Not by Might, nor Power, but by His Spirit

Our home here in South Africa is a work in progress. At this stage we have no garage or driveway, so our cars park on the lawn outside. We have one big, super-powerful car for when we need to get our family of five somewhere far, and a small run around for me for when we need to, well... run around. In the pic above, you can see Ginger modelling my small car.

Over the weekend, it rained. Then it rained some more. When it was done raining, it raining again just for fun. The funny thing about rain is that it has a magical ability to turn lawn to muddy slush.

On Saturday evening we tried to take my eldest and her friend to go visit other friends in the big car. We discovered that what used to be lawn, was in fact now a mud pit somewhat like quicksand that sucked you deeper in the more you tried to get out. If the powerful one couldn't make it out, there was not way the little one would! We didn't even try.

On Sunday, my hubby did everything he could think of to get the big car out but all his efforts only made it worse. In a last ditch attempt to get to church, he suggested we try push mine out the yard without even switching the engine on. That's the beauty of small cars - you can bully them as much as you want.  Minutes later my car was out and we used it to help tow the other one. I never thought I'd see the day that my tiny car would be used to tow the enormous one! As we were driving to church in the rescued big car, I said to the Lord, "Well that was fun. What was it all about?"

I could almost sense the grin on his face as He rubbed his hands and leaned in close...

When we find ourselves in a sticky spot in life, if we put our trust in ourselves to get out of it, our wheels spin, mud flies and we dig ourselves deeper. But when we trust God for a solution, stop frantically scrambling to rescue ourselves - HE is able to come through in ways we could never imagine. It's not about doing nothing, but it's all about where we put our trust - in our own efforts, or in His mighty power working on our behalf. A person of tiny faith who trusts Jesus is more effective than a spiritual powerhouse who falls into the trap of trusting their own strength.

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 

Zechariah 4:6

Friends, I don't know about you, but I'm a little over getting splattered with mud from trying to dig myself out of my troubles! I'm putting my trust in His ability, His resources and His connections.

What are you trusting Him for today?

Dianne J. Wilson is a freelance writer and author from South Africa.

Her first official novel, Finding Mia, is now available from Pelican / Harbourlight, Amazon and in other places that you find good books.

Shackles is available as a free ebook.

Old Photographs and the Kingdom of God - M. Laycock

Some time ago my sister gave me a disc that a cousin of ours had put together. It contained copies of dozens of old photographs of our relatives, many of whom I have never met. I didn't bother to even look at the disc for some time, but one day when I was clearing off my desk I discovered it and put it into the cd reader on my computer. Two and a half hours later I was still engrossed. I was especially taken by old photos of my grandparents and a few of my great-grandmother and her parents. I had never seen photos of them before. In fact, I didn't even know my great-grandmother's name until that day.

I was amazed at the feelings it stirred in me, the sense of belonging, the desire to know more about my ancestors, the desire to connect with my relatives again. As I peered at the photos I could see the "family resemblance." My youngest daughter looks a bit like a great aunt, another favours her sister.

There's a line I like in the book, Secret Life of Bees -“We are looking for ways our stories fit together.” (p. 105).  We all have a need to feel connected, to feel as though we are part of a family, a community, part of something bigger than ourselves. As writers we are privileged to be able to make those connections for our readers. By telling stories that reveal those threads of connection, we bind one another together.

In a way, we all share the same story, the universal themes of life that never die, the threads of life that connect us into one body. It is when we realize this that we are able to live at peace with one another, in compassion and empathy, and in love. The greatest works of literature achieve this height and are revered.

The Bible tells us that we, as believers in Jesus, are one body, connected by the Spirit of Christ, one organism working as a unit to build His kingdom, one family, each with our own strengths and gifts that benefit the whole. It is when we realize this that the church shines and the world takes notice.

And it is when, in our writing, we reveal this universality that our work shines. When we draw our readers into the understanding of the family of faith, a humanity dependent on grace, and make them long to be part of it, we will accomplish a most holy goal. It`s called making disciples. It`s what Jesus told us to do as he was about to leave this earth after his resurrection - ``Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...`` (Matthew 28:19).

We are able to do this through our writing as we give our readers stories that reveal the connectedness of man and his need to be reconciled to a holy God. All to His glory.

Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone and also has two devotional books in print. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan. Marcia's second novel, A Tumbled Stone has just been released. Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded here. Or visit Marcia's Website