Hi
Have moved to Word Press now http://andiharper.wordpress.com/
Andy
Saturday 14 May 2011
Thursday 5 May 2011
Worm, Rebel or Weighed Down?
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Have you ever felt like this, "God has lost track of me. He doesn't care what happens to me”? (Isaiah 40:27 The Message) Or felt just like the chapter heading from The Message for Isaiah 41 which reads, “Do you feel like a lowly worm?”
So if we feel like this perhaps we need to first examine our feelings? Let’s have a look at just a few possibilities around how we can feel, then seek some encouragement from Isaiah 40 and 41.
1. We might feel like this because we feel we are good enough for God to take notice?
2. Perhaps we have so many troubles weighing us down, we just can’t take it anymore and we begin to wonder if God really cares?
3. For some of us God is presenting a challenge, ‘Live for me whatever is happening around you, focus only on me’. Instead we grumble about our circumstances, a kind of, ‘God doesn’t care for me, so I am not going to move from here till He sorts it out’. Is there something of this you recognise at the moment?
1. I suppose what we mean by ‘not good enough’ is, ‘not important enough’.
Isaiah 41: 9 says:
‘You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away’
God has called you (2nd line), that is, He has a purpose for you, a job that only you can do for Him! He proves this by calling you His servant! And He has chosenyou. I just love that, ‘I have chosen you and have not cast you away’ Just think on that for a few minutes and try to hear God saying it to you, repeat it to yourself and let it sink right in . . ‘I have chosen you and not cast you away’ . .
2. The answer to the “many troubles weighing us down” isn’t always, ‘less troubles please Lord’. When I get like this, I find the real problem is; I’m deciding to carry all my burdens for myself! Through fear that I may come to harm if I don’t. Every day I just heft those troubles up onto my shoulders until finally I come exhausted to God to help me out. How can we just let it all go to God?
In Isaiah 41:10 says to us:
“Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand”
3. And one of my favourites over the years, the big ugly one, rebellion! Let’s notice here that in verse 10 God is drawing His people from the ends of the earth. Why? Because that is where rebellion has taken them. Yet He still loves them, He wants to bring them back into His full care and security. If we are in rebellion and we suddenly realise we are far away from God, what are the steps we can take?
Realise There ain’t no help anywhere else! – Isaiah 41:5
Communicate Even if it’s with anger and resentment, start telling God about it
Move on Anger won’t last for ever, to sustain your rebellion you might be tempted to become bitter, recognise this and choose to trust God instead, it’s not God that’s hurt you or let you down in the past, He’s your friend Isaiah 41:8
At the beginning of Isaiah 41 God invites everyone to quiet down and consider a few things together about who He is, it’s worth reading, try The Message versionIsaiah 41 The more we learn about the truth of who God is, the closer we are drawn to Him, the more able we are to trust Him – learn, draw close, trust. I would add to this share. Find someone, a friend, someone on the ministry team, your partner, someone you trust and so they can minister to you, by listening as well as praying with you. Join or form a prayer triplet if you are not already in one! Or join your church's version of small groups, sometimes called, life groups or housegroups. Or just ask your minister, 'I need someone to share with, can you help me?'
Above all remember this, as the song implies, It's God your Father who is chasing you! Whatever state you are in, He's there trying everything He can to bring you to a place where He can lavish His love on you! There's nothing you can do to stop that!
Isaiah 41: 9 says:
‘You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away’
God has called you (2nd line), that is, He has a purpose for you, a job that only you can do for Him! He proves this by calling you His servant! And He has chosenyou. I just love that, ‘I have chosen you and have not cast you away’ Just think on that for a few minutes and try to hear God saying it to you, repeat it to yourself and let it sink right in . . ‘I have chosen you and not cast you away’ . .
2. The answer to the “many troubles weighing us down” isn’t always, ‘less troubles please Lord’. When I get like this, I find the real problem is; I’m deciding to carry all my burdens for myself! Through fear that I may come to harm if I don’t. Every day I just heft those troubles up onto my shoulders until finally I come exhausted to God to help me out. How can we just let it all go to God?
In Isaiah 41:10 says to us:
“Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand”
3. And one of my favourites over the years, the big ugly one, rebellion! Let’s notice here that in verse 10 God is drawing His people from the ends of the earth. Why? Because that is where rebellion has taken them. Yet He still loves them, He wants to bring them back into His full care and security. If we are in rebellion and we suddenly realise we are far away from God, what are the steps we can take?
Realise There ain’t no help anywhere else! – Isaiah 41:5
Communicate Even if it’s with anger and resentment, start telling God about it
Move on Anger won’t last for ever, to sustain your rebellion you might be tempted to become bitter, recognise this and choose to trust God instead, it’s not God that’s hurt you or let you down in the past, He’s your friend Isaiah 41:8
At the beginning of Isaiah 41 God invites everyone to quiet down and consider a few things together about who He is, it’s worth reading, try The Message versionIsaiah 41 The more we learn about the truth of who God is, the closer we are drawn to Him, the more able we are to trust Him – learn, draw close, trust. I would add to this share. Find someone, a friend, someone on the ministry team, your partner, someone you trust and so they can minister to you, by listening as well as praying with you. Join or form a prayer triplet if you are not already in one! Or join your church's version of small groups, sometimes called, life groups or housegroups. Or just ask your minister, 'I need someone to share with, can you help me?'
Above all remember this, as the song implies, It's God your Father who is chasing you! Whatever state you are in, He's there trying everything He can to bring you to a place where He can lavish His love on you! There's nothing you can do to stop that!
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