Nougat 23

Hi there

It’s Saturday and I grasped the opportunity for a sleep in. I tell you, it shifts one’s perspective and helps to restore and renew. The only thing that beats it for me, is spending time with Jesus. Thankfully, I am doing that more often than before, instead of turning to others! Wanna know why? Here’s today’s Holy Nougat, written when David was on the run.

“I sought ADONAI, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalms‬ ‭34:5‬ ‭TLV‬‬

My dears, even as a Christian, matter of fact even as a pastor, my ‘natural instinct’ was to seek advice from everyone, to worry and het up myself or both (not always in that order), BEFORE considering that I should consult with God. And sometimes, I even followed the others’ advice without checking in with God. Not you – I’m so glad to hear that.

I assure you my dears, that there is an easier less stressful way.

You see, God desires relationship with us. From as early as Creation, we note God engaging humans in conversation (of course one might facetiously say the other creatures are smarter than us – they knew instinctively what they were to do in their environment; and we didn’t! But even then …). This suggests some kind of relationality between God and humans. In Genesis 2, we even find Adam employed by God in naming the animals, implying him being in consultation with God in a regular basis.

We were made for relationship with God. And that’s the fact.

Being in right relationship means that we begin with the understanding of God as Creator. A creator or manufacturer knows a product intimately and is usually able to pinpoint the root of a defect, advise against certain ‘threats’ to product life, provide warnings and indicators of reactions under certain conditions, suggest side effects and even offer a ‘sell by’ or expiration date on the product. Plus, a creator is usually proud of their handiwork. As Creator, God should know those things also – or maybe God isn’t God.

When we start our spiritual relationship with that premise – of God as Creator, Who desires our best interests – it may be easier to approach God as Problem Solver or Troubleshooter. For God not only created us humans, but God created the universe in its entirety. Having created us with a nature and mindset patterned after God’s own; I believe God understands human logic better than we think. God has dealt with all those brokenly blessed saints in the Bible; I assure us, there’s little we can do or be afraid of that should shock God.

So, having accepted God as Creator, we then seek the Creator when things aren’t going as they should. Doubts, fears, illness, tribulations, famine, calamity, crisis, pandemic etc to discern What Next. For, as with human-created products, different situations may have several possible reasons for their origin. Our human situations may be pointing to different things in our or another’s lives. In some cases, God’s not even asking us to fix it. But God will give us the strength to endure.

In times of distress, doubts, disease, dis-ease, death, and discernment I commend David’s words to us – Seek Adonai and find Deliverance from the fears.

In Christ’s love and grace . . .