Worth More Than Many Sparrows By Sonam Rifkin
Through writing in the midst of troubles and tribulations I have learnt to hold onto Jesus with tenacious faith and sheer desperation as only He can meet my deepest needs and satisfy my longings.
He is My Lord, My Saviour, My Everything just as I proclaimed the day I was baptised 30/3/2016 on resurrection Sunday. It was from this date I would generally share with people about when I became born again. However, back track with me a minute and see I came across a letter I wrote to Father God on 30/08/2015 filled with gratitude when He captivated both my heart and my attention that very day.
The message I heard was; God is our Father and He gives us new life.
This is the date I was born again when I decided to reach out to Father God relationally through writing. Since then, I’ve barely stopped journaling despite the trials of life and the moments of rejoicing along with the mediocre and mundane in between. It has proven to be a lifeline to me.
Not only does the King of the universe dwell in me and yourself my dear sister in Christ but He has shown up in my quiet moments as I put pen to paper and He is also there, waiting for you to meet Him too!
The image I want to paint for you is when the storms of life have come my way Jesus has been my lifebouy Whom I’ve desperately clung to in times of suffering and painful periods of waiting and growth. Being tossed to and fro by towering waves as winds howl violently whilst rain is pelting down on me.
But in the midst of these times, He has shown Himself faithful and true, never letting me down or disappointing me as I obey and yield to His precious Holy Spirit. Even when there have been times I’ve started to sink due to taking my eyes off of Him, like Peter when the cry of my heart has been Lord Jesus save me! He has been there, hallelujah! I have learnt to adore Him, worship Him, be in awe, receive his love and come away with Him when He beckons gently irrespective of what is going on around me to down out His voice. It is an act of worship to respond to His call and to be still with Him and know He is God.
At my weakest points He has been my strength and hope. He has adorned me with His grace and strength, picking me up and carrying me when it has been a long and arduous road.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9 we are reminded, His grace is sufficient for us as His power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore Paul continues on to say, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
As we lean on Him and learn to do so more and more, this verse will jump off the pages of the bible and come alive in our own lives. If He is for us who can be against us? He will come through for us despite the circumstances we face in daily life especially being in lockdown. Keep looking forward to Him especially during these tumultuous times.
As children of God self-reflection based on the Word of God as a mirror of our own lives and to learn about ourselves is vital.
Through journaling in my walk with the Lord, when I have been met with difficulties, I have seen determination and perseverance to rise up within me and to keep going and face challenges head on. Take heart and be encouraged as Paul in Romans 5 highlights rejoicing in suffering knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
By holding onto the Lord’s word through trying times such as the current world events with lockdown He has put my mind at ease and surrounded me with His peace as I walk by faith. Knowing Him as Father and Lord by intentionally seeking Him to produce and nurture true intimacy with Him through many years of scribing ‘love letters’ and scribbling “Q and A’s” with Him back and forth has provided me with direction, clarity, encouragement and comfort.
Truly He is our Wonderful Counsellor as I’ve learnt to listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit to pen answers to the countless questions I’ve brought openly before for Him.
When you don’t have the answers and are chartering unknown territory He wants you to yield to Him so He can guide you accordingly and reassure you of His presence as a faithful Father who has our best interests at heart.
We tend to run from God during such times looking for comfort elsewhere and we are not alone in this but He wants you to go to Him who offers us living water instead of searching elsewhere where we end up drinking from broken cisterns which cannot hold anything let alone refreshment.
Through reflection on past journal entries I’ve had the blessing of being able to continually see His hand move in my life and the lives of others as I’ve lifted my prayer requests and those of others to my faithful Father Who gives good gifts to those who ask him in Matthew 7:11.
He’s taught me how to pray, apply His word to my life and discipled me as a child of His evident throughout the years of intentionally ‘practicing His presence” and seeking Him wholeheartedly through journalling, for He has called us to love Him with every fibre in our being. Even when He has rebuked, chastised and convicted me He has shown me Whom He is, a Good Father as He disciplines those He loves.
I am His so He deals with me and all of us in this way as He always has good intentions so Christ’s character is developed in us and for Him to be glorified. I am my beloved’s and He is mine.