God is Able

Our God is able. That is the message blaring from my CD just now. He is with us; he will make a way.

How often I have needed to hear such encouragements! How grateful I am that I know they are not empty platitudes but truths grounded in the faithfulness and love of our wonderful God.

It’s been a morning. Waking to an email and skype with more disturbing news from the Long Beach home front, and knowing that decisions will need to be made. I don’t feel up to them. Thank the good Lord that he is able. He is with me. He will make a way. 

Then a phone call with someone else who is hurting, fasting for a situation to change, clinging to his Saviour. I want to sweep in and make it all ok but the truth is, I can’t. I have no power. But hallelujah, our God is able. He is with them. He will make a way.

A Bible study discussing the justice of a holy God. A challenging and disturbing topic in some ways but yet again, so glad that no judgment calls are required of me. Our God is able and he will make all such decisions. 

A discussion of the plight of our dear sisters and brothers in the Nineveh Plain in Iraq, and in Syria, where Christianity is in peril of being wiped out after two millennia of believers inhabiting these countries. I want to do something. What can I do? The West has already messed things up in those areas by wading in unwisely. Praise God, that he is able. He is with them. He will make a way. My job is to pray and to trust and to listen for any further directions from him who is able.

A further discussion of the situation in Russia and in various European countries where xenophobia is on the rise, racism and anti-Semitism gaining adherents daily. The increasingly belligerent rhetoric coming from the Kremlin and Washington and London and other major cities. Planes being intercepted within territorial waters. Submarines snagging the nets of fishing boats and refusing to surface. Disturbing. Alarming even. Thank God, that he is able. He knows what is coming. He can guide my prayers and keep me attentive. 

Yet one more disturbing topic: maternal mortality round the world, but one third of all deaths come from just two countries: India and Nigeria. How can this be, when these countries have funds for space exploration and nuclear development? When will women’s rights be seen as human rights and treated accordingly? More prayer: will I ever get off my knees? Thank God, he is able; he is powerful and just and loving and merciful. 

Ending with a favourite section of scripture, from Philippians 4. ‘Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’

Amen and Amen.

Cloud Cover

Thick clouds continue to blanket the northeast of Scotland, plunging the temperatures below a seasonal norm.

But it is not a seamless blanket of gloom, thankfully. In fact, as I write it is as if a cotton wool covering is being torn apart in various places and the sunshine is penetrating, warming the air and encouraging growth and cheerfulness down here on the land.

I love the sky here, because it is always different, always changing. And the silver lining in the cloud cover is that when it breaks near the position of the sun in the sky, shafts of golden light beam down as if from heaven itself. To me it is the glory of God reminding me that he is there still, he is always there, whether or not I see him, whether or not I feel like he's active in my life or even with me at all. His promises never fail, that he is with me always right up until the end; his promises don't depend on my feeling him near, they depend on the faithfulness of his character. He keeps his promises.

Some countries in the world seem to be under a heavy blanket of unbelief. Violence is never far away in many countries, often predicated on religious intolerance and extremist views. This afternoon I'm thinking of Iraq and Syria, especially, and the Sudan and Nigeria, places where cruelty and despotism are never far away. I pray that God will break through that blanket of hatred and intolerance and shine his glory down on those beleaguered nations, that he will reach down and save those innocent people who are just trying to live their lives and who have very few choices.

Let your glory fall, Lord Jesus, and penetrate and dissolve the clouds of evil intent which cover so many nations.