God's Goodness by John
This evening was the last of our week of prayer. Each year we have this week at the start of the year at which one of the brethren will give a twenty minute word of encouragement. In the past I have always been one of those men who are able to speak and these have been very blessed times. Because of the Lord's dealings over these last weeks, this year I was unable to preach. It has been a tremendous time of great blessing to all who have attended and I have been humbled particularly by the love heard by God's people for His great thankfulness to us as my progress has been so meteoric. On Thursday Ben preached on 1 Corinthians 1 on the ways of God's ways compared to men's and it was particularly helpful. As we prepared to pray I asked if I might just speak for 5 minutes to our dear folk of what the Lord has done.
In the afternoon we had a visit from the Occupational Therapy doctor. She was sent by my employer to assess my current position and likely work return dates. It was generally expected that we would be looking at probably 6 months, and their concern was that I might not be able to return to my current role, despite my constant assurance that I would be back. She was astounded at what she saw looking at my current state compared to the level of stroke which had taken place, and which damage had been inflicted. She said that she would use me as an example of what can be done by hard work. We told her that it was only because of the grace of God. She has told me that I can return on a gradual basis from the week after next. I told folk about this and had also had been able to share how the Lord had given me a speech therapist, who is a believer, as also, I learned that day, is a counsellor to help me deal with stress in the work place. How good God is.
When I was a teenager we had a friend in our church who would preach for us. He was an elderly man, then in his 70s, who was an Anglican. I remember him speaking, and it has always stuck in my mind. Harry Higgins used to say "the Lord has got bigger chisels." Beloved, on 22nd November 2010, God used one of His big chisels. There was stupidity and sin in my life which I would not deal with, and so He smashed me in pieces that He might rebuild me, He charred me that He might limn with me. Rather than leaving me smashed on the ground as I deserved, He began to rebuild me again. What a wonderful Lord and Saviour He is. All I bring to him is sin and wretchedness, and He instead brings love, mercy and grace. Not only has He repaired me, I confidently predict that I will have learned things that will enable me to see things for which previously I was too blind and stupid to see. Hallelujah indeed. This resulted at the meeting in even more blessed prayer and praise.
Beloved, even if I regain my previous abilty to write, indeed if I gained such eloquence as would leave the heart of those who heard it to burst, never would I begin to convey or speak of anything to begin of His grace or goodness. All I would do was fly from Him to keep my own sin, but He in merciness took hold upon me and rebuilt me.
I can only speak again those immortal words of Francis Thompson:
"And is thy earth so marred,
Shattered in shard on shard?
Lo, all things fly thee, for thou fliest Me!
Strange, piteous, futile thing,
Wherefore should any set thee love apart?
Seeing none but I makes much of naught," He said,
"And human love needs human meriting,
How hast thou merited--
Of all man's clotted clay the dingiest clot?
Alack, thou knowest not
How little worthy of any love thou art!
Whom wilt thou find to love ignoble thee
Save Me, save only Me?
All which I took from thee I did but take,
Not for thy harms.
But just that thou might'st seek it in my arms.
All which thy child's mistake
Fancies as lost, I have stored for the at home;
Rise, clasp My hand, and come!"
Halts by me that footfall;
Is my gloom, after all,
Shade of His hand, outstreched caressingly?
"Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am He Whom thou seekest!
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me."
In the afternoon we had a visit from the Occupational Therapy doctor. She was sent by my employer to assess my current position and likely work return dates. It was generally expected that we would be looking at probably 6 months, and their concern was that I might not be able to return to my current role, despite my constant assurance that I would be back. She was astounded at what she saw looking at my current state compared to the level of stroke which had taken place, and which damage had been inflicted. She said that she would use me as an example of what can be done by hard work. We told her that it was only because of the grace of God. She has told me that I can return on a gradual basis from the week after next. I told folk about this and had also had been able to share how the Lord had given me a speech therapist, who is a believer, as also, I learned that day, is a counsellor to help me deal with stress in the work place. How good God is.
When I was a teenager we had a friend in our church who would preach for us. He was an elderly man, then in his 70s, who was an Anglican. I remember him speaking, and it has always stuck in my mind. Harry Higgins used to say "the Lord has got bigger chisels." Beloved, on 22nd November 2010, God used one of His big chisels. There was stupidity and sin in my life which I would not deal with, and so He smashed me in pieces that He might rebuild me, He charred me that He might limn with me. Rather than leaving me smashed on the ground as I deserved, He began to rebuild me again. What a wonderful Lord and Saviour He is. All I bring to him is sin and wretchedness, and He instead brings love, mercy and grace. Not only has He repaired me, I confidently predict that I will have learned things that will enable me to see things for which previously I was too blind and stupid to see. Hallelujah indeed. This resulted at the meeting in even more blessed prayer and praise.
Beloved, even if I regain my previous abilty to write, indeed if I gained such eloquence as would leave the heart of those who heard it to burst, never would I begin to convey or speak of anything to begin of His grace or goodness. All I would do was fly from Him to keep my own sin, but He in merciness took hold upon me and rebuilt me.
I can only speak again those immortal words of Francis Thompson:
"And is thy earth so marred,
Shattered in shard on shard?
Lo, all things fly thee, for thou fliest Me!
Strange, piteous, futile thing,
Wherefore should any set thee love apart?
Seeing none but I makes much of naught," He said,
"And human love needs human meriting,
How hast thou merited--
Of all man's clotted clay the dingiest clot?
Alack, thou knowest not
How little worthy of any love thou art!
Whom wilt thou find to love ignoble thee
Save Me, save only Me?
All which I took from thee I did but take,
Not for thy harms.
But just that thou might'st seek it in my arms.
All which thy child's mistake
Fancies as lost, I have stored for the at home;
Rise, clasp My hand, and come!"
Halts by me that footfall;
Is my gloom, after all,
Shade of His hand, outstreched caressingly?
"Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am He Whom thou seekest!
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me."
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