Moment by Moment
By Elvira Bujanda
The Bible is filled with moments. The moment God spoke the world into existence. The moment He said, “Let there be light.” The moment He brought Eve to Adam. The moment that Peter knew he was walking on water. The moment that Jesus wanted His disciples to share with Him in prayer. The moment He said, “It is finished,” and broke the power of sin forever on the Cross.
Our lives are also filled with many moments, and those moments are filled with events. Some are memorable. Some are forgettable. Some are joyful. Some are painful. Some are trivial. Some are life-changing. One moment may be filled with celebration and rejoicing: a moment of victory. Another may seem endless and filled with frustration as we face great obstacles.
Webster’s Dictionary tells us that a moment is a very brief period of time or an exact point in time; or a particular stage in the development or course of events. These last four years could be considered a moment in the sense that it has been a stage in my development – a moment in time when I wonder what the next moment will bring. Will it bring victory? An answered prayer? Or discouragement that threatens to steal peace and joy. During these be-still-and-know-I-am-God years inside God’s promise box, I have learned some valuable lessons about understanding God’s moments.
I have learned that with each new day comes a fresh supply of God’s grace and mercy: “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you” (1 Peter 5:10). I have learned to rejoice in the Lord: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). He has given us this day to give it back to Him, and He desires our moments spent in His presence, for He is a God of moments.
Do you recall the moment when He first spoke to you and revealed Himself to you? That was the moment which brought you salvation, healing, hope, and His unconditional love. It was the first stop along the way, and since then, He has given you one moment at a time of peace and joy for your life’s journey. He also brings moments of trials and hardship. But He gives us His Word, where we find encouragement in the emotional and spiritual life experiences of those who have gone before us.
Consider the Apostle Paul, for example. He endured many hardships, was arrested, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, and imprisoned for Christ. He spent many moments with God, and said, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound… to be full and to be hungry… to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:11-13). Among other valuable lessons, Paul learned that “all things work together for good to them that love the Lord, to them that are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Do you sometimes feel all alone, like God has turned His back on you? Even if we fall into sin, when we seek His forgiveness, Isaiah 54:7-8 tells us that God can only stay angry with his children for a moment: “For a small moment have I forsaken thee but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.” Then Jesus comes back again, “we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). In the meantime, 2 Corinthians 4:27 says that “our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
During those moments of challenging difficulties, there are hidden blessings in learning to trust Jesus in new areas of our lives. Our eyes and our hearts can see the world’s need through God’s perspective as we make His work our focal point, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world”(Matthew 28:20). I have discovered that each day that I have looked for God’s moments, and as I keep reading God’s Word to take me through every season of my life, I gain a deeper faith and trust, and an awareness of the greatness of His unconditional love. As the psalmist said, “It is good for me to draw near to God. I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I might declare all Thy works” (Psalm 73:28).
I pray that you also will see God’s work in the moments of your everyday life. They may be planned or spontaneous, but your moments in God’s presence will effectively refine God’s gift in you. Our gifts to Him are found in the moments of devotion we spend silently waiting for a vibrant relationship with our Father. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might,” it says in Deuteronomy 6:5. We need God in every moment, for our awareness of Him is our greatest strength in avoiding the pitfalls of life. “For greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
God’s Love is a Haven in the Storms of Life
By Helen Steiner Rice
God’s love is like an island in life’s ocean, vast and wide,
A peaceful, quiet shelter from the restless, rising tide.
God’s love is like a fortress, and we seek protection there
When the waves of tribulation seem to drown us in despair.
God’s love is like a sanctuary where our souls can find sweet rest
From the struggle and the tension of life’s fast and futile quest.
God’s love is like a tower rising far above the crowd,
And God’s smile is like the sunshine breaking through the threatening cloud.
God’s love is like a beacon burning bright with faith and prayer,
And through all the changing scenes of life, we can find a haven there.