Please hit "WEBCASTS"
Episode 8
Afterglow
One fact of life we must accept is that things do not always go as expected. Life is not always smooth sailing, but is in fact uncertain and unpredictable. Change is inevitable in life, and so are interruptions. We need to learn to accept interruptions and cope with them. “Every man’s life is a diary in which he means to write one story, and is forced to write another” (J. Wallace).
We have a classic example in the life of the Paul. The Bible informs us, “I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while” (Romans 15:21). Paul’s dream was to go to Spain and his plan was to preach the good news of Christ. But his dream was completely shattered. But instead, his journey was interrupted and he landed in a prison cell in Rome!
Instead of feeling discouraged, devastated, complaining and groaning, he became a Himpossible thinker. He used that interruption to preach in prison and wrote four of his greatest letters traditionally called the “Prison Epistles (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon). These letters are theologically and practically powerful and cover a whole spectrum of issues regarding Church life, Christian living, and Christ.
Like Paul, a Himpossible Thinker will learn to “deal with disappointment, with disrupted plans and deferred hopes and unrealized dreams.” He wanted Spain and got a prison. If you have missed your Spain and gained a prison, the creative Christian question for you to ask is not, “How can I bear this thing?” but “How can I use it?” How can I turn my frustrated interruption into fulfilled interruption?
Similarly, in the Bible we find stories of people who faced their interruption with courage and a sense of destiny which in the end plan B turned out to better than plan A. Hagar, a single mom, was forced into the desert with her boy to die of thirst. Joseph, wanting to fulfil divine dreams, was seized, stripped, sold as a slave, and imprisoned in Egypt. Moses was caught between the splendours of Egyptians royalty and thankless afflictions with God’s people. David, being anointed by Samuel, was pursued by Israelite troops. Hezekiah, seeking revival, was trapped by the most powerful army on earth, bent on annihilating his people. The Lord’s disciples sailed at his command on Galilee only to face a terror-filled night of storms and waves. All their disappointments became HIS Appointment. As a result, “Every disappointment was a door, every interruption an opportunity, every frustration a stimulation.”
Doctor Boreham of Australia tells the story of a man who lived in a comfortable house by a river. Under the house, he had a light, airy cellar in which he kept his prize hens. One night, the river overflowed its banks, flooded his cellar, and drowned the hens. Early the next morning, he was off to this landlord to complain about the house and give notice of his intention to move. “But why?” asked the landlord. “I thought you liked the house.” “I do,” said the tenant, “very much, but the river has flooded the cellar and all my hens are drowned.” “Oh,” said the landlord, “don’t move on account of that. Try ducks.”
Setbacks and interruptions are not necessarily bad. Instead of resenting them, we should welcome them because they can become “fruitful frustrations” (J. Hamilton). Face them as Himpossible Thinkers. We need to renew the faith and courage of our hearts and gain from our crosses, as Jesus gained from His: faith, hope, and glory.
High up in the north of Scotland there is a hunting lodge which has become a famous show place. One day, many years ago, a guest opened a bottle of soda and splashed its contents over the newly decorated wall. The other guests hoped it would dry and disappear but it didn’t; it left a long unsightly splotch, stretching almost from floor to ceiling. The guests went away feeling that the scolding of their host was justified.
But one man remained behind. He studied the blotch on the wall, then he went to work on it with crayons and charcoal and finally, oil paints. With quick, bold strokes, he turned the brown stains into brown Highland rocks, with a cataract pouring over them. Where the stain was deepest the painted a glorious Highland stag leaping into the torrent, pursued by hunters in the background. His name? Sir Edwin Landseer, the artist famous for his paintings of animals. By this thoughtful and considerate action he brought good out of evil and beauty out of ugliness. Ever since then, every artist passing through the town has stopped to study Landseer’s picture and on the walls of the lodge many have added drawings of their own, until now it is no longer just a lodge for careless guests but an abiding place of beauty for those who love beauty.
Indeed God “can take our blunders, our failures, even our deliberate sins and weave them into a pattern of beauty and make even our frustrations fruitful!” (J. Wallace)
Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees
And looks to that alone
Laugh at life’s impossibilities
And cries, “It shall be done!”
Andrew Murray tells us how he turned frustrated interruption into fruitful interruption by saying to himself, “I am here,
“We gain nothing by our restless and anxious efforts. In times of difficulty and perplexity, we need to stand still, to wait only upon God, and He will assuredly open a way for us because “Faith raises the soul above the difficulty, straight to God himself, and enables one to stand still” (C. H. Mackintosh).
Never a trial that He is not there
Never a burden that He does not bear
Never a sorrow that HE does not share
Moment by moment, we’re under His care.
Twenty Timely Theological Truths for Today
“…I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)
How to Know God Personally
Who is God?
The God as revealed in the Bible is the eternal, infinite-personal God who is the creator of humankind. He knows you, loves you and cares for you.
Who are You?
Because you are created in the image of God, you are a person of worth, value and dignity endowed with great potential. You were created to have a special relationship, fellowship, and communication with God. But that special relationship was broken when the first humankind rebelled and disobeyed Him. As a result, a gulf was created between God and human beings ever since.
Who Is Jesus?
God seeks to restore you to where He always wanted you to be. God did it by means of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to bridge the gulf between you and God. Now through faith in Jesus Christ your relationship, fellowship and communication with God can be restored. Your sins can be forgiven and you can experience abundant living and possess eternal life.
I Believe, Now What?
Say this simple prayer.
Dear God,
I believe in you.
Thank You for sending your son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins.
I admit I am a sinner.
I open the door of my life and receive Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord.
Thank You God for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life.
From today onwards, take control of my life.
Help me live a meaningful and fulfilled life. Amen.
REMEMBER: Three Tremendous, Timeless and Timely Truths
GOD LOVES ME
JESUS DIED FOR ME
HOLY SPIRIT LIVES IN ME
Discussion Questions