“But as it is written, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him.’ But God has revealed those things to us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2: 9 & 10).
We are having the upper part of our garage being finished off so that we can eventually provide a place for travelers and missionaries from near and afar. I have learned such a lot of principles only by watching this garage being built by different craftsmen. From laying the foundation and putting the framework into place, to installing the insulation, the plumbing and electricity and all the appliances, everything has been just so rewarding for me.
Recently I got to witness the laying of the plumbing lines. I walked up to the room and standing there all alone I had a chance to observe at all the plumbing work that had been done. Although I know nothing about plumbing, I observed the red and blue lines and followed them throughout the whole garage and figured that these were the hot and cold water lines. I saw where they reached the sink and the shower and the toilet, and I also discovered the place for the drain. I got to see and witness everything before it would eventually become invisible and hidden behind the walls. I realized that God had allowed me to see into all the things and how everything works together perfectly behind the scenes.
That day as I stood all alone in that unfinished room above the garage, God reminded me of these precious promises that He gave to those that love Him. Isn’t He just a wonderful God that He would reveal these things to us and give us such great insight without our having to work hard to understand all things? The LORD is right now pouring out His insight to the ones that love Him. They will tell the world that He is the Master Architect and the One that holds everything together. Will you be one of them?
“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the LORD,' because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no-one cares” (Jeremiah 30:17 NIV).
I always thought our dinner table was a little too massive and heavy. Also through the excessive usage in the recent years it had some deep scratches all over the surface. Now that something was spilled on the table that stained it forever, it definitely looks devastated.
Fortunately the person that was responsible for this spill took accountability and paid for the restoration cost. The restorer of the table, a 94 year old friend of ours and fine craftsman, removed the stain completely and restored the surface beautifully. Now even all the scratches are gone and our table has received a lovely glow and rich wood finish that was not there before.
Do you need the restoring touch of the Hand of God in an area of your life? Perhaps for a broken relationship or for a time in your life that was lost? You know because when God restores something unto you, He just doesn’t bring what was lost, devastated, wounded or broken back to its original condition. No, He truly goes beyond that. He takes it into His hands and then He makes it better. That’s the kind of work of restoration that only God can do and it is available to you and to all mankind.
“Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty- he is the King of glory” (Psalm 24: 7-9 NIV).
I am so glad that the LORD pointed out to me this little green “thing” that was hanging one day on a really thin thread next to our side entry door.
When I detected this “thing” I had to really get close to it. At first I thought it was a glass bead, you know a piece of jewelry that had fallen to the ground and then had been transported by the wind over to our house. The color was so beautifully green like an emerald; the quality was like of fine glass and these golden spots and a fine golden line that went across the top of this object made my eyebrows rise even more. I didn’t dare to touch it; it looked so fragile and so beautiful. As I gazed at it for a while with much curiosity and amazement I had to call my husband and other people to let them know about my discovery. I wanted to know what they thought of it.
The question arose “Could this be a cocoon?” Now I took an even closer look at it and discovered a texture like wings of a Butterfly behind the thin “thing”.” Oh Lord, your glory is revealed to us right now, isn’t it?” I said. Could this be true? Would we actually be able to witness such a beauty made by the awesome hand of God today? I went on the Internet and looked for “cocoon of a Monarch” and what did I find? I found the exact same picture of our cocoon. Wow, now that was definitely the fingerprint of Almighty God! It brought tremendous great joy and encouragement to all of us as we realized that the LORD wanted to reassure us of who He is and bless us with a God given delicate miracle.
The Bible says that the earth and all that is within it is His and that He is the King of Glory. But do you really experience and perceive in your daily life the glory of God and how glorious He is? Don’t you think that if He can make such a small precious cocoon with a golden rim and golden spots, transform a caterpillar into one of the most beautiful butterflies I know of and is called by the royal name Monarch that He could be the author of even greater glorious things?
Today I felt that the LORD wants you to experience the reality of His glory in your own personal life. You will experience it when you take time to gaze upon the beauty of Jesus Christ. He is the Royal Son of God, the miracle and reflection of Almighty God. He is your King! It is then when you will realize that you are chosen and holy, a royal priesthood belonging to God and be made sensitive at all times to the royalty of God in your life.
“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the LORD,' because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no-one cares” (Jeremiah 30:17).
I made an interesting observation recently. When I moved into my husband’s house I noticed that the plants looked a little dull. It seemed as if they had no life within them. The leaves were dry and without any glow. And since I was now in charge of the household I thought I would water our plants on a regular basis. So I made up my mind to water them every Friday with a cup of water.
After a few weeks I could already see a significant change in their appearance. New leaves started to come forth and I saw a new strength in the plants. It was such an encouraging thing to see that by giving the plants water on a continual basis they would grow, become strong and healthy.
Do you know that the LORD deeply cares for your well-being? As I was taking care of the leaves and watering the plants I felt so strongly that the LORD desires to restore, to heal and to bring forth such a beauty in His children. So why not allow him to be your restorer and your healer? He has hope for your life and whatever was lost He will find! Know in your heart that in His care you are absolutely safe.
“In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3 NIV)
What a blessing it was that we came across this very pleasant and nice Christian realtor that took us on a 3 hour tour to see some houses we were interested in. In the car we not only spoke about houses but also of Jesus, our families and some really valuable things in life. One of the things she shared with us was how to eat healthy. Something she said really impacted me: “If you are not hungry in the morning it is an indication that you didn’t eat properly the evening before.” She also said that to get our metabolism going, breakfast would definitely be the most important meal to start the day with.
A day later as I was praying in the morning at the poolside of the hotel, and as I was reading my Bible, the Lord showed me that what I was doing was like eating a healthy, nutritious breakfast. I tell you, my day was just not the same. I was encouraged, I had joy in my heart, I believed that this was definitely going to be a great day and above all the Lord blessed me with a personal word for me.
This is what it means to get your spiritual metabolism going: paving a productive day by meeting with the Lord first thing. You will walk in more faith and discernment, you will face situations with more wisdom and joy, and you will prepare already today your tomorrows hunger for God!
