Embrace His Love Again
BRD REFLECTIONS:
(Yap Siew Ling, Pastoral Team Member & Counsellor)
READ:
Hebrews 2: 14 -15 (NIV)
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Hebrews 2:18 (NIV)
Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Psalm 138:8 (NKJV)
The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever.
OBSERVE:
We have a God who stepped into time for us. A God who has been here and experienced this world we live in. Our experiences, in particular the bad ones, are not unknowns to Him. Our human fear of death and pain is not alien to Him. Our suffering, He understands.
We have a God who laid down His life to set us free from the power of sin and death. This God is working all things for our good and He has a perfect plan for our lives. His plan and His time-table may not align with ours but they will bring about the best for us.
We have a God who simply loves us.
APPLY:
We long for a better world after the pandemic but the world didn’t get better. It remained unpredictable. We are plagued with news of wars, natural disasters, sudden deaths, unfortunate accidents and incidents. Anxiety and sometimes, despair grip us.
Until we remember the One who shared our humanity; the One who set us free from the power of death; the One who will perfect that [the pain, the anxieties, the anguish] which concerns me, we will stagger and falter in this broken world.
Until I direct my gaze from myself to Christ and shift my focus from this temporal world to eternity, I see no solution to pain and suffering.
Until I know His love looms larger still, I have no peace.
The words of Dane C. Ortlund in his book Deeper puts it so aptly:
“Your life doesn’t disprove Christ’s love; his love proves it.
Your suffering does not define you. His does.
You have endured pain involuntarily. He has endured pain voluntarily for you.”
DO:
I should not expect life on earth to get easier and more comfortable. If I hold onto this mindset, I will find life increasingly difficult and challenging.
When I recognise that my life and this world I live in lies in the hands of a great, mighty and loving God, with whom I have an abiding relationship, I can be at peace. I can draw strength from my oneness with Jesus. I have to intentionally choose to not let my pain and suffering define me. All I have to do is to run back to God’s embrace again and again.
PRAY:
(extracted from the lyrics of God, I look to You by Jenn Johnson)
Lord,
I look to You, I won’t be overwhelmed
Give me vision to see things like You do
God I look to You, You’re where my help comes from
Give me wisdom, You know just what to do
And I will love You Lord my strength
And I will love You Lord my shield
And I will love You Lord my rock
Forever all my days I will love You God.
In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
