Of Energy and Battles

Having my self-proclaimed vacation because of a birthday surprise I received from my body, I've been left in our room to isolate myself and save the entire humanity from the wrath of the socially unacceptable and jejemon-like bulutong tubig... or in high class terms - Chicken Pox. Being in solitude, doing mundane things everyday made me lose my energy. Aside from the on-and-off fever and sore throat I'm having because of my uninvited guest, I believe after a few days I'm now able to function better than when my sickness started, but nonetheless I slept and lay on the bed feeling drained.

No quiet times with the Lord, just short, occasional prayers.

~O~

The Apostle Paul is someone I greatly admire. And unlike any fictitious superhero we idolize nowadays, Paul was real and as human as you and I. Recalling how he did his missionary journeys - enduring not only the hardships of the travel but more importantly the persecutions in each destination he had, the many near-death experiences he encountered, makes me think what kind of man was he?

Was he really that strong? Exercised well? Went to gym often? Trained well to gain such strength and endurance?

I think it's something else. For Paul, himself, said:

"To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me."

Colossians 1:29 (NIV)

~O~

Reading what Paul had mentioned made me stop and think... Am I like Paul? Have I strenuously contended with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me? Do I contend or do I merely drop down and surrender? 

Or do I even claim the power that God gives as I ask?

Have you ever asked yourself these questions? Many a times I'm sure that like me you have found yourself drained and lost and powerless against sufferings, temptations and persecutions. We feel like we have nothing more to lose so we give up, we feel like nothing's worth fighting for, we feel like it's a losing battle, or worse - we just know we're incapable... and so we stop there. 

But God always reminds us that He is the God of the impossible... where we stand incapable there he rescues us, lifts us up and carries us; just like how he carried our sins on his cross. We just have to believe and have faith and not be moved. We have to know that he CAN and he WILL therefore we, too, CAN and WILL because of HIM. Who then shall be drained, or tired, or weary again? :)

This is how we contend - we fight knowing behind us is the Almighty God therefore we shall never fail and that if we do, He will come to aid. This is how we contend - amidst the temptations we know that He does not give us any temptation beyond what we can bear. This is how we contend - even beyond understanding we TRUST in His WILL because we know He loves us no matter what... and that is the greatest love of all.

This is how we contend, knowing that everyday is a battle, and a battle where we NEVER fight alone. A battle already won, we just have to claim it. Jesus already conquered and death, and conquered it for us. So what's left to doubt? What's left to question? What's not to contend for?

~O~

So now, I challenge you, as I have challenged myself...

Let's pick up our crosses, follow Jesus and contend for the faith that we have :)

~O~

Finally, not an occasional prayer and not "no quiet times" any more.  :">

Of Complaints and Sufferings

Ang hirap naman! 'Di ko na kaya 'to! Nakakainis, ayoko na!! 

These were the words that escaped my mind and, more horrendously, my mouth every time I failed the 24-hour vow of silence I am keeping for my soul training. In case you don't know, I am naturally a blabber mouth -  so practising an entire day of silence was ULTRA HARD for me. From the very beginning, I knew that it was going to be hard, but who'd thought that by saying that I meant failing in as fast as 10 minutes!

Well anyway, as I was reflecting on the fact that I have failed 3 times in a span of an hour and a half, I almost came to the conclusion that I am rendered powerless by my tongue and am at the mercy of this suffering. But that was when God knocked into my heart and said "Hep hep! Why don't you let me help you with that?"

~O~

"Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."

Luke 22:42 (NLT)

In the verse above from Luke, we read the very words of Jesus Christ, the God and Man, asking for His beloved Father to rid him of His sufferings. More than surely and more than once in our lives, I'm certain that we have found ourselves in the very position - asking for God's help, kneeling and begging for Him to take away the pains and suffering we could no longer bear. We ask Him to free us from the painful experiences, painful decisions and lonely paths we have to take - and sometimes, we just find ourselves still in anguish and still with the burden and pain and cursing God.

Even Jesus prayed to God; but in the end he still died a painful death on the cross.

Is our God, a God who forsakes, then? A God who leaves us to rot, for He left even His one and only son to die a slow and painful death?

Now Jesus was MAN and GOD. He was Divine, for He is of the Father... but He is MAN - a man who sweat, grew tired and hungry and thirsty, a man who peed and pooed and probably smelled. Jesus was no different from the people before nor no different from us! There was no cheat because of His Divinity, because for us to be saved, he needed to be fully a HUMAN. With this, pain is no visitor for him but an old friend, an old friend He did not want to meet again, but reunited with anyway.

The answer to the many questions is simple - Jesus is God, and God really really IS love. Therefore God offered His Son and Jesus willed His Father's will because of LOVE. The crown of thorns, the heavy cross, the piercing of the nails - all of these did nothing to make Jesus back out from the promise of LOVE he lives for us. Love conquered all... EVEN DEATH :)

~O~

Realizing that Jesus died on the cross while watching the people He saved forsake Him; yet with a heart that swells with forgiveness and grace is enough for me to stop and say to myself...

Jesus died on the cross for me, what is my pain compared to his?

With this I am resolved to having my sufferings as my offerings. What are these pains when there is comfort from God himself and in his will. He says...

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

In whatever suffering and trials that we may have, the Lord is always there. He may not always take it away from us, but I am sure that he carries us where we can no longer walk. For His plan has already conquered death, what else is there to fear? :)

Of Fools and Standards

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Galatians 1:10, (NIV)

~O~

It’s startling to realize that the easiest and sincerest to please IS no other than God. True – the God of the most high, the Creator, the most powerful, the incomprehensible Majesty, He is the easiest to please. When all else fails, when your voice breaks upon singing, when your performance becomes other people’s laughing stock, when what you’ve reached is the least level, when what you’ve drawn is the ugliest, when your smell is the stinkiest, when your idea is the most absurd, when other people raise eyebrows, when you’re the fool, the awkward and the exhausted…

The Lord applauds for you.

While our standards bear on what is seen and what is materialistically important, our God’s standard goes beyond. It goes beyond and digs deeper into the core of every being – the heart. He actually isn’t a God of standards. He is the God of love who graciously pours out love and blesses beyond what the world takes value for.

So when people can’t see your effort, when people don’t see the good in what you do, take heart as long as you have faith (:D); there is someone watching over you and painting a smile and patting your back for a job well done. The Lord doesn’t count your medals, or your number of friends, or your good reputation, or your number of very-good-stars, No – he whisks the world away and embraces your humbling offering. May it be an off-key song of praise and worship, a grammatically incorrect prayer, a small prayer, a random act of kindness to the extent of making brave choices of hurt over pleasures. He sees and he graciously blesses every small act of faith you offer Him with heart.

So, then, will I not need work for others? Working for God IS working for others. His ways and his words will EVENTUALLY bring about glory in your life for HIM. What else is there to do once you’ve learned the love you receive no matter how sinful we are?

In everything we do, against the world and against all odds… All will fall into place. How do I know? I don’t. But I have faith. For everything God created is good, and it always will be.

Being foolish to the world in God’s glory is our greatest offering to God. Let’s be fools for GOD :)