Castor Bay sunrise this week
On Tuesday my morning Bible reading came from Isaiah 58 concerning various admonitions to follow the Lord which would result in God's dependable guidance. Verse 11 fairly represents where the writer of the study was going with his thinking:
'The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.'
Of course, the context in Isaiah is always wayward Israel and the Lord shepherding the nation back to obedience and spiritual health. Yet we can possibly take general principles about what God is like from Isaiah's pages.
Continual guidance from the Lord is something most committed Christians would desire and cherish, and with this in mind my study's writer spring-boarded into a discussion of the different means that God might guide his faithful people.
He began with with common sense, something you would think people walking close to God would be blessed with in abundance. Over a decade in ministry has left me with the view that common sense is a bonus, and sometimes in short supply. Having a sense of humour helps one to come to terms with this reality.
His next means of guidance was paying attention to creation (yes like a memorable sermon they all begin with C). This one is dear to me. On Monday I did a low tide beach and bush run, meandering from Castor Bay to Centennial Park and back. Today I just did laps of Centennial Park between rain squalls. Being out in God's creation reminds me that the good creator has made the world and reveals the divine character both in its orderly and chaotic aspects. On Monday I watched the sun rise over the sea, and today (Wednesday) Centennial Park was blessed by the song of that tiniest of birds, the Riroriro, or Grey Warbler. Honestly, I think it is my favourite birdsong of all.
God's signature is discernible in the faint birdsong on the breeze, and in the local star that by its awesome radiation of heat and light keeps us all going. Isn't it funny that this third rock from the sun is just the right distance away to support life? Thanks God!
It's fair to say when I am troubled or needing direction from the Lord, I disappear for a while into the creation to look for the stars or sunrise, smell the wet bush and listen for the birds. After this reminder that the God who can create the universe can easily handle my issues, it's time to come home and employ some other means of discernment which we can discuss next week (yes they begin with C also). May you know the presence of the Lord and the fullness of the Spirit.