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A Definition of Heaven and Hell

Have you ever had one of those conversations with someone who isn’t a beliver when the topic of heaven and hell comes up?

It kind of goes, I’m going to hell where there’s going to be a great party with lots of fun. You can have heaven to yourself, floating on your clouds and playing your harps.

It generally leaves me thinking, you haven’t got a clue.
Hell is a place of pain and suffering!
There’s not going to be any fun in hell!

To try and challenge this idea I try to offer a better picture of heaven and hell. It’s listed below.

Think of the best time in your life. A time when you thought this is the best. I want to remain here for as long as I can.
Heaven is going to be sooo much better than that.

Now think of a time which was the worst time in your life. A time when you thought this is the worst and you would do anything to get away from that moment.
Hell is going to be sooo much worse than that.

Now which one would you like to be heading to, bearing in mind when you reach your destination you won’t be able to change where you are.

Using this picture, generally, changes the dynamics of the conversation.

For me it’s the only way I can have any real picture of what heaven and hell are really like.

I have made the choice to accept Jesus as Lord and Savour and as such I have a hope that I shall see him in Heaven one day instead of the pain and suffering which will occur in the other place.

If you haven’t already already asked Jesus into your life then you can do so now if you would like to ensure that you will be heading to the better location.

You might say that you don’t believe in either place and as such it just doesn’t matter, but what if you are wrong?
Are you willing to gamble with your eternal resting place? (These are big stakes.)

I would like to challenge all who do not follow Jesus to at least look into these issues so that you can make an informed choice and as such, then play an active role in the decisions you make for your final destination.

Father,
I thank you that you are real.
I thank you that you are my Lord and Saviour,
I am sorry that I do get things wrong at times and I thank you that you do forgive me as I bring my failings to you and try to do better.
Thank you that we can all know You.
Thank you that when we ask you into our lives, then you do say yes to us.
Help us all to say yes to you each and every day.
Amen

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We are only meant to bring the loaves and fishes.

If you have been watching The Chosen then you might already know what I’m going to be posting this week.

In the live streams and a number of interviews Dallas has spoken about this.

He has stated several times that it’s not our place to make the miracle happen, we only need to bring the loaves and fishes.

It’s so true when you think about it.

We are not able to make any kind of miracle happen. It’s just not in us, regardless of what we might think.

The disciples were only asked to bring what they had, which turned out to be the loaves and fishes. They didn’t have to produce the miracle, that part was left to Jesus. But they were part of the miracle by bringing what they could, the loaves and fishes.

The same is still true for us today. We only need to do our part and leave the miracle to God.

The question is, will we do our bit?
Will we bring the loaves and fishes, or will we make our excuses?

If we do want to see God move in a greater way, then we need to be willing to bring the loaves and fishes.
Father wants to include us in his work and hence he asks us to bring what we can, the loaves and fishes.

Dallas also talks about, just because we bring the loaves and fishes, it doesn’t mean that the miracle will happen.

This can be a tough point for us.
After we have gone through the effort of bringing the loves and fishes, then we can tend to have this expectation that something will happen, after all, we’ve done what you asked for… didn’t we Father.

Sometimes we will feel as though, we have fallen flat onto our face, being left with the thought of, “What have I just done???”

If we have followed Fathers prompting, then we have done just what we need to. We might get to see what it was all about at a later date, or we might not, it’s all in Fathers hands.

Do we have a heart that wants to say yes to Father, just like the lady who danced in the park (one of my earlier posts)
The Lady who Danced

If we can all come to that place where we are all willing to bring our loaves and fishes, regardless of what happens, then how much more will we be helping Father to see his purpose fulfilled, not only in our lives but also in our wider communities.

Can you imagine a church were everyone is willing to bring their loaves and fishes to Father, regardless of what happens?

Wouldn’t that be a miracle all on it’s own?
Everyone doing what they are meant to be doing, when they were meant to be doing it.

That almost sounds like it could be the start of something so much bigger. Revival perhaps?

Father,
Please start with me.
Help me to be willing to bring to You my loaves and fishes.
Help me to think more of You and less about everything else.
Help me to know and trust You that much more so that I want to say yes to You that much more quickly.
Thank you that you do accept me where I am, but please continue to lead and guide me.
Amen

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“I’ll Raise a Hallelujah” is a battle cry

Do you sometimes think that a certain song can being sung in wrong way?

That’s how I feel about “I’ll Raise a Hallelujah”. (Bethel Church)
I sometimes feel that people can sing it, a little bit too happily.

Yes that’s right, I did say too happily.
So why would I possibly think this?

For me, that song is a Battle Cry!

It says to me, “I WILL Praise my God, even when it hurts”.

You just need to just look at the words and you might start to see where I’m coming from.

I’ll Raise a Hallelujah, in the presence of my enemy.
I’ll Raise a Hallelujah, louder than the unbelief.

I’m gonna sing, in the middle of the storm.
Louder and louder, your gonna hear my praises roar.

Are you starting to see why I think this song is a Battle Cry?
When making a Battle Cry it just works better if you deliver it with a ROAR rather than a smile.

I have to admit that there is no wrong way to sing the song, but for me, I do try to declare the words in the song from somewhere deep within.

I think that the song captures the essence of what Habakkuk, one of the Old Testament prophets, was saying.

Habakkuk 3:17-19
Though the fig-tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the sheepfold and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.

When the song was written it was in a time of impending sorrow.
A little boy was very ill and things were not looking good.
If you would like to hear the full account then search on YouTube for “The Power of Praise – Miracle of Jaxon Taylor’s Healing”

The song was written at one of the darkest points of that time.
It was written to say “Yet I Will Praise the Lord, even though it looks bad”.

The feelings of happiness were probably less at that point in time, but the declarations that God is Good were that much louder!

Then miraculously he became better.
After the doctors were saying there was nothing more they could do, after all the prayers and praises, then he then was healed.
It’s worth watching the video.

So what can we take forward from this?

Sing the song in a happy way, praising God, if that is where you are at.
But also, try to declare the words as what we want our will to be.
Use the song as a Battle Cry in harder times, in order to declare that God is Good, what ever is happening around us.

Father,
Thank you that we can Praise you at all times.
Thank you that we can Praise you in the good times but also when times are not so good.
Help us to look to you in times of trouble, so that we can lean on you to bring that something extra to keep us going in our times of struggle.
Thank you that You are with us and all we need to do is to call out to you.
Amen

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Do we come to God with our needs or our wants?

When we come to God, how do we approach him?
Do we come to him with all our wants and desires asking him to approve and rubber stamp how we think things should be done?
Or do we come to him with ears open, wanting and willing to hear what he has for us?

When we look at it this way, we would all probably say the latter.
After all, we all know that Father has our best at heart and hearing from him should be our number one aim.
So why is it then that we can all fall into the trap of coming to God with our wants?

It seems silly when you think about it.
It can be a bit like the patient who went to the doctor with a paper cut.

The patient went to the doctor and shouted out, “I’m in extreme agony, HELP ME!”
The doctor saw the patient and immediately replied, “Yes, come in and I shall attend to your wounds.”
The patient was in fact in need of urgent medical help.
He had been in some sort of battle with something and as as such had many wounds which needed attention or he was going to die.
As the doctor attempted to see to his most urgent wounds the patient screamed out, “What are you doing? It doesn’t hurt there, the pain is coming from the end of my finger. Look.”
The doctor looked at the finger, but couldn’t see anything, so he carried on to do his life saving work. But the patient insisted, “Look at my finger!”
The doctor looked closely at the finger, and saw a tiny paper cut.
He dismissed it and again tried to save the patient’s life.
The problem was, each time the doctor tried to do his work the patient kept coming back to his finger.
It got so bad that the doctor exclaimed, “I can’t save you if you don’t let me!”

The doctor knew what needed to be done!
He had the ability and wanted to do what was needed.
But the patient wouldn’t let the doctor do his work.
How long will the patient survive if this continues?

So do we ever find ourselves in the place of the patient?
Do we come to God with what we think should be done to the extent that we do not listen to him?
God is more interested in our needs than our wants.

If God tells us to look at, or do something, are we willing to listen to him?
Do we hear his voice well enough to know that it’s him when he speaks to us?
Do we trust him enough to follow his lead?

Father,
Help us to all know your voice that much better.
Help us to trust you, that much more so that we are willing to follow You.
Help us to be obedient to your ways and to follow your promptings to us.
Amen

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Pray for the nation

What I am bringing this week is something I wrote before I had the blog up and running.
It was written during the restrictions which were in place to control COVID. You know, all those restrictions nobody liked.
I am posting it now as I feel I am being lead to.

I woke up a couple of nights back after having a strange dream. I can remember some of the details but not in any kind of order???
I was left with a picture though.
I feel as though it was meant to show what it can be (or could possibly be) like at the top of the government.

It was a picture of a rocket ship on the launch pad, fuelled and ready to go with the pilot sitting in his seat.
The pilot is meant be represent the prime minister.
He is the one to launch the rocket into space.
He will lead and direct the craft making decisions at the appropriate time in order to see that all goes well.

Does success fully depend on the pilot?

I think this is one of those yes/no question/answers.

The pilot has to make decisions based on information that has been given to him. If he is given bad information he could make bad choices which could lead to the rocket crashing and burning.
If he is given good information then he can take the right decisions which leads to success and glory for all.

It was at this point I felt compelled to pray.
Lord, let good information get through to the prime minster and cut off all the bad information.

As I dwelt on the illustration I thought “Is the pilot responsible for the rocket being on the launch pad?”

I believe the answer is no.
There were the engineers who designed and made the rocket. There was the mathematician’s who have worked out all the sums needed for the engineers to do there bit.
When you continue to consider the picture there is even the fuel in the tanks waiting to be burnt in order to achieve lift off.

All these things are out of the pilots control.
He has to trust that every one else has done their bit correctly so that lift off can be achieved.

So who are the engineers, mathematicians and the like?
Government on the whole is one possible answer.

But the one that struck me was, who represents the fuel?
The part that costs huge amounts of money, that will just be burnt.
I kind of think it is us, the people. Without money (taxes) for the fuel the rocket is going nowhere. But I also think it also goes further than just taxes.

I feel as though it is what will we, the people, will do and act as the fuel for the rocket.
Will we be good fuel or bad? Will we be the good fuel that pushes the rocket into space or will we be bad fuel that causes the engine to stutter and fail, which could lead to a crash?

We all have our part to play. We all have a need to make and do the right things to ensure we are good fuel. We all have to do our bit to achieve success.
We may not like the things we currently need to do to achieve success but failure really shouldn’t be an option.

Making the right choice might be inconvenient or painful, but if it is the right choice then we should do it. (Whatever that right choice is.)

It was at this point I was reminded of a train caught in a tunnel which was on fire.
There was a group of people who came out of the train and walked up to the front of the train. Most people of the group wanted to carry on walking up the tunnel away from the burning train, but there was a fire fighter who Knew different.
He said “If we walk up the tunnel where the smoke is going We Will Die from smoke inhalation. No, we need to go down past the burning train in order to escape! It will be hard and painful but is is our only chance to survive.”
The people of the group listened to the fire fighter and they survived.

So the question is, will we do our bit and do all we can to achieve success?

That was the place I got to when I wrote this.
As I have thought about this I also think that the picture is true for smaller groups, such as churches for instance.

In all groups we have a leader, and those who follow or work with the leader.
The leader has their part to play but not everything depends on the leader. We all have our part to play.

The question is, will we try to be good fuel or bad fuel?
Will we try to do our part to achieve success for all?

Father,
Please help everyone in all that they do.
I ask that you will give wisdom to all our leaders so that they can make good choices. I ask that they will be given good information and that bad information is removed from them.
I also ask that you will help us all to do our bit, both for our nation and also closer to home.
That we will be willing to follow your prompting and your guidance so that we can all be part of the solution, doing our part you have for us to do.
Amen

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Do we hear from God or do we only hear what we want to?

If we are honest with ourselves, can we all admit to falling short with the title of this post?

You know how it goes, surely that can’t be from God.
No that’s wrong, surely you mean this.
And the like.

When Father speaks to us and tells us what we don’t want to hear, then how do we react to it?
One of the above responses?
Or will we actually listen to him?

My last post was an example of such a time.
The message I wanted to hear was very different to what I was actually hearing.
I could even point Father to the part of the Bible I would like to hear from at this point in time. Psalm 91

It starts off well with,
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

It’s good stuff, but the part I really like starts from verse 5, 6 and 7,
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

Surely that’s just the message to hear in the middle of a pandemic?
Isn’t it?

It’s a promise to claim but if Father isn’t saying that to you directly then we should listen.
Are you confused yet? I Know I am a little bit. 🙂

What I mean is claim Psalm 91 when you need to go about your daily business and you need to be in the world during the pandemic but if Father is telling you something different then you need to listen to that also!

What I heard Father say was, we are now under Grace rather than Law as far as COVID restrictions are concerned.
I also heard, everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.
(If you haven’t already, then read the last post to get the full picture.)

I definitely think Psalm 91 is a better message to be hearing.
Couldn’t you speak that to me instead, please Father… 🙂

Father is Father though!
Even when he tells us things we don’t want to hear, or when he tells us something different to how we would like it to be.

The real question then becomes, will we listen to him even when he speaks a message we don’t like?

Father is our Father and Loves us!
He has our best interests at heart!
We can trust him!

So, will we trust Him and follow his prompting?
As for me I will try to follow his leading.
I might not like it at times but it is the better way to go.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
John 10:27

Father,
Thank you that you are my Father, and that I am yours.
Thank you that we can be honest with you and speak all our thoughts to you.
Help me to hear you clearly and to know your voice and to follow you.
Thank you that you Love me and care for me.
Help us all to follow your ways.
Amen

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We are under Grace, not Law

Hopefully most Christians already know that we are under Grace and not Law.
After all we have been forgiven and accepted if we acknowledge that Jesus is Lord God (of our lives) and have asked for his forgiveness and ask him to lead us in the here and now with how we live with him.

So why am I writing about something which we all (hopefully) know about?

Well, I have a slightly different view point at this moment in time, as we approach July the 19th of 2021.

As this date approaches we know that COVID restrictions are going to be lifted, in the UK.
Please don’t give up reading at the mention of COVID, I am going somewhere with this.

As we enter into July the 19th I believe that we will be entering into a period of Grace (with regards to COVID restrictions) in place of the Law that we have been under.
We will be free to make our own choices as to how we conduct our affairs.
This is what it means to live under Grace.

The question then becomes, how will you conduct yourself when you are under Grace instead of Law?

The virus has not disappeared!
The only thig that is changing on the 19th is that the Law no longer requires that we act in a certain way.
We will have a freedom to act as we would like to.

Some think this is a mistake while others think it is good.
I am not here to ponder the rights and wrongs of the government policy but I do see clearly that what is currently happening in the world is a picture of how we are with God.

In the Old Testament the people of God were under Law.
Don’t do this, but do, do that.
As we have been told how to act under the COVID restrictions.

However under the New Testament we are now under Grace.
Everything is Permissible….However not everything is Beneficial.
That sounds a bit like 1 Corinthians 10:23 to me.

Do you see where I am going with this yet?

We will be free to make our own decisions with how we act whereas before we were told how to act.

What will we do with this freedom though?

Just because the Law no longer requires us to wear a mask and all the other things we had to do, does it mean that we can now stop doing all the actions which should help to protect us?

This is a definite yes/no answer.

We no longer have to do these things any longer…but will it be beneficial if we all suddenly stop doing all these things???

Unfortunately the virus is still out there.
It doesn’t care what the date is and is still going to make a number of people feel a bit ill (or a lot ill).

So how will we act, now we are under Grace instead of Law in regards to COVID?
Will we take hold of all the freedom being offered to us and try to go back to life as normal pre COVID, or will we try to use wisdom with how we act?

I see this as a huge picture of how we are with Father.

We are under Grace and as such are free to do, as we please to.
But how will you act with this freedom?

As 1 Corinthians 10:23 states, we are free to do anything but it doesn’t mean that anything is going to be good for us, not everything is beneficial. (Our actions have consequences.)

Under Grace we need to chose to do that which is good for us.

If we make good decisions then it will hopefully go well for us.

The Biggest hope we have is to see God, face to face one day!

Under the Grace which we have been given, we can choose to seek God now and as such come to a position of forgiveness with God and then have a confidence of being able to stand in his presence as those who have done wrong, but are forgiven!

Or under that same Grace we can choose to not seek him or his forgiveness and as such remain in the place of those who have done wrong, who are not forgiven.

Did you notice that in both groups we are those who have done wrong.
(I know, this can be a talking point all on it’s own.)

I stand with the group who seek Him and his forgiveness and as such I have this hope to see him face to face in Love.

The bible talks about much pain and suffering those who are not forgiven as all that is left is, Judgement for the unforgiven.

The Good News is that if you are reading this then you still have the Grace and time to seek him!

The question is how will you use this Grace and time that has been given to you?

Will you continue to believe that it doesn’t matter what you believe or that it’s all a load of nonsense and not worth looking into, only to face the consequences or will you ask for Father to show himself to you in the here and now?

A starting point can be to ask him, God, if you are there then show yourself to me.

Then try to seek him. No, I don’t mean go outside and see if he is hiding round the corner.
What I mean is, just try to be mindful about him.
If you seek him then he will find you! (It works better if you do this with all your heart, but he will take you just as you are now.)

Father,
Help us all to be more mindful of you, so that we all can see you that much better in the here and now.
Help us to use the Grace you have given us for our good.
To make good decisions which lead to life and good things for all.
Amen

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Can wanting perfection be a lie from the enemy?

This might on the face of it seem like a silly question.
After all, aren’t we meant to do our best for God?
So surely perfection should be a good goal to aim for…???

I do think that aiming for perfection is a good thing to do, but if we aim so intently and become target fixated then, can it become a lie from the enemy?

If we move to the position of “I don’t want to step out, move on, or act in any way until it’s just right” then we might be caught by a lie from the enemy.

You see the enemy wants us to do nothing.
He is happy for us to sit there and procrastinate.
Especially if he can keep us there indefinitely.
He wants to stop us from doing anything for God and will use anything to achieve this.
Even the lie of,

“It must be perfect before you do it.”

So does this mean we should give God our 2nd best?

By no means?
We should always try to do our best for God but we do need to be aware that we are not yet perfect and as such perfection might be out of our grasp for the moment.

We should always do and give our best to God but sometimes we might feel that our best isn’t good enough. It is at these times when the enemy will repeat his lie, “It MUST be perfect”.

It is at these times we must not listen to the lie but listen to God and give Him the best that we can, even if we think it isn’t enough.
We need to listen to God more than we listen to ourselves.

We may not see the whole picture, but we do have our part to play.
God does want us to do our part, however imperfect we may think it is.
He has this ability of taking our imperfect and making the perfect with it. We just need to be willing to do our part and step out, even if we think we are not quite ready yet.

God will take what we offer to Him and will help and guide us, if we will trust and follow Him, and His ways.

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The Blinking light.

There was a cyclist who had a red led light which he used on the back of his bike. It was one of those USB rechargeable ones. He would keep it charged up and then when he rode his bike he would set it to it’s blinking setting so that all the other road users would see him and know that he was there.

The cyclist was pleased with his light. It work well, keeping the cyclist safe on all those dark cold mornings.

The little blinking light knew none of this. It just did it’s task, without missing a beat.

However one day the little light became a bit despondent.
Why am I doing all this blinking?
I don’t see the point of it all.
Sure I like all that recharging, but all that cold and endless blinking is wearing me down.
Why am I bothering with all this?
Should I just stop and not give out my light anymore?

The cyclist, becoming aware of this spoke to the light.

Don’t give up!
I am well pleased with all your efforts.
You’ve served me well keeping me visible and safe on all those cold mornings. You could probably be called a life saver.
Please continue to shine your light and thus keep me safe.

Have you ever felt like the light did?

Why am I doing this?
How much longer should I keep going?
I just don’t see the point!

If you are doing what your meant to be doing then just stick with it. Sometimes we just don’t realise the difference we make.

You could possibly be a life saver without ever knowing it!
Never underestimated the power of your actions when they are done for Father.

Sometimes we might see the results but, sometimes we won’t until a later date. All we can do is to try and give Father our best and leave the “why” with him.

After all, won’t it be the best thing ever to hear him say to you, ….

“Well done good and faithful servant, I am well pleased with YOU.”

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Why is it that when you have troubles people can tend to tell you to rest up, and do nothing?

This might seem like a bit of a strange question but I have sometimes found myself asking this very question in times of trouble.

I understand people’s intentions when they have said such words to me. (Or taken away tasks which I was doing or was about to start doing.) They are trying to help me by giving me time to work things out.

The problem is that sometimes it might not be exactly what is needed at the time.

You might think that this is a strange thing to say, because if you are having troubles then surely having time to work things out is a good thing…..isn’t it…???

Sometimes the answer is yes, time is needed to work things out and having less to do can help the process but at other times the answer could be a resounding NO!

Sometimes, if you are having troubles then having something to do can be just the tonic the doctor ordered, as the saying goes. If this seems strange at face value to you then shall we look into it a bit further?

One of my first points of calls is the bible. So, what does the bible have to say about this?
One reference to rest which is probably well known is Matthew 11 vs 28

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Well does that sound like I have got this wrong then…??? The verse is telling me we can have rest. So, should I just put my feet up and take some time out when troubles come my way?

I wonder how many people would be putting their feet up if everybody chose to do this. ☺ 

I think we need to ask what is God’s rest?
I think part of the answer to that question is found in Matthew 11 vs 29-30

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Do we ever read vs 28 and ignore 29-30 ? The passage needs to be read as a whole though.

In 29-30 God does not say put your feet up and take it easy but instead says take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

He has work for us to do. It is a task which we can do. He will not overburden us, but (in this instance) he does not say do nothing. On the contrary he says get up and do something.

What that something is for each individual person is going to be different and individually right for each person. (Sorry but I can’t tell you what that something is, you’ll need to hear that from Father himself for the answer to that question.)

So can you now see where I’m coming from?
Why is it that when you are having troubles people can sometimes think they can help you by removing a burden?

Sometimes it might be just the thing that is needed for a short while but it might not be.
Sometimes it may be that the very thing we need is to be a blessing to someone else. Is there a phrase about it being more blessed to give than to receive..???

There is another time in the bible which comes to mind whilst thinking about this. It’s when an angel made breakfast for Elijah and then told him to sleep. It can be found in 1 kings 19 vs 4-8

In this instance Elijah is told to eat and sleep…..for a while. He is not told to eat and sleep indefinitely but only for a short while in order to strengthen him for the journey he is about to go on.

So, even when God tells us to take a break (which I’m sure he does at times), it’s not meant to be a permanent break. He still has a task or tasks for us to do.

So where have I got to, in all this meandering?
Sometimes you need to do less and sometimes you need to do more…. Well I’m glad we have sorted that one out then….?????

I think what I’m trying to say is that because someone is having trouble it doesn’t automatically mean that they need things to be taken away from them. It might be that they may need something taken away from them or they might just need someone to walk a little closer with them for a while. It might be that they need something added to them to help them along.

I think that part of the problem is that we like to think we know what is needed. We can go on previous experience of what worked in the past. If X, Y, and Z worked then, then we shall do that again now.

Not every situation is the same though. X, Y, and Z might be chucking a hand grenade into an already painful situation.

So, where do we go now then?

My only answer to that is to seek Father, to hear his voice and his direction.

It does mean we need to be able to hear his voice and follow his lead, even if it makes no sense to us. He has the answer to each and every situation. He is the one who knows when to stop and when to rest and he also knows when to stand up and move.

So when all is said and done, are we willing to hear and follow Father’s lead? It is the best way to go.