When life throws a curve ball

The recent event that happened in our lives caught us by surprise. We realized we had been complacent and we paid dearly for that. We became anxious, scared, traumatized and wondered deep in our hearts if God was punishing us. 


So we prayed and read our Bible and came upon the story of Job. Here was a righteous man, blameless in the sight of God and yet he suffered such a great loss - his wealth, his children and his health. And yet he still said, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken, Blessed be the name of the Lord". Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God (Job 1:21b-22). He also declared, "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10b)


Those words gave us comfort and the following Sunday, we were further encouraged by the sermon of our Pastor as he exhorted us to stand strong in the midst of troubles. 


Looking back at what happened that early morning more than a week ago, we realized we had so much to be thankful for: we were not harmed, and not everything was taken from our home.


When life throws a curve ball...so what! so we missed one hit. But the game is not over yet. That curve ball didn't result in a strike out. Instead of moping and wanting to remain  on the bench, our Heavenly Coach wants us to go back to the field and keep on swinging. Knowing that this Heavenly Coach has never lost a game should give us the energy and the strength to continue playing the game of life.

ifast

Today is the last day of our church's (Victory Christian Fellowship) annual Prayer and Fasting week. I once again participated, as I have done so for the past several years. For me the cleansing of body, soul and spirit is a very appropriate way of starting the year. Denying myself with a certain amount of food allows my body to be rid of some toxins that can be harmful to my health. At the same time, confessing my sins to God cleanses my soul of things that separate me from Him. Finally, praying, not for myself nor for my needs, but for those of others, gives my spirit that unfettered sense of being closer to God and His people.


I do not fast out of compulsion, nor because almost everybody else in church is doing so, nor to appear more spiritual. I do not fast because I want God to expedite giving me things that I desire for myself.


I fast because that is something I wanted to do. To be one with the body of Christ in offering our prayers, seeking God's love and kindness to meet the needs of our families and friends, to raise up more workers in spreading the gospel, to bless our people and our nation, and to protect our brothers and sisters facing persecution.


ilove God and
icare for His creation and so
ipray and
ifast