My friend and I visited an uncle few days back. It had been months since we visited him last. He used to help us in the Bible Study during the college days. For the first half an hour we talked about what had happened after the last visit. We knew things had changed. Some of my friends had left the city and some had started a new career. And the family had new stories to tell. We wanted to hear out and share more unlike before because we still wanted to dissolve ourselves into the moments which had bound us together. Just before we left uncle took out a souvenir, we gave him during the Pre-Christmas celebration, and a big banner, where we all signed, which we gave him to keep as a memory. After the souvenir and the banner brief show he expressed the wonderful moments we had together. It not only brought a warm feeling but also memories of how we were before. Though we could not bring any of those moments back the feelings inside us, we wanted to say, “Let us come together again and continue the memories. Do not let it die here.”
Not every moment is worth remembering but there are some moments which we would like to keep for ages. Maybe the first time you stood up and gave a speech in front of everyone tickles your nerves even today but you would not want to forget. Those fearful moments that shook your feet uncontrollably before the crowd had been swiped clean with the first nerve breaking speech. And you would remember this moment or other defining moments with pride for they have described your life or have given you a U-turn. Such a moment has found a special place in your heart and has become a treasure, not anyone’s but yours alone.
But defining moments would never have been there if life was fair or easy. We would have never known the value of achievement if we never try for it. I studied in Science College, Kohima. I would call it as a little heaven. Life is not hard as it is now, studying outside. Maybe now is a new chapter but one can not deny the tranquillity of the environment of the college. And as we look back we wish even for a short moment to live again. Life is like a sea sail. Sometimes the sea is calm and at times it is harsh as we journey into an unknown sea. Life becomes harder as it goes on. It is filled with more responsibilities, expectations, and works, during which we may get out of track, mess a bit of our life, or say something unpleasant and even lose ourselves and do things without presence of mind or push ourselves hard against the wind. We ask ourselves, “What has become of me?”
The days are not easy and we wish, even for a short moment, for the laugh that we laughed when the heart was so light. This longing is not very far from a lover’s song. I will put in words here, a song sang by Tanya Tucker.
“In a cosy little restaurant for lovers,
It seems so out of place for you and me.
We used to play around under the covers,
But now it’s just a place to watch TV.
So love me like you used to,
When our love was brand new.
And darlin’ when we’re through,
You can love me again.
And hold me like you want to,
Instead of like you have to.
Love me like you used to love me,
When you used to love me...”
The little troubles along the way had changed the relationship. There may be some moments we failed to be careful of and have changed our whole course of life. This makes our heart wish to unwind the hands of time because we know things could have been better. We know life is not easy and as when God created us He did not promised an easy life.
The spiritual walk is not far from the walk of life too. There was a time, which we would like to call “First Love”, when our heart was like a overflowing fountain of God’s love. We were so strong that we would never imagine a day we would be so worn out. There was a time we would like to keep ourselves awake the whole night because the feelings were overwhelming. But now we see that the cross is heavy and we wonder whether we would stand on our feet again. Yet, the race is not over.
Let us go back to the time of Joshua when God instructed him to do something. The Israelites were before the Jordan River. God wanted to show something which they will never forget. Joshua started, “Hereby you shall know that the living God is among you...” (Joshua 3:10). God wanted to tell them through this that He was with them and was on their side.
Then God made the priest who bore the ark of the Lord to stand on the river Jordan. And Israelites beheld the waters coming down had been cut off and was standing in one heap.(Joshua 3:13) This was a sight. Then God commanded twelve men from every tribe of Israel to gather twelve stones from where the priest was standing. The reason was this: “to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” (Joshua 4:6-7)...and goes on, “He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.” (Joshua 4:24).
If you have seen a miracle your heart would bubble over with the desire to tell someone. You cannot sit still. And it was the same with the Israelites when they saw the water standing in a heap, making a way for them to pass. Their trust in the Lord might have been richly strengthened. They would not imagine of a day when they would go away from the Lord. But as days went by they saw the world ahead of them. It was not always like the day when they were beside the Jordan river with the water standing in a heap. Their excitement had become dimmer and dimmer and their trust was tested more than before. But in spite of this, something remaine: the stones. To them it brought back the whole sight at Jordan. And to their children, it is a living testimony. Once again, the people were reminded of what God could do for them. In despair the stone was a reminder that God was their strength.
Do you have a story to tell? Do you have a miracle? What is your story? Do not let it pass by but set a reminder in any way that can remind you. Write somewhere, pick up something, tell a friend of what the Lord has done. For the excitement will die down and trust tested but the reminder will not change. The days may have been hard and we may be worn out. But let us look back again at where God touched our lives and remind ourselves again of what the Lord had done for God can do it again. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). The same strength that God gave before can come from the Lord to renew your strength, as we wait on the Lord. Whatever areas of life, God can turn it around and make it as new again. If it has been hard to pray and felt that you are far from God remember that Jesus being the good shepherd would come back in search for the one lost sheep even when the ninety nine is safe. Being reckless in finding a way of a fresh touch will not do much good. So much as a fresh touch is desired we should not forget the importance of remembrance. At times, we need a reminder more than a fresh touch. It was God’s way of keeping us strong. Sometimes, God just shows off to tell us that He is with us always, through all times.
Life may be harder for some. If it is hard to find a miracle, check this:
“You may not know God but He knows everything about you. He knows when you sit down and when you rise up. God is familiar with all your ways. (see Psalm 139:1-3)”
“You saw me before I was born. Everyday of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed”(Psalms 139:16).
You are not a mistake but a miracle. And Christ did show His love long ago, even before we were born and when we were in our sinfulness. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Christ who is in us can help us do much more than we could imagine. “Now to him(Jesus Christ) who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).
Jesus can help us carry on through life’s darkest moment.
“I am on my feet again.
I am coming before your presence with singing and dancing.
They asked me what happened.
Then I said,
“It is not by my strength nor by my wisdom,
But I remembered God’s faithfulness.
He is my strength,
My all in all.”
Not every moment is worth remembering but there are some moments which we would like to keep for ages. Maybe the first time you stood up and gave a speech in front of everyone tickles your nerves even today but you would not want to forget. Those fearful moments that shook your feet uncontrollably before the crowd had been swiped clean with the first nerve breaking speech. And you would remember this moment or other defining moments with pride for they have described your life or have given you a U-turn. Such a moment has found a special place in your heart and has become a treasure, not anyone’s but yours alone.
But defining moments would never have been there if life was fair or easy. We would have never known the value of achievement if we never try for it. I studied in Science College, Kohima. I would call it as a little heaven. Life is not hard as it is now, studying outside. Maybe now is a new chapter but one can not deny the tranquillity of the environment of the college. And as we look back we wish even for a short moment to live again. Life is like a sea sail. Sometimes the sea is calm and at times it is harsh as we journey into an unknown sea. Life becomes harder as it goes on. It is filled with more responsibilities, expectations, and works, during which we may get out of track, mess a bit of our life, or say something unpleasant and even lose ourselves and do things without presence of mind or push ourselves hard against the wind. We ask ourselves, “What has become of me?”
The days are not easy and we wish, even for a short moment, for the laugh that we laughed when the heart was so light. This longing is not very far from a lover’s song. I will put in words here, a song sang by Tanya Tucker.
“In a cosy little restaurant for lovers,
It seems so out of place for you and me.
We used to play around under the covers,
But now it’s just a place to watch TV.
So love me like you used to,
When our love was brand new.
And darlin’ when we’re through,
You can love me again.
And hold me like you want to,
Instead of like you have to.
Love me like you used to love me,
When you used to love me...”
The little troubles along the way had changed the relationship. There may be some moments we failed to be careful of and have changed our whole course of life. This makes our heart wish to unwind the hands of time because we know things could have been better. We know life is not easy and as when God created us He did not promised an easy life.
The spiritual walk is not far from the walk of life too. There was a time, which we would like to call “First Love”, when our heart was like a overflowing fountain of God’s love. We were so strong that we would never imagine a day we would be so worn out. There was a time we would like to keep ourselves awake the whole night because the feelings were overwhelming. But now we see that the cross is heavy and we wonder whether we would stand on our feet again. Yet, the race is not over.
Let us go back to the time of Joshua when God instructed him to do something. The Israelites were before the Jordan River. God wanted to show something which they will never forget. Joshua started, “Hereby you shall know that the living God is among you...” (Joshua 3:10). God wanted to tell them through this that He was with them and was on their side.
Then God made the priest who bore the ark of the Lord to stand on the river Jordan. And Israelites beheld the waters coming down had been cut off and was standing in one heap.(Joshua 3:13) This was a sight. Then God commanded twelve men from every tribe of Israel to gather twelve stones from where the priest was standing. The reason was this: “to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” (Joshua 4:6-7)...and goes on, “He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.” (Joshua 4:24).
If you have seen a miracle your heart would bubble over with the desire to tell someone. You cannot sit still. And it was the same with the Israelites when they saw the water standing in a heap, making a way for them to pass. Their trust in the Lord might have been richly strengthened. They would not imagine of a day when they would go away from the Lord. But as days went by they saw the world ahead of them. It was not always like the day when they were beside the Jordan river with the water standing in a heap. Their excitement had become dimmer and dimmer and their trust was tested more than before. But in spite of this, something remaine: the stones. To them it brought back the whole sight at Jordan. And to their children, it is a living testimony. Once again, the people were reminded of what God could do for them. In despair the stone was a reminder that God was their strength.
Do you have a story to tell? Do you have a miracle? What is your story? Do not let it pass by but set a reminder in any way that can remind you. Write somewhere, pick up something, tell a friend of what the Lord has done. For the excitement will die down and trust tested but the reminder will not change. The days may have been hard and we may be worn out. But let us look back again at where God touched our lives and remind ourselves again of what the Lord had done for God can do it again. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). The same strength that God gave before can come from the Lord to renew your strength, as we wait on the Lord. Whatever areas of life, God can turn it around and make it as new again. If it has been hard to pray and felt that you are far from God remember that Jesus being the good shepherd would come back in search for the one lost sheep even when the ninety nine is safe. Being reckless in finding a way of a fresh touch will not do much good. So much as a fresh touch is desired we should not forget the importance of remembrance. At times, we need a reminder more than a fresh touch. It was God’s way of keeping us strong. Sometimes, God just shows off to tell us that He is with us always, through all times.
Life may be harder for some. If it is hard to find a miracle, check this:
“You may not know God but He knows everything about you. He knows when you sit down and when you rise up. God is familiar with all your ways. (see Psalm 139:1-3)”
“You saw me before I was born. Everyday of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed”(Psalms 139:16).
You are not a mistake but a miracle. And Christ did show His love long ago, even before we were born and when we were in our sinfulness. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Christ who is in us can help us do much more than we could imagine. “Now to him(Jesus Christ) who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).
Jesus can help us carry on through life’s darkest moment.
“I am on my feet again.
I am coming before your presence with singing and dancing.
They asked me what happened.
Then I said,
“It is not by my strength nor by my wisdom,
But I remembered God’s faithfulness.
He is my strength,
My all in all.”
