Basta! More than Enough!

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But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

I love the word “Basta” which we use in Portuguese in this verse, which means, “Enough!” or “That’s enough!” God uses this word in reply to Paul in the way a father uses it at the dinner table when the children are all clamoring for attention, or squabbling with one another, “Basta!” In other words, “Settle down. We have more important things to do right now.” When I am sick or just plain exhausted, I often pray reminding God that I belong to Him and need His help to make it through. Though I rarely experience a miraculous answer, if I wait long enough, I always come away with a renewed sense of His grace and enough strength to keep going. In that dark moment I hear the loving voice of my Heavenly Father rising up above the clamor of my hardships, confusions and pain and He cries, “Basta! Be calm! My grace is more than enough for you!” Whatever you may face today as the sun peeks up above the horizon, if you turn your heart to the Lord He will answer. Our Jesus, who did all for us on the cross, till in agony, He cried out, “It is Finished!” “Basta!” It is enough Father; I have given all!” That grace is now so free and open to us today because Jesus gave His all, so that we might never be alone, never abandoned, never without hope. “Basta!” May His grace be more than enough and all you need for today my friends!

Redeemed From The Pit

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Chris shared such a heartfelt and transparent story that I hoped for more people to hear it. If you are at the bottom of things today, please take a moment to read and then ask God for His help. He is able!

Today is the 22nd anniversary of the lowest point in my life. I had been through six months of having the bottom fall out from under me. I went through the death of a friend, a divorce, a repossession, loss of friendships and a lot more. One thing after another seemed to crumble. Everything I […]

Redeemed From The Pit

Changing the Strings – Day 2

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He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. Psalm 30:3 NIV

Once the old strings are unwound and removed from my guitar, my next step is to put the new ones in their place. One by one, they need to be seated into the saddle and their pegs pressed firmly into place, or they will pop out as they are tensioned. Then each string must be fished through the end of the tuning peg and properly wrapped. This tedious process reminds me of our first wobbly steps as a baby. We are not yet confident of our footing, nor sure of our balance, so our moms and dads are vital to gently helping us to try and try again. Just like our parents, God is also gentle with our fearful first steps of faith on new paths that He puts us on. We may not yet understand where He is leading, but we need to learn to trust Him as He slowly tensions our new strings in their places.

When after a great deal of twisting and turning the guitar strings begins to sound their proper notes, my job is still not done. First, those strings must be played a bit and then given one more final tuning. In that same way, God’s discipline isn’t over when we start out on a new commitment. As the sign I once saw outside a church said, “Thanks for inviting me to the wedding. Don’t forget to invite me the marriage.” – Jesus

Thank God that He only asks us to take one step at a time and He is patient when after a few faltering steps we stumble. He knows that we are not ready to run, just as my guitar with its latest set of strings is not prepared for a concert. Instead, that is when God draws us near, listens closely to our tone, and does some more fine tuning, till we are playing the notes He has in mind. Is God changing the strings in your life today? Have some old and dear things been broken, taken out of their places, or lost? As the words of the old hymn “He Keeps Me Singing” tell us: Jesus sweeps across the broken strings of our life to awaken a new song. Don’t give up or give in to doubt or depression, God is not through, He is just preparing you for a new set of strings and a new melody that He has chosen for you to play!

"All my life was wrecked by sin and strife
Discord filled my heart with pain
Jesus swept across the broken strings
Stirred the slumbering chords again."
He Keeps Me Singing
Luther Bridges 1910