OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH

This morning I was reading through Psalms 46 and I really found so much peace and confidence as I read the first three verses.I love the confidence in the Psalmist. He knows that they have found a help that is ever present.He is confident that they cannot be shaken no matter what comes their way. As in the mountains can fall in the sea if they want to; but God is their refuge and their strength.They would not fear. The Bible says

1. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble  
2. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 
3.  though its waters roar and foam    and the mountains quake with their surging

I tried to translate it loosely into Swahili and it sounded even better. 
Mungu ndiye kimbilio na nguvu zetu.Msaada wa karibu nyakati za shida.Kwa hivyo hatuatogopa ata nchi ikibadilika na milima ianguke kwa bahari. 

This  reminded me of a story I heard of  a comfortable plane ride that was about to get bumpy. The voice of the captain interrupted in-flight beverage service and asked passengers to make sure their seatbelts were fastened. Soon the plane began to roll and pitch like a ship on a wind-whipped ocean. While the rest of the passengers were doing their best to deal with the turbulence, a little girl sat through it all reading her book. After the plane landed, she was asked why she had been able to be so calm. She responded, “My daddy is the pilot and he’s taking me home.”

When the mountains rise and the waters rage, though the thunders roar and the lightning strikes, find rest in the calm assurance that you have an present help.

RISE ABOVE

The last few days I have been learning a new mantra.I call it Rise Above.The dictionary defines the phrasal verb as:to not allow oneself to be hurt or controlled by (something bad or harmful)

There are times when I have taken to heart hurtful words that have really put me down and denied me the joy of every day. I have been bothered so much by what people did and what they did not do and that has occasionally left me with so many scars. Other times I have put emotion into other people's actions and believed that they were out to hurt me. I have walked  like a wounded soldier, wounded in a battle that was not mine to fight in the first place.

In my trail of thoughts I was reminded of a saying by Winston Churchill that says "You will never reach your destination if you stop to throw stones at every dog that barks" 

I realized how selfish it was of me to think that people do what they do on purpose when in the real sense, they might not even have put much thought into what they were doing.This has brought me to a point that I say to myself "my heart has no business "catching feelings" with everyone about everything.Its work is purely to pump blood"

Friends, I think there is need to rise above. Above the petty little hurts of everyday.It's time to put a sieve around our hearts and to sift through what we let in.We need not take everything to heart.If it is constructive criticism,take it correct where need be and move on as a better person. If it is negative criticism brush it off and Rise Above.

FINE, THANK YOU

We ask when the rain started beating us.

Today in a Eureka moment of reflection I got a probable answer: the day that we learnt that the answer to every how are you is: fine thank you. We learnt to lie about the truth that deep inside we are not well, we are hurting. We thought it weakness to admit we are not well.When we became such great masters at hiding the truth. We were taught to hold everything together Never to fall apart. To only weep in our blankets; if we must.

When it came a time to pray we learnt to clean up. We go to God and lie about how well we are doing and how we desire him more than anything else.

Has someone ever lied to you when you know the truth? How did it feel? Bad? Today I got the impression that God feels the same when we go to Him and act as though everything is okay yet He knows that we are breaking on the inside. I think God appreciates when we are honest with Him. Honesty is an indicator of genuineness in any relationship. When we can speak to Him and admit,I am hurting Lord, please help me

I have been reading the Book of Psalms and I love how David would relate with God. Look at how he tells God his soul is downcast. When he feels forsaken, he says God why have you forsaken me. When faced by battles, he asks God to protect him. When in victory he says Lord you have been my protector.

This is the kind of relationship I desire to have with God. I don't mean that we go complaining this and that to God. What I ask is :a desire to quit the fine thank you; with one another and with God.