A Voice In The Wilderness

The Reason for our Groaning We hate to wait, we want things immediate. We create fast foods, instant noodles and beverages. We invent slimming pills and body-contouring products that promise results in a week. We have internet technologies to help us obtain information within a second. We live in a world that seeks to erase “wait” altogether. This attitude is also pervasive in the church. In his book “Jesus-driven ministry”, Dr Ajith Fernando observed that the church is very good at the theology of praise and power. The church often focuses on the tangible and the immediate like worship experience, healing and deliverance. Yet she has not balanced these with the theology of groaning. The theology of groaning refers to waiting and longing for what that has not yet arrived or been received. When we look at the Scripture, we realise that it talks a lot about waiting and deferred fulfilment: “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the o...

The Thirst of Christ

By the time Christ hung on the cross, He had gone without water for at least nine hours. He endured a long night of interrogations. In the morning, He was scourged and whipped repeatedly, losing much fluid from His body. He was then forced to carry the heavy cross through the streets, His sweat mingling with blood that ran down His torn back. He must have been severely dehydrated— overwhelmingly thirsty. Yet, even in that abyss of physical agony, Christ remained fixed on obedience. Pain did not distract Him from the will of God; it became the very place where Scripture was fulfilled. From the cross, He uttered, “I thirst.” It wasn't just a primal human need. It was an intentional act to fulfill the Scripture. "After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture) , “I thirst". Jn 19:28 How do we hold onto the Word when our physical desires stage a revolt, and every nerve ending is clamour...

Don't Waste Your Sickness

So often when we fall ill, our natural instinct is to pursue healing. Our minds are pre-occupied with wanting to recover as soon as possible. However we fail to pause and consider what the Lord may be saying to us and risk wasting the sickness altogether. My appeal is that even as we pursue recovery, let us also take time to seek the Lord and discern the cause(s) of our sickness so that we can pray more appropriately for healing. 1. Careless Living It is a known fact that the lack of balanced diet and exercise will lead to several physical ailments. Our physical body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19); and we are to glorify Him with our body. Glorifying God with our body includes being good stewards of our body. Observing a balanced diet and having a healthy dose of exercise will help us prevent chronic diseases like diabetes or high blood pressure. Observing Sabbath rest also allows the body to be renewed and refreshed. If we have been guilty of careless living, we need t...

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