This is the Lord's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes!

Dubrovnik In The Morning

'This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.' Psalm 118:23-24

This picture of Dubrovnik, in the morning, captures some interesting colours of the city and clouds painted by the rising sun. It is one of the most charming cities we have been to. The sun has just arisen and the old town, a fortress and a harbour directly in front of us, glistened in the light. Against such a background, it is refreshing to spend our Quiet Time and read the Bible.

On the 20 Sep 2005, I was sitting on a balcony overlooking this morning sunrise in Dubronik. I was reading from “Make Me a Instrument of Your Peace” (Ref 1) by Kent Nerburn. It is a simple commentary on the prayer of St Francis of Assisi. The book was described as ennobling by a reviewer. I knew what this meant at once. Mr Nerburn has a gift of commenting on life in a most endearing manner, linking profound truths to ordinary encounters and even the mundane events of daily living. He draws soul-deep lessons in a simple, easy to read, manner. I like his writing. It has encouraging perspectives and insights.

The Kent Nerburn style is the way we ought to read the Bible. We could annotate each reading with a life-event commentary, drawing soul-teaching and spirit-enriching lessons. Can we learn to experience life and interpret the truths that each ordinary event is teaching us? Can we draw insights from the unfolding scenes life presents to us whether mundane or significant? What is the Bible teaching us? Can we “see” God?

I was reading from Isaiah's commentary on King Hezekiah's near death experience. On the same date in 2003, Pat was reading from the same passage  a passage of Scripture in Isaiah 38:1 to 40: 31 in Grenoble, France sitting on steps of the cathedral. This was another beautiful city set near the French Alpine region.

That piece of scripture informs us that the good things in life are the Lord’s doing. The passage in Isaiah relates to Hezekiah, who was struck by illness at the prime of his life. He was instructed to put his house in order because he was to die soon. There was some resignation as he prayed and asked God, to recognise that he had "walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and done what was good in Your eyes". 

The Lord spared Hezekiah and added another 15 years to his life. In a subsequent prayer, Hezekiah recalled his petition in his dying moments. Isaiah 38:15 noted that it dawned upon the king that sparing his life was entirely God's doing, only by God's grace. Hezekiah wrote "What can I say? He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this. I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul. Lord by such things men live; and my spirit finds life in them too".

I understand that these were the same words Queen Elizabeth I of Great Britain uttered when on 17 Nov 1558, a messenger arrived from London with the long awaited news that she is to be crowned Queen. "A domino factum est mirabile in oculis nostris – This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvellous in our eyes."

So what does a near death experience and a coronation have in common? What about reading the scripture in Croatia and France? 

The common thread is in the phrase, "There by the grace of God, go I." Life events are lived and experienced entirely by God's grace, be it a re-living after a near death experience, ascension to a throne or recalling of more simple and less dramatic experiences. Both are the Lord’s doing and it is marvellous in our eyes. 

There is an Christian song I learned in the 1970s written by Jimmy Owens, 'Illusive Dream' which always reminds that we live in reality by the grace of God and not in illusion. It is only by God's grace could we have enjoyed the lives we live and experience.

Where might you be going this fine day, my friend

Off along an aimless road that soon must end

Chasing an illusive dream that shines so fair

But when found, isn't there

I can understand your weary sigh, my friend

There, but for the grace of God go I, my friend

Come and let Him lead you to your journey's end

So come along and walk with Him

If without the grace of God your life should end

And before the face of God you'd stand, my friend

What would your illusive dream avail you then?

So come along and walk with Him

Like Hezekiah and Elizabeth I, let us recognise that all that are happening to us is the Lord's doing. We walk with Him and live by His grace. It is marvelous. 

Lionel

First published 3 Sep 2007

Ref 1: Kent Nerburn. Make Me An Instrument Of Your Peace - Living in the Spirit of St Francis. HarperOne, 1999

A Silence That Speaks

Morning Silence in Vercor, Grenoble

'O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.' Psalm 131:2

When we visited Helsinki on 13 August 2010 we learnt about the great Finnish composer, Sibelius who composed the well loved anthem, Finlandia. The tour guide informed us that although Mr Sibelius travelled the world, most of his compositions were inspired and written in Finland. He had a famous quotation “In Finland there is a silence that speaks” and this was inscribed on his memorial. He meant that he found the peace and quiet of his country especially inspiring.

Sibelius Memorial, Helsinki

A silence that speaks - this phrase resonated with me when I first heard it because at that time I felt distanced from God. It seemed that the quiet whispers of God speaking to my soul had gone. If it had been present, as it surely must have, it was simply ignored and shut out. Days turned to weeks and weeks to months, still there was no inspiration. I simply did not enjoy any contemplative moment. I was too hurried. I need to shut out the noise of a busy life, keep still, enjoy the silence and hear God’s inspiration. When I viewed the countryside around Helsinki, I knew that God spoke through the silence.

Kent Nerburn spoke of being in Saskatchewan once. The wind there was extremely strong and loud to him, a newcomer to the area. But the people in that part of Canada were so used to this wind that they hardly noticed its presence. So too is the voice of God. It is always present but we fail to give it the correct attention because life itself, like the Saskatchewan wind, sound-surrounds and shuts out God’s voice.

God’s voice like the wind does not stop, it just drops down to a whisper. Does this happen ever so often in your life? Our own self importance, our self directedness stifles the God given instinct for communication and communion. 

Our former Pastor Tan-Yeo Lay Suan once shared, "Stillness and Silence is always a prerequisite for receptivity. Telephones and television sets cannot receive messages when they are too filled with static and noise." When we learn to wean off the voices of the world, then perhaps we can start to listen to the voice of God. If we are to listen above the noise, we have to calm and quieten our soul like a child at the mother's breast, a child not hooked on the distractions of the busy life.

Richard Tan also struggled with this silence from God which he found perplexing especially with respect to unanswered prayer. He found insight and comfort in Eugene Peterson's sharing, "We have learned by experience that God's silence in the face of our prayers is not due to some inadequacy on our part or some technical glitch in the way we pray. God's silence is a common and repeated experience among all who pray. Like the widow who did not lose heart, why do we keep praying? We do it because we know who God is and what He is like. Having kept company with Jesus, we know the character and work of the God who is with us. That is why we keep praying and do not lose heart."  

There is a mountain in the middle of France near the town of Grenoble upon which a monastery was founded by St Bruno. It is called the Grand Chartreuse. For nine centuries, contemplative Catholic monks and nuns of the Carthusian Order, have been faithful to the vocation of silence. There in the stillness of the surrounding countryside in which the brothers pray and live their lives in silence not speaking to each other except for a few days in a year. Yet, the testimonies of the monks speak of them knowing God, the world, society and humankind in depth and truthfulness. Was it not, Mahatma Gandhi who said “It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without heart?” The Carthusian monks knew this secret centuries ago.

And God comes to them. There is song written by David Haas entitled 'You Are Mine' whose first line reassures that God will come to us in the silence

I will come to you in the silence

I will lift you from all your fear

You will hear My voice

I claim you as My choice

Be still, and know I am near

I am hope for all who are hopeless

I am eyes for all who long to see

In the shadows of the night,

I will be your light

Come and rest in Me

Do not be afraid, I am with you

I have called you each by name

Come and follow Me

I will bring you home

I love you and you are mine

I am strength for all the despairing

Healing for the ones who dwell in shame

All the blind will see, the lame will all run free

And all will know My name

Do not be afraid, I am with you

I have called you each by name

Come and follow Me

I will bring you home

I love you and you are mine

I am the Word that leads all to freedom

I am the peace the world cannot give

I will call your name, embracing all your pain

Stand up, now, walk, and live

Do not be afraid, I am with you

I have called you each by name

Come and follow Me

I will bring you home

I love you and you are mine

Do not be afraid, I am with you

I have called you each by name

Come and follow Me

I will bring you home

I love you and you are mine

Lionel

Updated. 1st published 13 August 2010