Word in Christ

Written by Erika-Leigh Pillay 

Written by Erika-Leigh Pillay 

Written by Erika-Leigh Pillay 

I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning (Job 7:16). When we have set high spiritual objectives for ourselves and have aspired to live according to honorable principles, yet experience nothing but adversity, we are left with intense feelings of sadness. Then we wonder: where is this road leading? If life has knocked you to the ground, there is only one way that your life can go: upwards! It is at moments like these that you have to be very careful that self-pity doesn't control your thoughts and emotions. When dark storm clouds are gathering, or the storm has already broken, search for something constructive and permanent to hold onto. This will bring you to God - the Eternal, Unchanging One. You may doubt if anything constructive will survive the devastating circumstances that you are in. But remember that not even the darkest moment of your life can prevent you from making a fresh start. A lot of drift-wood might need to be cl...

Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). There are times in life when dark clouds of sorrow and disappointment descend on us. The death of a loved one or breaking off a long-standing relationship - these experiences are traumatic. It feels as if a part of your life has died. When this happens, some people find it practically impossible to fill the void. The result is that they sink into inconsolable mourning. This can have devastating effects on their lives, and can be detrimental to their emotional, intellectual and spiritual well-being. It would be foolish and insensitive to say that you should not mourn because you have been separated from someone or something precious to you. On the other hand, it is important to know that with Christ's loving support, you will be able to deal with your sorrow and loss. It is unthinkable that God did not experience sorrow when His Son died on the cross, or that Jesus would not have mourned at the grav...

Bishop Sandy Millar speaks of a time when he was walking along the beach and he noticed how the sand had been churned up by the footprints of those who had gone before him. The next morning the footprints were all wiped away by the sea. He sensed Jesus saying to him, 'That is a picture of forgiveness.'  Or to use another analogy, forgiveness from Jesus Christ is like deleting the file of all the bad stuff in our lives.  Forgiveness is never easy. We all know how hard it is to forgive others. However, we often assume that forgiveness from God is almost automatic. On her deathbed, the Empress Catherine the Great of Russia (1729-1796), said, 'I shall be an autocrat: that's my trade. The good Lord will forgive me: that's his.'  In the passages for today we see the very high cost and huge blessing of God's forgiveness. As P.T. Forsyth (1848-1921) pointed out, first, you have to know the 'despair of guilt'. Then you can ...

Be made new in the attitude of your minds; and put on the new self (Ephesians 4:23-24). Don't blame yourself for things that happened in the past. The danger is that mistakes, failures and defeats in your past can hamper your spiritual growth and rob you of the joy that God intended for you. Maybe you can recall the times when you allowed a worldly attitude or lack of enthusiasm to rob you of the highest calling of your life. Such memories can cast an unnecessary shadow over the present. If you keep on fretting about what might have been, you not only allow the excitement of the present to pass you by, but you also open the door for depression. Remember, the past is history, the future is a promise - the present is really all you have! A living, practical faith in Jesus Christ requires continual adjustments in your life. Your attitude towards life should alter all the time. Instead of always expecting the worst to happen, you must learn to accept that God only wants wha...