From Depression to Finding God’s Joy https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/30588 Today, i wanted to skip blogging but here I am. Last week was really a bumpy week with unexpected challenges. What's new? That's for another day. Back to the above bible reading plan. I decided to join my friend's suggested plan this time. What's new? We have just completed 2 short plans together this month. never been done before! Here are some highlights from Day 1. Join us!
Isaiah 40:31(Amplified Bible)
But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]
Will gain new strength and renew their power;
They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];
They will run and not become weary,
They will walk and not grow tired.
Wait, wait, wait. Many many times in my life, I got tired of waiting. Waiting to finally get a better job, waiting to get married 😆(lol), waiting to finally have a nice holiday, waiting to have "work life balance". The list goes on.
Something was missing. I've been waiting for the things I wanted or still want. I was not waiting for Him. I was not seeking Him. (Jer 29:13).
Sure, I was checking off some items in the list of spiritual things to do:
1) Go to church (online service)
2) Read bible (yes, not everyday)
3) Attend Homes (CG)
4) Serve (play guitar)
But, these were just surface level stuff. I knew I had not gone deeper in a long time.
Most of the time, I was waiting for the right time to spend more time with God. I remember using this excuse all the time "God, I'm too tired, how can i enjoy your Word now? Maybe tomorrow". There was always a show/movie to watch. There was always something else to do. Work was always not done well enough or could not be finished on time. (yes, many days were really really beyond my control)
I was not able to wait in silence. I lost the ability to wait and listen.
To cut the long story short, this month March 2022, I wanted a comeback from my setbacks. I wanted to get spiritually fit again. I had to learn to listen and abide in Jesus. Just like physical muscles can't be trained in just one month, I know there's a long way to go. So much discipline is needed to just sit with the bible and pray, journal, etc etc. Disciplne to do and not do (topic for another day).
1 Corinthians 9:27 (New Living Translation)
I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT)
My thoughts: what if we spent more time on the Word? on Kingdom acts of love and good works? Would we then naturally be able to recommend Kingdom stuff to our fellow Christians? In other words, think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works?
The more time we spend with the Word (Jesus is the Word), the more we abide in Him, I believe the more we will be able to encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Let me give just a few examples how everyone encouraged me(fresh from just the last 2 weeks)
1) A friend asked me hard Kingdom questions, which encouraged and woke me up on 2nd March 2022.
2) On 4th March,we had HOMES and most of you shared so many things which were encouraging. I mainly recall one sister's testimony about how she chose to reduce social media and spend more time on Bible etc. She was greatly blessed both spiritually and materially.
3) We all started to share in whatsapp about what we read. So much spiritual food. I felt the need to reduce entertainment/social media etc and spend more time reading what everyone sent plus my own bible reading, plus i would choose to consume biblical content on Youtube/books/podcasts/etc.
4) Because i had so much Word in me, i somehow was able to talk about Kingdom stuff with 2 Christian brothers 11 and 12 March 2022. They too were struggling and needed encouragement.
5) I learned so more about the book of Job after spending time to watch videos on Youtube about the book of Job, instead of the mindless scrolling through of content.
The Book of Job Explained
( i especially like this one. It's 44 minutes long and in the past, i never bothered to finish it. This time, i watched it by parts and learned a lot)
So my dear friends, let's keep encouraging one another!
After i publish this, i am rushing off to play futsal :)
6) Thought of this during futsal resting time. On 9 March 2022, Jason shared about the Peter healing the lame beggar. That somehow gave me faith to lay hands on myself the next morning before i started work. This was because i felt the inflammation (possibly from indigestion) and had been feeling tired the last 3 days. That day, i believe i received supernatural strength to go on and the pain subsided.
©2009People Blog I Oso Blog | by TNB
