Little Voice Big Impact

We have recently divided the youth at church into smaller groups. We would like to have intense communication between the members for the purpose of building stronger relationships. We believe a strong relationship is the key to influence. As our first homework, we wanted to write the when, where, and how we first met Jesus as our Lord and Savior. 

As I was writing mine, I was convinced that pratically I accepted Christ Jesus in my heart and confessed with my mouth that He is Lord twice in my life--those two are quite life-changing for me. One was when I was very young, elementary school grade 3, and the other one was just over 3 years ago.

Mom led me to Christ when I was young but when I was older, I felt that the Word of God really spoke to me. The message was to forbid me to rely on my own mind and strength. I need to rely on God. When I tried things on my own and did not involve God, it meant that I pushed God away from my life and I did not need God. 

Procrastination was my illness those days. I often told myself I could do it tomorrow and later tonight. It does not matter if I do it now or later. I would be able to wake up to do this or that assignment. I see now that I was boastful. Who am I to know what I could or could not do later tonight or early in the morning tomorrow. More often than not, I would turn up snoozing my alarm off and in the end skipping my prayer time just to replace it with the time spent for doing the assignment. 

I have skipped brushing my teeth at night for the last two days. Before I got into the room, in my heart, I felt strongly that I got to go my other room first to get my teeth cleansed--my tooth brush is in my other room, I sleep in the guest room now. But I told myself, "later". In the end, I ended up waking up in the morning with teeth unbrushed. Regret comes and I cannot undone it.

Procrastination is arrogance. It is trusting in our own strength rather than trusting in God. We often wonder how God speaks to us. He speaks to us through the little voices in our heart. Though it is little it requires immediate obedience from our side. The consequence of disobedience could be overwhelming for us to bear. So why don't we do the things we need to do now rather than boastingly announce that we would do it later--when we could not ensure what would happen later.

Those little voices we ignore are of the One who knows a lot about our lives and cares for us the most.

No Joy = Death

Jangan kamu bersusah hati, sebab sukacita karena Tuhan itulah perlindunganmu!”
Nehemia 8:11b TB

Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10b NIV

Neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10b KJV

This time I find the Indonesian translation a bit fresher than the English translation. The statement is widely used in songs. Joy equals to strength. But the Indonesian translation says joy equals shelter/cover/protection.

Losing joy makes us vulnerable to enemy's attack. It exposes our weaknesses. It undresses us from our shield. It could be very dangerous for us, moreover our soul.

I don't know, it gives joy a new meaning for me. It is so important and crucial to have joy in our lives.

Have we stayed in the corner of depression and hopelessness these days? Come on, get out of that corner, it's dark and it's dangerous. We could die if we keep staying there.

May the peace that transcends all understanding be with us all.