As we continue our week of prayer at Abba House, I reflect on the grace of our being here; I reflect on the extraordinary miracle of our very existence. We don't usually marvel at what is; we see it and project our hopes and aspirations onto it, sometimes finding ourselves disappointed when our expectations are not met, sometimes overjoyed when they are.
But it is essential to take a step back and celebrate the existence of those things we take for granted. For example, I marvel at the existence of God, I marvel that He is as He is, if He were the opposite of what He is, life would be unbearable. I marvel at the existence of faith, at the capacity we are given to believe in God, that we are not doomed to waver in a dark no man's land of spiritual uncertainty. And I marvel at His works.
I marvel that Abba House exists. I know more than anyone that it is a true miracle. I know more than anyone that there is no imaginable reason for its existence other than the fact that God the Father in His infinite wisdom called it into being. And when He called it into being, it frightened me, it terrified me, and I turned a deaf ear for a while. We do not exist because we have a great visionary leader, nor because we have a courageous and bold leader, nor because one day an extraordinary team of talented individuals came together and said, 'Let's do it.'
Sometimes passing Pharisees find us wanting, we encourage them to go where they won't have to tolerate imperfect people like us, and we're glad we won't have to tolerate them. If only they knew. These diamonds are already less rough than they were before. I think of the years gone by, the temptations to take another direction, the siren songs of worldly life, and I marvel at God's persistence.
One day, in the middle of preaching, I fell to my knees, moved and grateful that God had touched me, that He had managed to pierce my shell; I thanked Him for not giving up despite my stories, despite the years spent vilifying both the Bible and God, mocking Christians; despite the years spent assiduously cultivating unbelief. God is truly not vindictive, I am living proof of that. And each of us at Abba House has our story.
For every plant that comes out of the ground, it is a long journey for the seed planted in the ground; those few little trees took time to germinate and come out; the seed carried life within it but kept the secret about the little trees that would come out of it; thus, the little trees that we are in turn do not reveal the great forest that they will become. But the same One who took a disparate band alienated from God and gathered them into a church is gradually bringing us toward what He had planned before the foundation of the world.
One of the prayers I prayed as we began this extraordinary journey of church planting was to ask God to make us people who see the invisible and believe the impossible; agents of change and transformation in society; those who live determined by the visible cannot make this journey with us. In the meantime, we simply celebrate the fact that we are here.
Yes, I recognize that I did not deserve to be there and especially to have part in the work of the one who holds the earth in his hands. But when I think back to the fact that God, through his great mercy, allows me today to be called a child of God, it leaves me speechless, because in fact God gives grace to those who want to grasp and understand what is on his heart. Now, I share this vision of a church passionate about the one who revealed himself to me and shows me the world and society as I have never seen it before. From now on, everything becomes possible for those who cling to the promise of our Father.
Thank you Lord Jesus for all that you are.
Hello Christie,
I marvel that, as a young convert, you understand these things.
I marvel that, as a young convert, you can express them like this...
God is truly love. And I have always wondered how far this love could go... Obviously, you answer it: "You marvel at God's love, because He is Love and it cannot be otherwise even when everything is collapsing around you, you know that your trust in Him can and must be unshakeable like His love for you."
I am amazed!!!!
Amen Christelle, you are right, God is there for us and for nothing in the world should we doubt his love and his presence in our lives because even when everything is going badly, he is there and in any case God would never impose on his child a test that he cannot overcome! So let us keep the faith so that the sacrifice of his life for us is not in vain.
Vanessa
Wow! If only people knew the struggles of those who choose to obey God's call rather than being intimidated by the devil and the discouraging Pharisees: the commitment, the sacrifices, the fear of not being up to it...
What if the Pharisees chose to work on their own calling rather than trying to break the calling of others? Everyone will have to answer for their own lives. Have I spent my life doing the works He has prepared in advance, or have I spent my time breaking and preventing brothers and sisters from obeying their calling despite their faults?
I too am amazed by God's perseverance towards us! When I see the work He has done in my life and His love, His patience while others said I was a loser or incapable. If people knew the fight! Let us not despise a single one of His little ones!! But let us encourage one another as many times as we can say today, says the Bible. May our lives be in accordance with His perfect will and not ours or that of others.
I marvel at God's love, because He is Love and He cannot be otherwise. Even when everything is crumbling around us, I know that my trust in Him can and must be unshakeable, just as His love for me is.
Let us marvel!!!!
Christelle