A challenge on perspective

This video truly challeged me : http://multimedia.timeslive.co.za/videos/2011/03/running-a-tour-de-france-on-one-leg/

It is about a man with one leg who runs 30 kilometers for four months (which equals approx 3600 km over months) to raise funds for the fight against cancer. What a task - this for something he believes in, mainly because he lost his leg to the disease. Now that's a man with a purpose. I think a lot of us spend some part of our time on earth in search of what our purpose is, as we go about our everyday lives. In the mean while, our lives seem incomplete or one would have a feeling like even though you might have it together but there is still something missing.

Because this man knows that his cause is to spend his life raising funds for the fight against cancer, his reason for waking up on a daily basis is filled with motivation and determination. I am sure that at the end of each day when he re-assesses his achievements he has a sense of satisfaction. I would like to get into his mind and see how it works to keep these high levels of motivation. I know I am still on a search for what my true purpose is. In the mean time, I am using what I have to do something as best I can by God's grace. As the Word says in Proverbs 3:16 - Commit to the Lord whatever you do and he will establish your plans.

My challenge to you is this: this man has one leg and manages to achieve as much as he has. How much more those of us without any physical or mental deformity? Shouldn't we be taking a leaf out of the lives of the many people with disabilities who have achieved so much more that people without disabilities?

Lord help us to change our perspective from what we think we can't do to what we can offer for you to multiply through us.

Traffic lights and points men

Travelling to work for me is somewhat bliss, unlike for most people who have to contend with traffic daily. I am fortunate enough to travel against traffic while most people have to endure this daily or plan their travel times around when they would miss being stuck in traffic. But on some occasions, like times when the traffic lights are not working etc, then I get to experience what some have come to be familiar with.

Being stuck in traffic is rather unsavoury and to say the least, frustrating. It makes it hard for one to really focus on the driving and the journey and rather on the destination. I would find myself thinking thoughts that I am sure you will identify with like “When am I going to get where I am going?” “Some drivers really need to reconsider going back to driving school.” I don’t want to be here right now” I should be where I am going already” “Grrrrrr!” at everything. I would notice everything wrong in that whole picture, which really does nothing more than add fuel to my discomfort.

 The experience and frustrations of traffic got me thinking about our journey as Christians. I thought about how sometimes, one can be frustrated to the point of screaming at some of the challenges we come across throughout our journey. They get so frustrating that we lose focus of where we are going – thereby making our driving experience more of a pain and less enjoyable.

Yet just as there would be traffic jams in our lives, there are also pointsmen who help ease the traffic and restore some form of normality. In Johannesburg we are fortunate to have the 702 Outsurance pointsmen (God bless the person who came up with that idea), who sometimes assist with traffic when things are bad. Our first pointsman is God Himself through the Holy Spirit, Jn 16:13. In order for us to follow the instructions of the pointsmen, we need to see and “hear” what He is saying. This means our eyes have to be on Him. So our spirit eyes need to be focused on Him, Ps 121:1-4.

Pointsmen use signals to direct us on when to stop, when to go, when to slow down etc. We also therefore, need to know and understand what the signs mean. In terms of our relationship with God, it is exactly the same way. Then we need to know what His signs mean so that we can follow in the signs as He is directing us. These in our spiritual lives can come in different forms therefore when we are tuned in, we are able to follow in those directions. Sometimes He used people, things, circumstances and events to direct us in certain paths, Luke 1:79, Ps 109:105-107.

Overall, they are there to make our journey smoother and help ease the traffic when it gets really heavy. One thing to remember is that the traffic jams are unavoidable sometimes, but the frustrations due to the traffic can be minimised when we are focused on the right pointsman. They restore order and normality to seemingly uncomfortable traffic situations.

LOVE

With February being a time known as the month of love, I got thinking about this subject. I don’t know about you but while I love the feeling (or whatever it is), it is also one of the most difficult things to do I think. I ask myself, to what extent do I really love in the way God wants us to? Because in its true form, it really means one must truly be selfless. We know that the ultimate act of selflessness and sacrifice was made for humanity by Jesus Christ, to truly demonstrate His love for us. God gave His only son for us as a symbol of the extent to which He would go because of His love for us. Yet, I don’t think I truly fathom the extent to which this love goes. I am a student of His love for me everyday. There are some days when it feels a lot more intense than others. There are days when I can feel a tangible sense of God and sometimes not. Yet I know that in those times when I don’t necessarily feel His love, that He does truly love me.

In John 13:35, Jesus commanded us to “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” It has been said that love is a decision. Love is verb, so it is a doing word. That of course does not make it an easy thing to do but it is a decision, which means it can be done. It can’t have been easy for Jesus to love us, but He does anyway. When I think of my imperfections, I am truly humbled at the depth of His love for me. I am mesmerised at all forms of blessings He has showered me with throughout my life though I haven’t necessarily deserved them. When I look at the life of Jesus, how he interacted with the lowly and cast down as much as He did setting the example for the upright, I am challenged.

That is one of the reasons I serve in my local church. Firstly out of love for my Daddy, secondly to glorify Him and also to have a hand in changing the lives of the many people that walk through our church doors. It is out of obedience to the commandment that “by this, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” It is my desire to be as the bride Paul talks about, who will have her arms wide open for the lost and hungry by partaking in what the church is doing. If you go to church and are not involved in anyway I encourage you to not only be a spectator but to also get involved in the life of the church. The harvest is plenty yet the hands are few; Matt 9:35 - 38. Help the church to reach the many lives in the way your leaders have been mandated.

It is a daily walk as one strive to get closer to Him and grow in communion with Him. Our hearts then break for the things that breaks His and when we honor Him by serving in whatever area He has called us, He is glorified and he truly does step in to do what He does best.

So love, the most enigmatic yet powerful sense in humanity. Whether or not one has been exposed to it, it remains one of the most inherent super needs of every human being. And what better way to learn how to love than from the Master Himself. So when we experience His love for us, we are able to then also give it in a way that truly honors Him. 1 Corinthians 13 is a popular scripture in the bible on the picture of love and while i think we attempt to love in the way this piece of scripture describes, i believe it is truly a work in progress everyday. By the grace of God we will get it right cause as Paul says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Miracles do happen

“Miracles, in the sense of phenomena we cannot explain, surround us on every hand: life itself is the miracle of miracles.” George Bernard Shaw

It began as an ordinary day with a few meetings she had to attend to in the morning before she set out to address a gathering about her political party’s campaign. All went smoothly, everyone in the office is doing exactly what they need to do. All that she needs is prepared for her to get ready for the campaign. Before she leaves the office, she looks herself in the mirror, excitement mirrors the tinge of nervousness about her upcoming speech. She quickly fixes her make-up and rehearses her speech one last time then heads out to the centre.

Then off she goes to her meeting, one of her many public addresses. She is not nervous because of the crowd, but because she takes her work seriously and she wants people to support her party’s vision. “It’s serious business to win people over and truly live what we say,” she thinks to herself while on her way. And so the gathering begins with the spot light on her. She engages with the crowd as she normally would, her charm in full swing until a gunshot puts a stop to it. She is on the floor, she had been shot to the head, and other people are caught in the crossfire too. Before anyone could make sense of what just happened, there is panic with everyone running for cover, desperate to save themselves. Sadly some of them didn’t make it. Medics on the scene, she is rushed to hospital – no hope for her as she had been shot on the head. Doctors reluctantly treat her – they conduct an emergency operation while they themselves were not hoping for a recovery. Based on the severity of her gun wound, she is not going to be breathing for much longer, or so everyone thought.

Until a few weeks go by and there are signs of progress with Gabrielle Giffords, the American congress woman recently shot during a public gathering in Tucson, Arizona. Many of you would have seen this story in the news in the past weeks. The first sign of her miracle was that she survived the gunshot to her head. Then following the surgery, she started trying to communicate by squeezing the hands of her loved ones to show response. After sometime, she made more progress, now able to sit and breathe on her own. Though still in hospital as we speak and making daily progress, her story testifies of the magnificence of God who can be glorified for such miracles that are beyond human understanding. What struck me was a statement made by one of the doctors during a television interview. He said “We (the doctors) would be wise to accept that miracles happen. A lot of times there are conditions where medicine alone doesn’t heal”. Profound statement which I believe is testimony that God is in control in all situations (Matt 15:29 -31; Rev 3: 7-8).

There have been many other miracles taking place all around the world in our time, such as the old lady who was saved from the rubble in the Haitian earthquake last year. With praises to God, she came out singing and thanking the Lord for saving her. I am sure there are many other miraculous testimonies that came out of Haiti’s earthquake. I also think about the 33 Chilean miners rescued after being trapped underground for over nine weeks. They proclaimed that there was a 34^th person in their midst, God, who kept them safe and comforted the entire time.

However small or large, miracles still happen in our time. We just need to take time to see them and see God in them. No matter how big or small the miracles might be, God displays His glory in our everyday moments (Ps 19:1-3). All we need is to acknowledge Him in everything, remain in God’s presence, fellowship with him and see His name glorified. He is always talking (Rev 3: 20 – 21). Is your spiritual ear inclined to Him?

January Article: STAND OUT

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify the Father in heaven” Matt 5:16

I was watching Carte Blanche one Sunday evening and they were profiling SA’s first female to qualify as a fighter pilot and the first woman in the world to fly the Gripen Jas 39C solo. Her code name Siren, Major Catherine Labuschagne is now the only female to form part of the SA Air Force’s elite 2 Squadron which flies the single- and dual-seat Gripens. “The Gripen is widely regarded as the world's top medium-weight fighter aircraft with a maximum speed of Mach 2 – twice the speed of sound, or about 2 400km/h – and a highly advanced sensor system,” according to Southafrica.info.

Judging by the information about the Gripen, one can understand what an achievement this is for Siren and particularly because she is a woman. On the surface it would appear as such a great achievement to be celebrated and rightly so. However this came after years of hard work and commitment to her goals. She boasts 1900 flying hours, 1000 of which have been in military jets. For her to get to this point, she had to also pass a series of courses and clock certain required hours flying the Impala Jet and the Hawk 120.

Celebrating her achievements, she described in the interview her experience of being alone in the cockpit, surrounded by just pure metal and raw power. The prize is not only being able to fly one of the most powerful fighter jets in the world, but also of being in the centre of space, overlooking the earth in all its beauty and glory - which is an exhilarating experience every time she gets on one of those machines. “In that space there is nothing one can do but purely adore the peace of it all,” she says. Most importantly for me though, was the fact that as the first and only female to qualify into the elite squadron, it makes her stand out. No doubt it took time and it didn’t come easily handed on a platter for her, the point is she made it through hard work and is now enjoying the fruits of her labour.

I was encouraged by her story – which I find relevant for us as we start out the new year. It is a time when we have completed ticking off what we had set out to achieve in 2010 and are now ready with our new lists to forge ahead in 2011. For some, there may be new goals, recurring goals, re-engineered goals etc, but for all of these items we have a picture of what the desired end looks like. However in between, there are steps, courses and different types of fighter jets that we have to fly and master before we get to the level of flying our Gripens – whatever the Gripen Jas 39c represents in your life. And when Siren talks about raw power, I remembered that we have on our side, a Father whose power for miracles is undeniable. He restores, re-energises, redeems, re-activates, re-aligns, releases, refines and any other thing that is needed for us to get to where we need to be. He puts those dreams in our hearts and He takes us from glory to glory.

We are reminded in Proverbs 3: 5 – 6 to Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. When we trust in Him and never attempt to rely on our own strength, he takes us by the hand until we reach our goals.  He doesn’t promise it will be easy, but we know He will never forsake us. As Job said, “to God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his (Job 12:13).” And when we lean on Him, we will also stand out as all children of God are destined to be.  

So as you go about navigating your goals in 2011, remember that you are destined to reign as you abide in the centre of His will for you. Let us be the ones to stand out, glorifying in everything the One who loved us first and makes all things possible.  

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the privilege to know you and serve you. Everything I am destined to be is all for your glory. Help me God to keep my eyes on you and to trust you with the plans and dreams you have laid on my heart. Have your mighty hand on me and my family as we forge ahead into 2011. Help me to see every new day as a fresh chance to start again. I commit every aspect of my life to you, trusting in your power to make me stand out - In Jesus Name, Amen.