God Speaks to Us

Isaiah 41:10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”.

He tells us not to be afraid. Why? because he is with us. He tells us not be dismayed. Why? because he is our God. How can we do this? He strengthen us and helps us. He upholds us with his righteous right hand. God protects us. He helps us. He gives us strength. When we are afraid, we find that he is with us. God’s righteous right hand upholds us even though we can’t see it. Truly, this is utterly amazing!

God assures us that he is with us. He assures us that we don’t need to be afraid for he is with us. We may feel all alone but he promises that he is always with us. We may wonder about this for our faith is small. But he promises that he is with us and will always be with us. Right now, while I’m trying to put my thoughts in a manageable manner, he promises me that he is with me. Amazing.

I joined a familiar group of ladies for a bible study this week. The women had joy. Their joy pumped me up. The lesson never mentioned joy, but the joy went from person to person. It was a beautiful thing. God gives the women joy. The joy went from one person to the another and back again and again. They were happy to share together. Their joy encouraged me.

But it’s not easy for them. One woman can barely hear but she is joyful. Another woman has to use a walker but she is joyful. The host, a woman in her eighties, is a happy camper. Why? You guessed it, because of the Lord. She loves him. He makes a difference to her. He helps her. God is taking care of her, and she knows it. That’s a good reason for her to praise him. I’m so encouraged when people choose to thank God for his provision rather than complain about what is going wrong in their lives.

The lady I just told you about has lost three of her four children. Her husband passed-on a few years ago. Her circumstances seem sort of rough. She could complain but she realizes God is in control, and she wouldn’t want to complain about what he has done for her. God is her destiny. God is her truth. God keeps her and helps her. Her remaining son lives a few blocks away, which is a real blessing. We partook of the bible study, but for me, I was uplifted by the care of the women sharing their faith with each other.

Sometimes I get discouraged. Life pulls me down. But the joy of the Lord is my strength, a very present help in times of trouble. Let’s let our light shine. Let’s help others. Let’s stand up and be counted. I want to praise God, for he is worthy of my praise. God is real. He keeps us. He feeds us. He’s worth shouting about! He loves you, He loves me. If we could really get a grasp of his love, we would be satisfied in a pure and blessed way.

The Examine and Me

Read the following five statements before you lay down at night. Consider them closely. deeply, and reflectively. Pray for God’s wisdom and guidance. Commit the following day to God. Actively wait. Watch what happens. You may be surprised.

Let’s say, you aren’t exactly sure how to approach God. Well, you can learn from others. Take St. Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish priest and theologian. He understood the dailyness of walking the faith. He had a simple habit he prayed each night. It was the last thing he did before retiring. He prayed the prayer I wrote down. Of course, he spent some time on each thought. His walk grew and changed the more he grew and changed. He was grounded in word and worship as he daily partook of the grace God gave him.

The Examine: Pray Each Evening

  1. Ask God to be with you.
  2. Recall events of the day for which you feel grateful.
  3. Do a review of the day.
  4. Ask forgiveness for any sins.
  5. Ask for grace to follow grace more closely the following day.

The Examine was formed and followed each day by St. Ignatius long ago (1500’s). It was his habit. The last thing he did each day was he would review his day, thinking through his actions, thoughts, struggles and blessings. He’d look closely each day so that the next day he might be all that he should desire to be. Her wanted to be all that God wished he would be.

The History of the Examine

Was it easy? No. Was it worth while? Yes. His life reflected his walk with God. God was his strength. He learned from God. His life was an example to his brothers and to the world at large. He was intent on doing his life the way God wanted him to live it. There were many men who followed him as monks in the ecclesiastical home, but that didn’t make it easier. Every day there are problems to solve. People who need help. Things to do. But God makes a difference when you rely on Him.

St, Ignatius lived a life that was remarkable. He experienced God in an unusual way. Before he had a remarkable conversion, he was quite taken with impressing others and drawing attention to himself with his dress and weapons. Then God got a hold of him. He gave his outfit away. He lived poor and on the gifts or help of others. He spent hours. I mean hours in prayer and so forth. He was a literally changed man.

Taking the Examine to Heart

I started reading about St. Ignatius back in 2008. A couple of years later I wrote his prayer on a slip of paper so that I might recite it every night. During this time I read some of the great authors of the church beyond my baptist training. I was surprised and taken aback by the depth I found in Chesterton, Ignatius, St. Thomas and others. I realized I had been blind out of ignorance. Back in the day there was so much I had been closed to learning. Mistakingly I believed the only sincere Christians were evangelicals. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I learned much about paying attention to the gist of their writings even though I held a somewhat different view. You can do this too.

Christians need to get their eyes off the ways they do Christian work. We can learn a bunch of things that we never gave much thought to. If we all give a measure of good thought to the ways of Christ, we would grow and develop hearts that are close to things of God. It’s so beautiful to draw near to God, then God draws near to us. We can learn much from God. The more we draw upon Him, the more we understand and cherish the things we know and learn from Him. These things are close to our soul.

Cherish These Things…Always

God will be with you. You may not be aware of Him now, but He is active and concerned about you and your welfare. You may be in one of those times when you feel lonely and think you are all alone, but God is there. He cares, helps and heals. You can call out to Him, and He will come. Maybe not the moment you call, but He is with you. I’m so glad He is with me and you.