Drive

I am joining with the #Five Minute Friday group of writers to write for 5 minutes on the Word prompt: Drive.

Drive = A drive is a very strong need or desire in human beings that makes them act in particular ways. … If you say that someone has drive, you mean they have energy and determination. (Collins English Dictionary)

In the bible the Israelites were to drive out those already living in the promised land; they were to drive out all worship of foreign gods and we see how Jesus drove out demons.

There is a force, a might, a power, an action, a determination to see it through.

So what do I need to drive out of my life today?

Do I need to drive out lukewarmness? Grumbling? An ungrateful spirit? Cares and worries of the world?

Do I need to be determined and take the action required to drive out prayerlessness and unbelief?

Lord, show me where I need drive in my life right now. Amen.

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Life in the Mist

We are experiencing a lot of Mist in our weather systems just now. Mist which clings, which completely engulfs the mountains and hills round about, mist which makes you feel that there is no horizon and can even make you lose your way.

Sometimes life can feel a bit like that too can’t it?

Whether it is pain, grief, guilt, difficult circumstances, broken relationships, or even just the grind of everyday life can feel like living in the mist, everything else is completely blotted out. You look up – nothing; your look around – nothing; same old, same old; nothing.

That can be wearying; it can make you forget that there is hope; forget that there is a life outside your own situation; forget that there is another world existing out there where there is sunshine and joy! And it can make you lose your way; how do you find God when He seems hidden, enshrined in a mist which you cannot penetrate or see through?

The thing about mist is that it is a vapour, it is merely hiding real life; hiding what is real and what is still there. And so with us when we feel we are living in the mist; it is not all there is. It may be our present reality; but there is more; it may be hidden for a while, but there is more. And that is where faith and facts come in over our feeling.

We may feel lost in the mist; but the fact is that God is still there; God is still good; God is still in control; God still has His love set over you. Those are the facts. Faith is the bridge between your feelings and the facts. Faith keeps you hoping; keeps you believing; keeps you trusting that one day that mist will clear and the Son will shine on you once again. Faith keeps you going when all else fails.

So today what are you going with? Your feelings? Or the facts? Are you exercising your faith to trust that God has got you even when enshrouded in mist?

Order

I haven’t been on here for a while, so thought I’d jump on today to bring a bit of order to my life. Order is the prompt word today from the #Five Minute Friday community of writers.

I like order! I like a nice peaceful, ordered life with routines, rhythms and seasons. I like headspace and I would like to live a serene life, passing through seemingly unruffled by life’s trials.

However, Life is not like is it? Sometimes it is chaotic, with demands from others, demands from work, demands from church, from community, from family. Or crisis strike, there is an illness, hospital visits, an accident, or even just children, marriage, moving home. There are so many things which can through me off my stride and send me into chaos.

That is why I love the creation narrative where we see God bringing order out of chaos:

Genesis Chapter 1:

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

² The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters.

And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

³ Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 

⁴ And God saw that the light was good.

Then he separated the light from the darkness.

 ⁵ God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”

The earth was empty, formless, without order, a bit like life without Christ – empty of meaning, no purpose or order, no sense of identity or being rooted in eternity.

The same God who brought order to the universe can and does bring order to my otherwise chaotic life.

Today, I am grateful for that order.

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