Reflect
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In Jesus I Abide
by Bettina Van Vaerenbergh
No matter what happens in my life,
Sorrow or joy, rain or shine,
Whatever befalls me, it's all right
Because in Jesus I abide.
With His presence, He shelters me
From many dangers all too real.
Like a lamb, He carries me
Over steep hill and stormy sea.
In the midst of pain and hurt,
When I feel confused and stirred,
To Jesus I can always turn
And find solace in His Word.
His is the only voice I hear,
So familiar and so dear.
I know that I can trust in Him,
So to Him alone I cling.
Jesus keeps me from going astray;
I'll always follow in His way.
Forever loved, secure and safe,
I stand in His amazing grace.
Published by Family Friend Poems February 2020
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- Proverbs 2, 3 and 4
- Psalm 37 and 91
- Ephesians 1 and 3
Quiet Movements
by Wendy Gerdes
In our fast-paced culture, looking backwards to see where we have been can feel like an arduous exercise and may not make it high on our priority list of things to do. However, this practice has great value because it is in this space, we begin to be able to trace the sometimes invisible hand of God in our lives.
When looking backwards with Him, we gain the courage to move forward in our lives. This is where we see the hand of God where we didn’t before and begin to notice He really is always with us, for us and has our best in mind even when we can’t see it in the moment. Sometimes we uncover disappointments and the sorrow we experience in the ‘not yets’ and tending to these places with Him allows Him to bring the healing we desperately need to areas of our heart we are often too busy to notice. In the quiet, when we allow ourselves to sit with our questions, we begin to notice the small and vulnerable seeds of hope that are beginning to bud. So often, we begin to see the garden of our lives taking shape under His loving care. We notice fruit we didn’t see before and celebrate with Him. Cultivating these places with God grows our faith and trust in Him.
God tenderly cares for us. In John 15:1 Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” (NIV) Other translations state that the Father is the ‘Vindedresser.’ In our world of commercial farming, it is hard for us to imagine the tender care an ancient vinedresser would have had for the vines. Every vine would have the tender care it needed individually. Some vines would need to be staked and others would have needed to be pruned. Vinedressing was year-round work and required knowledgable eyes and skilled hands. Knowing what each individual vine needed, the vinedresser would have tailor made his care for each vine. What would be good for one, may harm another. What may appear to be good to the untrained eye, may actually diminish fruit later on in the season.
John 15:4 says, “Remain in me as I remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” This demonstrates God’s tender care for each of us as we simply remain in Him. Our job is to remain, cooperate with Him and trust His movements in our lives even when we don’t understand. Fruit doesn’t come from trying to produce, but by remaining. Noticing is one way we remain.
By looking back over our year of growth, we can see what God has done and is doing in us. Sometimes it still may be unclear, but even then, we once again can submit ourselves to His loving care of us and keep remaining. Reflecting on our lives is one way we can cooperate with Him and open our hearts up more to Him. He may reveal a place we are hiding, show us a diseased placed in us He wants to heal, encourage us as we look at growth and renew hope in us. He will also show us all that is worth celebrating! Whatever it is, we can rest assure that God tenderly cares for our hearts and knows what we need in every season of our lives. Let’s keep remaining and celebrating what He is doing!
Link to Wendy's blog