1 Thessalonians 5:18 "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
I have to admit, trying to apply the above verse to my life was difficult, to say the least. This was the verse that spoke to me as I talked to God and shared my life with Him.
I guess for most, if not for all of us, it is always easy to give thanks when things in our lives falls in favor of how we want it to be. Asking God to give us a wonderful job, a perfect spouse or even having our ministries in Church being blessed immensely makes it so much easier for us to give thanks to God. However, what if we we are experiencing the reverse of all the scenarios as above? Would we be able to give thanks as easily as when we have everything not going our way?
I for one, have been facing some personal struggles and have been lamenting about it. I had been asking God why, was I facing such challenges when most people have it easy for them? It came to a point where, I even doubted whether God was there with me in my struggles.
But God is good. Even when we question Him, He holds us and assures us through His word and uses people in our lives to remind us of His grace and mercy. Spending time with God is so important as it will allow you, to just listen to what God has to say to us.
Thus, as I was questioning God why, He said "give thanks for everything!". A short but immensely powerful statement that allowed me to transform my view. I attempted to thank God for the good things He did for me throughout the week and also, the not so good events that took place as well.
Romans 1:21 "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." Giving our thanks to God is a way of honouring Him as well. Especially for believers, it is so important to give thanks to God everyday!
Have you stopped to thank God for what He has done in your life? Good and bad? I pray that you will give thanks in all circumstances and feel God's love and presence in your lives, everyday!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Time
It's been a while since I last blogged! Though I remember in my last post that I said I'd try to blog more often. I guess that didn't go as planned huh?
But thankfully, I have downloaded a blogger app on my iPhone! Now I have no excuse not to blog as often as I'd like to.
Past few months or so has been filled with so many happenings! One of it is about me getting a job! I really thank God for having managed to get a job especially with the economy not doing as well as it was.
With work, managing my time is necessary. By this I mean managing the time I have once I am done with work. It's not like how it used to be. Where I had more time than I have now to do the things I want to do. Now, I ensure I spend what little time I have wisely.
People these days hardly have time for themselves. And this, is not a very good thing. If you can't make time for yourself, what are the chances of making time for God? At this point, I'd like to confess that I do struggle with my desire to spend time with God over doing other things.
Thus, I believe that all of us should ask God for wisdom in planning our time and managing it effectively. It is only when we come before God asking Him to help us in this area, do we find ourselves being able to set aside some time to spend with the Father.
Facing some challenges in spending some time with Jesus? Pray and ask God for help. Thank Him for all that He's given to you and that you will want to desire after Him everyday-be it for 5 min or 5 hours. What counts is that you be honest with yourself and your relationship with God.
In His grip and fervor,
Mark Kesavan
But thankfully, I have downloaded a blogger app on my iPhone! Now I have no excuse not to blog as often as I'd like to.
Past few months or so has been filled with so many happenings! One of it is about me getting a job! I really thank God for having managed to get a job especially with the economy not doing as well as it was.
With work, managing my time is necessary. By this I mean managing the time I have once I am done with work. It's not like how it used to be. Where I had more time than I have now to do the things I want to do. Now, I ensure I spend what little time I have wisely.
People these days hardly have time for themselves. And this, is not a very good thing. If you can't make time for yourself, what are the chances of making time for God? At this point, I'd like to confess that I do struggle with my desire to spend time with God over doing other things.
Thus, I believe that all of us should ask God for wisdom in planning our time and managing it effectively. It is only when we come before God asking Him to help us in this area, do we find ourselves being able to set aside some time to spend with the Father.
Facing some challenges in spending some time with Jesus? Pray and ask God for help. Thank Him for all that He's given to you and that you will want to desire after Him everyday-be it for 5 min or 5 hours. What counts is that you be honest with yourself and your relationship with God.
In His grip and fervor,
Mark Kesavan
Monday, January 3, 2011
Resolutions
Happy New Year to one and all! ;)
Indeed, 2010 has flown by so quickly and we now sit in the first few days of 2011. How was 2010 for you? For me, and for many people I believe, was on roller-coaster ride! Many highs as well as many lows. But in the midst of all this, I thank God for being with me in each and every one of my highs and lows.
One of the highs of 2010 was the passing of my Traffic Police test! It was my second attempt and I passed with 18 points! This is the passing marks required to get a license. Anything above 18 points and, I would have to book another test date and that means spending more money again. Indeed, God was there with me for both test, my failed one and the one I eventually passed. For the failed one, I went for the test having had a bout of diarrhea and vomiting just as I was leaving my house. It baffled me how such a thing had happened. I had to take medications and as such, it induced drowsiness. To cut a long story short, the medication affected my judgment and eventually cost me to fail. I was disappointed to say the least. But, I chose to look to God and talk to Him and told Him how I felt. I then decided to book another test date.
On my second attempt, I didn't have any bout of diarrhea or vomiting. But I was a little apprehensive as, compared to my first attempt, I had gone for just 2 refresher lessons leading up to the test. And during the test itself, I could have easily failed if God had not intervened at a specific and crucial time for me to perform a specific turn as per instructed by the tester to do so. I was really thankful that God heard my prayers and that He willed for me to have passed the test!
Now to 2011. My resolutions? To read through the Bible from start to finish, within a year. I never have read the Bible in such a manner. I want to do this because I believe, God has reiterated to me of His desire for me to do so. Personally, I want to grow and deepen my relationship with God and what better way than to read the Bible! My other resolution is to run a marathon. A daunting task but, I want to do this. I want to start preparing early and by the end of 2011, run a 42km marathon! I have loads to work on till then!
Finally, I have neglected blogging in the past months on 2010 and so, I want to take a more ardent approach in blogging.
I wish you all the best for 2011! God bless!
In His grip and fervor,
Mark
Indeed, 2010 has flown by so quickly and we now sit in the first few days of 2011. How was 2010 for you? For me, and for many people I believe, was on roller-coaster ride! Many highs as well as many lows. But in the midst of all this, I thank God for being with me in each and every one of my highs and lows.
One of the highs of 2010 was the passing of my Traffic Police test! It was my second attempt and I passed with 18 points! This is the passing marks required to get a license. Anything above 18 points and, I would have to book another test date and that means spending more money again. Indeed, God was there with me for both test, my failed one and the one I eventually passed. For the failed one, I went for the test having had a bout of diarrhea and vomiting just as I was leaving my house. It baffled me how such a thing had happened. I had to take medications and as such, it induced drowsiness. To cut a long story short, the medication affected my judgment and eventually cost me to fail. I was disappointed to say the least. But, I chose to look to God and talk to Him and told Him how I felt. I then decided to book another test date.
On my second attempt, I didn't have any bout of diarrhea or vomiting. But I was a little apprehensive as, compared to my first attempt, I had gone for just 2 refresher lessons leading up to the test. And during the test itself, I could have easily failed if God had not intervened at a specific and crucial time for me to perform a specific turn as per instructed by the tester to do so. I was really thankful that God heard my prayers and that He willed for me to have passed the test!
Now to 2011. My resolutions? To read through the Bible from start to finish, within a year. I never have read the Bible in such a manner. I want to do this because I believe, God has reiterated to me of His desire for me to do so. Personally, I want to grow and deepen my relationship with God and what better way than to read the Bible! My other resolution is to run a marathon. A daunting task but, I want to do this. I want to start preparing early and by the end of 2011, run a 42km marathon! I have loads to work on till then!
Finally, I have neglected blogging in the past months on 2010 and so, I want to take a more ardent approach in blogging.
I wish you all the best for 2011! God bless!
In His grip and fervor,
Mark
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