EP114 Speaking faith and life
Drawing closer to God with Wendy Robinson
When did you last do an audit of the words you speak? Are you speaking “faith and life” or “fear and death”? Late last year we were facing another challenging medical situation with our daughter, Victoria. I found myself going down that path of fear. I was spending time with God, a lot actually due to a broken wrist slowing me down! In these times I was primarily looking for reassurance and comfort. I was not speaking faith into Victoria’s situation. Something changed in the Be Still moment But then something changed. During one of those quiet times with God, I was sitting on a seat...
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EP113 Not enough time. I need help.
Drawing closer to God with Wendy Robinson
Have you ever said to yourself, “There is not enough time to do all this.”? I have and it's normally followed up with a huge sigh of exasperation! Then the Holy Spirit reminds me of something I heard a few years ago, “God will always give you enough time for what He wants you to do.” Press pause! Does that mean I am doing things that God doesn’t want me to do? Does that mean I am doing things differently from how He wants me to do them? Sounds like it is time to check in with God and find out. Getting direction from God Let's look at those...
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EP112 Providing the full protection
Drawing closer to God with Wendy Robinson
Saturday morning was damp and humid, perfect mosquito conditions. Sometimes walking in this place can feel like mosquito feeding time! However, this morning I realised no mosquito had come near me. My thoughts moved to the insect repellent I had put on before walking. I have two types of repellent I use, a spray from one brand, and a roll-on from a different brand. Today I applied the roll-on and it was definitely providing the full protection and I was grateful. God's protection Oh, my brain suddenly started going off, thinking about all the parallels between putting on the protection against...
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EP111 Need some encouragement to finish that project
Drawing closer to God with Wendy Robinson
Do you need some encouragement to finish that project? How many times in your life have you started a project and struggled to complete it? Perhaps you are in that situation right now! Where do you go to get the encouragement you need to finish a project? Striving to find a way So many times in my life I have been unable to find a way through. I strive to find the strategy, to find the key to moving forward. When I feel myself striving this way, I know there is only one action to take - Be Still. Yes, Psalm 46:10 again! I keep coming back to that very clear command...
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EP110 What brings colour into your life?
Drawing closer to God with Wendy Robinson
Christmas was over a month ago. We were a little late putting our tree up this year, 23 December, but we did get there. Perhaps we will leave it up until February as it adds so much colour to the room. When we take the tree down the room looks very bland. It’s a bit like the tree in our garden I shared about a couple of weeks ago, stunning hot pink flowers and fresh green leaves in the summer, and then in winter - just plain brown branches. That thought leads me to a question, what brings colour into your life? What brings joy into your life? What dulls the colour in your life? ...
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EP109 Is frustration taking over?
Drawing closer to God with Wendy Robinson
What's your 'go-to' when things aren't working out how you thought they would? Does frustration take over? For me, being a planner and organiser by nature, frustration is definitely my 'go-to' when things aren't working out as I'd planned. The broken wrist In early December I broke my wrist while renovating a room in our home. Standing on a kiddie step to sand a cornice, I stepped off awkwardly and fell. I screamed. My daughter came running and helped me get up off the floor. Immediately I started planning how I could continue the sanding. I attempted to pick up something with my...
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EP108 We will rejoice
Drawing closer to God with Wendy Robinson
What are the first words you say to yourself when you wake up? Over the last few months, I have been purposefully saying to myself these words from a childhood Sunday School song (actually Psalm 118:24), "This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." (NKJV). It is a declaration to my soul. Me, telling myself that God is in control. He made this day (Psalm 118:24). He knows what is to come (Psalm 139:16). He will not leave me to do this day alone. (Deuteronomy 31:8). Speaking faith Essentially I am speaking faith into my day....
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EP107 Writing Season Again
Drawing closer to God with Wendy Robinson
In our garden we have a hot pink Crepe MyrtIe (I had to google to find out what type of tree it was!). It blooms in the height of summer, bringing a huge splash of colour to our garden. I love it, often exclaiming to the children as we drive in the driveway, “Look at the tree, look at the tree, it is so beautiful.” Of course in the winter it looks very different. Just a trunk and branches. No leaves. No hot pink flowers. Seasons God tells us in Ecclesiastes that there are seasons, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the...
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Drawing Closer to God with Wendy Robinson - Season 8 - Episode 11
Drawing closer to God with Wendy Robinson
In my lifegroup we are studying Romans. What a wonderful time we are having getting greater revelation of God's grace, learning more about why and how Jesus set us right with God. Every week we are reminded that it's all about God. Not us. It's all about Who He is, and what He says about us.
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Drawing closer to God with Wendy Robinson - Season 8 - Episode 10
Drawing closer to God with Wendy Robinson
What does worship mean to you? Recently I read this statement about worship. It reminded me that worship is not about us.
info_outlineWhat are the first words you say to yourself when you wake up? Over the last few months, I have been purposefully saying to myself these words from a childhood Sunday School song (actually Psalm 118:24), "This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." (NKJV). It is a declaration to my soul. Me, telling myself that God is in control. He made this day (Psalm 118:24). He knows what is to come (Psalm 139:16). He will not leave me to do this day alone. (Deuteronomy 31:8).
Speaking faith
Essentially I am speaking faith into my day. Faith that no matter what happens, whether is it no drama (we don't actually have many of those days) or a little bit of drama, or some massive drama (we have had too many of those days!) - This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it!
I'm telling myself that I will choose to keep my eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2)...
Be thankful
... and I will keep looking for things to be thankful for. In fact, in The Passion Translation, Psalm 118, where the scripture, "This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it" comes from, is titled, "Glorious Thanksgiving". Its first few verses say,
"Keep on giving your thanks to God, for he is so good!
His constant, tender love lasts forever!
Let all his princely people sing,
His constant, tender love lasts forever!"
Psalm 118:1-2 The Passion Translation
Awake, my soul
As someone who often speaks to themselves, I always find it reassuring when I hear of someone else who speaks to themselves too. In Psalm 108 we hear King David speaking to his soul as he prays to God for help,
"My heart, O God, is quiet and confident, all because of you.
Now I can sing my song with passionate praises!
Awake, O my soul, with the music of his splendor.
Arise, my soul, and sing his praises!
I will awaken the dawn with my worship,
greeting the daybreak with my songs of light."
Psalm 108:1-2 The Passion Translation
Yes, here is King David at dawn, speaking to himself, telling his soul to sing praises to God. King David is speaking faith as he asks God for His help in the battle,
"Save us and help us with your right hand, that those who you love may be delivered."
Psalm 108:6 NIV
An aside ... You may have heard Hillsong's beautiful worship song, Awake My Soul, which has some lyrics based on Psalm 108.
Words Matter
We all know that the words we speak matter. We are often so careful with the words we speak to others. But for those of us who are often speaking to ourselves, we can easily forget to consider what we are saying to ourselves. Just as we need to take our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), we need to remember the truth of Proverbs 18:21,
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]." Proverbs 18:21 AMPC
This truth applies to the words we say to ourselves and others. Joyce Meyer often speaks about the power of words and she says,
"We have heard the phrase, "You're going to have to eat your words," and Proverbs 18:21 confirms this truth. The words we speak have power to influence our lives. In fact, you may be eating your words right now, and that may be why you are not happy with your life. Your mouth may be getting you in trouble with yourself!" (The Everyday Life Bible, P993).
What words will you wake up with tomorrow?
So I'll leave you (and me) with a little challenge ... what words will we wake up with tomorrow? Will it be the 'Ugh, I wonder what's going to go wrong today,' with a generally unenthusiastic tone? Or will it be a statement of faith, such as "This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it," combined with a thankful attitude that His grace is sufficient for us today.
To find out more please visit drawingclosertogod.org