facing some challenges in our lives
it is indeed a good reminder to us
"This too shall come to pass"
look beyond, look at the picture of what God's word says about us His children.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Cheers
Jewel Kwong
