God Doesn't Have Stubby Arms

 God Doesn’t Have Stubby Arms

In what situation do you find yourself today? No matter where you are, God’s arms can reach you and lift you up.

This is ONE strong and encouraging thought.

~Are you soaking in an alcoholic stupor? God can reach you.
~Are you so in debt you can’t find a way out? Call out to God.
~Are you in relationship conflict with someone? Let God help you with a remedy.

Regardless of the human predicament in which we find ourselves, God is still able to reach out to us and bring deliverance and help in our time of need.

I was reminded of this verse last week when a close friend of ours came for a visit. Leanne had been studying this particular verse in her women’s Bible Study group.

And the Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” Numbers 11:23

This concept of God is a strong part of my own personal God-concept. However, remember this important part of the equation. We have to call out to God for help and we have our own part to play in this work of deliverance.

That is, perhaps, the part we sometimes want to skip over, and yet it is true. Are you and I willing to do our part along with God reaching down to do His part?

At present, I am recovering from having my toes amputated on my left foot. At the seven-week mark I am doing well, and it is because God is reaching out to me AND I am doing the smart thing of eating better, bringing my medical numbers down into proper range, losing weight and moving about as my scars and body allows. No one can do that for me except me.

I’ve recovered from divorce. Of course I felt God’s presence with me in those dark moments, however, I had to do my part and do the acts of recover from those painful experiences. I had to read books, talk with trusted advisors, and set my mind on a future with hope in the middle of the pit in which I found myself. And God’s arms were continually reaching down to me and pulling me along.

I hope you are finding God’s arms to be long enough for whatever predicament you face in these days.

He truly does have strong and long arms!

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P Michael Biggs Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

A Few Reminders About God

A Few Reminders about God 

~If I forget to say my prayers before I go to sleep, God still watches over me. 

~If I forget to call on Him in time of trouble, He still is near.

~If I stray from the path on which I know to go, He still goes with me and He is near.

~If I make a wrong decision or two, God stays nearby. I sense His guiding hand even in the middle of my bad moves.

~If I forget to say “Thank You,” God still moves on my behalf and protects me.

For my God is grace, and His grace is greater than any sin I commit.

P Michael Biggs

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Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Seeking a Miracle?

Seeking a Miracle?

I face surgery in two weeks.  Is there a miracle still available for me?  Did you notice the question mark in the title of this post?

If there is, perhaps this is what I seek.

I want a miracle of …

~A surgeon who has had a good night’s sleep

~Medical equipment that works properly and is well adjusted

~Nurses and operating room personnel who know where to stand, how to move, when to react, and professionals who know where to look and what to listen for from all the equipment that will be used

~Medicine that is in perfect proportions, and the right medicine for the right need at the right time

I want a miracle of …

~Comfort and peace for Carolyn and all my family members during the long wait for news of the success of my surgery

~A recovery that goes according to plan and the strength to do what is asked of me

~Those twenty-plus years my cardiologist says he can give me

~I want a miracle of the knowledge that kicks in from all the collective years of training my medical team has put in. 

~I want them to remember those snippets of notes from long-ago university texts books 

~I want God to guide their practiced hands and do their best work.

And if my miracle comes to pass … you’ll hear from me again through blogs and podcasts, emails and phone calls, and songs from a newly restored heart.

This is my morning reflection.

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What I Know

What I Know

This I know …

I am alive today, therefore I shall continue using all my skills in ways that reflect my values and my integrity. 

I continually learn and hone my core

strengths and skills, and I like what I am discovering.  That also means I am narrowing my band width of what I do less well.  I am great at encouraging and validating my fellow human beings.  I’ll spend less time on the things I am less skilled in.

Books take me places and teach me things of value.  I shall forever be a reader, and will probably die with a few books on my nightstand.  By my estimation, I need to live another 100 years in order to read more of the books on my current list. 

God loves me as I am, not as I should be.  I’ll never be a Billy Graham or a Mother Teresa, but I am ME and I want to be ALL ME.  And God likes me.

I am deeply loved by a few incredible people – family mostly, and a few close friends.  Carolyn heads the list – my, how she loves me.  I’m settling into her love and the esteem she offers. 

My brand of creativity suits me well.  I can’t reach the world with my style and I am okay with that.  Any more, I focus on those who like and read and listen to what I produce.  The critics need to go find someone else to dislike.

I have a God-connection that I have worked out down through my years of living.  It is fashioned by my reading, my understanding of the nature of God, but mostly how I perceive how God has worked in my life up to this moment.  I’m learning more about faith and grace as I grow older. 

Faith - trust in the unseen hand of God.  Success, safety, good health – these are not assured.  However, my faith comes in spite of all of that.  Even in moments of lack, I still trust the God of my understanding.  The only assurance I have is this … He will be with me in the middle of every moment of my life.

Grace - the profound flow of the goodness of a merciful God and it is not something I deserve.  That is why it is grace.

There is more that I know.  Perhaps I’ll revisit this topic again.

This is my morning reflection.

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Time to Give a Damn

Well good morning!  Now that I have your attention, let’s talk for a while about ‘giving a damn’.

It is a seriously underrated commodity in today’s economy, after all.  Frankly, I’m attracted to people and businesses who demonstrate that they do, indeed, give a damn. 

When we give a damn, we …              

~Go out of our way to help someone

~Do the unusual and unexpected just because we can and we care

~Put on some extra touches just to make sure the job is done right

~Pay attention to the individual, not the pocketbook they carry

Meet Ryan.  He is 69 and feeble.  He walks with a slow gait; the right side of his face is caved in from some unknown illness.  He curses and swears, he finds fault with a lot of things in life, yet he has a friend to whom he goes for advice and help.  And this friend welcomes him every time without judgment, without embarrassment, for this businessman friend of Ryan’s gives a damn.  He looks beyond the old and frail frame of a man and sees a human being who deserves good care and good treatment just because he is.

He helps Ryan with a monthly check that must be written for his cab fare.  He answers questions for Ryan about bills that are due, or about some phone scam Ryan was talked into and now needs help getting out of.

Ryan’s friend gives a damn about him. 

Meet Larry.  Larry is a forty-nine-year-old ex-con.  He spent eight years in San Quentin prison.  To say Larry has had a rough life is to put it mildly.  He is a stranger to his own father, and rarely sees his mother. 

Larry may not mean much to his neighbors, or to the “system” in Seattle.  To them, he is nothing more than a name and number on the welfare benefits role, but to one businessman in Seattle, Larry matters. 

Larry has had to borrow $10 or $20 or even $40 dollars on occasion from his business friend.  Would you loan money to an ex-con from San Quentin?  Guess what – every time, EVERY TIME Larry has come back around and paid the man the money owed. 

This business person gives a damn.  He cares for this simple man on the streets and sees a soul in need of a hand of help.

He gives a damn!

Now listen up.  I don’t want you to rush out and throw money at the next down-and-out person you meet, unless you really feel in your heart that is the thing to do.  You see, if you did that, then you would be responding from a point of guilt. 

Moving forward, maybe we choose to adopt the attitude of “care” and “validation” and “honor” and “respect” for our fellow travelers.  Every person has a story and a past.

This is, perhaps, the best way to show that we really do ‘give a damn’.

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