God is able
How prepared are you?
The 5th of May 2015 was a day that changed everything with regards to how I trust God; the way I handle difficult situations; and the way I remove bad thoughts in my mind. It was the day that I got a message from my brother saying that our Dad had a terrible accident and that he probably wouldn`t survive!
Dad was working in the forest when a big branch fell on his head, immediately causing severe damage to his skull and brain.
The doctors didn`t believe that he would survive, and thought that if he did survive, he would need 24-hour care every day from us as a family.
I was here in Sydney, thousands of kilometres away from him and my family. Inside, I was in pieces and I couldn’t understand a thing at this point. Such a horrific event never makes any sense in our life!
I was getting updates from home via Whatsapp, and as the messages came through I slowly began to process what was happening. All sorts of questions went through my mind. Questions like, “Why is this happening to our family when we’ve already endured so much?” “Why him and not someone else?” “What are you trying to do Devil?” “What is this for God?” And even, “What will the funeral look like?”
Have you ever had such questions when something has happened to you or somebody who is close to you?
After some moments, while still receiving the Whatsapp messages, I went to church to find a quiet place, texted friends and asked them to pray for healing for my Dad. I was also looking for Wi-Fi so I could call my family. Talking with my family really helped, as I now knew more clearly what was going on. After the call with my family, while I was driving home and continued to pray, a voice whispered to me, a voice which triumphed over all the above questions: What if I AM able?
My thoughts started now to move from the impossible to the possible! While still driving, the song “God is Able!“1 came to my mind and I sang it on repeat all the way home.
In these points below, I want to write about the spiritual preparation we as human beings can have. I believe that we can be spiritually well prepared for when such tragic and hurtful events appear in our lives. We can`t avoid them, by no means, but I believe that we`re able to handle them with supernatural boldness, calm and peace!
1. Devote yourself constantly to Him
One of my key priorities in life is to constantly devote myself to God. This is one of the greatest things I learned from my Dad. Whether it’s with Bible scriptures, worship songs, sermons or prayer time wherever I am, there is something powerful about being constantly devoted to Him and moving into His presence.
The book of Job describes the destructive life Job had to go through. While all hell broke loose in Job`s life, he started to worship as we see in Job 1:20: “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship“ (NLT)
The stronger your devotion is to God, the stronger your spiritual defence will be in times of trouble. This will help you choose whether you think destructive thoughts or thoughts that bring hope!
2. Even when it hurts bring praise to Him
Giving praise to God when things are going smoothly is so easy! But God wants us to give Him praise even when we are not in the mood to do it, or when it looks like our lives are falling apart!
In Psalm 34:1 David says: “I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise.“ (MSG)
David didn`t say that when he felt on top of the world, no, he said this during what was probably one of his deepest moments of anger and frustration as he was fleeing from Saul and was refused refuge by King Abimelech!2
On that day when I drove home while listening to the “God is Able” song, it was a mix of begging God and praising Him! It was difficult to do so, but I believe that this made me much stronger going through this horrific situation. Giving praise to God, doesn’t just give glory to God, but also gives us supernatural strength.
3. Stay faithful even in your worst times
On my first point, I wrote about how Job was prepared when terrible things entered his life. Job was a man of faithfulness toward God. In the book of Job, from chapters 1 to 38, Job was tested: he lost everything he had – even his health. His friends tried to help him but they made it worse, his wife gave up and told Job to do the same, but Job still stayed faithful toward God.
It`s amazing what faithfulness does! We see in the last chapters of the book, that God gave Job everything back what he previously had, and not just that, God doubled the blessing on his life!
What a wonderful thing it is to stay on track and not to give up when hardship comes. In this world, especially in Western society, we want everything quickly and we want the best of it. We often “run” away from what we believe when things are not going our way. But, there is a God who knows the way and the outcomes and He WILL do the best things for you, even when it doesn`t look like it at first.
The more we are faithful in hardship, the stronger we will come out of it. And in turn God will even be more faithful to us and He will bless us according to His glorious riches, as it says in Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.“ (NIV)
I want to encourage you to ask yourself some questions:
1. How did my last battle shape my life?
– Reflecting on the last “battle” you fought, what could/did you learn?
2. How spiritually prepared am I for the next storm?
– Spiritual preparation is a free choice and a great opportunity we have.
3. What does my preparation look like in my everyday life?
– Everyday is training for the next battle, which can appear at any time.
4. How can I maximise the opportunity to learn more in the next fight?
– If I have a battle to fight, I don`t just want to go through, I also want to learn out of it.
I hope I have encouraged you with this blog to live a life devoted to God, praising Him all the time and being faithful with the things God has called you to do! I pray that you will have the supernatural strength in your life to endure every battle.
P.S. I finished writing this blog the same day my Dad turned 60! Almost a year after his accident, he is working half days, thinks normally, remembers everything, eats and speaks. There are, as he always says, “some small details” which have yet to be fixed. ☺
May we never lose the wonder of seeing God`s greatness and goodness in every aspect of our life!
Thank so much for reading this blog!
Be blessed and with love.
Nathanael
#godisable
#blog4
#itsallabouthim