God Never Fails.

Posted on by richlyspeaking
God will help you catch your breath.
You’ll find God right there.

God Never Fails. I’m pretty sure I’ve written that before. Maybe multiple times. But it’s worth repeating. Over and over again.

God never fails.

We fail, right?

Can I assure you, however, that for those who trust God and who follow Jesus that it’s okay to fail. I believe we all actually need to have at least one moment in our life, or multiple moments in our life, where we we fail… where we are broken… where we take all of the burdens we’ve been carrying and finally fall to our knees at the foot of the Cross and say, “Here, Jesus. I can’t do this anymore.” I believe we all need to get to that point where we stop kidding ourselves that we can be self-dependent and we fully cross the line to being dependent on God and God alone.

For me personally, I could share story after story where I was so broken that I just couldn’t carry the load any longer.  They include:

      • Each of the six times my employer at the time decided to change directions without me.
      • Too many times to count when parenting teenagers or adult children.
      • And the recent death of my Mom.

On each occasion, my knees couldn’t hit the floor quick enough. Did I fail or did my situation fail me? No matter. I couldn’t bear the weight alone.

The strongest people are those who fail… who acknowledge that they are weak and empty.

One of the greatest, strongest people of all time was Israel’s King David. He writes, “If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there.”  Then, look at the word picture painted by the Message translation: “If you’re kicked in the gut, He’ll help you catch your breath.” (Psalm 34:18 MSG). What an encouraging image!

Even when bad things happen to good people, God is there for you. Every time.

Perhaps your tending to a broken heart? Perhaps you’ve wondered where is the promised victory of the Christian life? In Luke 4 Jesus says the whole reason He came was to heal the brokenhearted, to release the captives and to bring sight to the blind. No matter what broke your heart, no matter what is holding you captive, no matter that you can’t seem to see your way out of your situation, can I assure you that Jesus came for you.

You may have failed, but you are not a failure! Take time, maybe even right now, to tell God that you need Him. Admit that you can’t carry this burden on your own. Tell Him that you’ll trust Him.

And then… do it. Lay your burden down and trust Him.  Cross that bridge and breathe in the air of a new found freedom and peace.  Jesus is waiting to help you catch your breath!

 

(c) Rich Ronald. 2019

Tasting Pizza for the First Time

Posted on by richlyspeaking
pizza_edit
Pizza Time! Can’t you just taste how good it is?

Have you ever seen that TV show where that guy eats all that weird food from all over the world? Or are you old enough to remember the kid who wouldn’t try the new breakfast cereal until his little brother did?

I put off tasting pizza for my entire childhood. Why? Because its main ingredient was tomato sauce. And because my dad didn’t like tomatoes, I didn’t like tomatoes. Therefore,  I hated pizza. Without ever trying it!

My big sisters were worried that I couldn’t be a normal teenager without liking pizza. So, in the days leading up to my 13th birthday, they encouraged me to give it try.  “Try it. You’ll like it,” was another advertising slogan from my growing-up era.  I gave pizza a taste.  Guess what? I liked it!

Have you ever heard of the scripture from the Bible that says “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8).

How do we taste and experience God’s goodness and unfailing love?

Through prayer.

Oak Hills Church Minister Max Lucado is preaching a series of sermons on prayer.  From yesterday’s teaching on the goodness of God and connecting with Him in prayer: “He throws open the pantry of His heart. He has a feast of His kindness at His table. Taste the goodness of the Lord.”

Do we put off praying to God or giving Him a certain problem or situation because we think our problems are too small for God?  Or too big for God? Or perhaps because we are embarrassed by our situation? Or because we think it is ours to deal with, not God’s?

If our situations and problems trouble us, they trouble God.

May I tell you that God will be there for you and is delighted to hear from you? Part of the very nature of God is that He loves to be our problem solver.  His solution is always the right one.

Everything God does is right —  the trademark on all his works is love.

God’s there, listening for all who pray,  for all who pray and mean it.

He does what’s best for those who fear him — hears them call out, and saves them.

God sticks by all who love him.

Psalm 145:17-20a (The Message)

There’s another Bible verse that says “Every good gift, every perfect gift, comes from above. These gifts come down from the Father.” (James 1:17).

So, taste the goodness of the Lord today through prayer. And you will see how much He loves you.

(c) 2013. Rich Ronald.