The Human Spirit

We can't do everything but we must do something…

''Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others''  Nelson Mandella

The clean-up begins as the flood waters recede in parts of Queensland.  Over 15,000 volunteers are registered to begin a salvage operation, with some looking for people they know.  People have come from all over Australia to help complete strangers rebuild their homes and lives.  There has been over 1400 Australian Defense Force teams deported to help with the clean up.  This is more than when Cyclone Tracey hit Darwin on Christmas Day in 1974 killing 66 people.

As I watch the recent flood disaster in Queensland,  and throughout Australia (now in Sri Lanka and Brazil too) unfold on my television screen I have been overcome with so many different emotions.  I have been overwhelmed by the devastation and loss of lives but moved more by the human spirit that has risen up in this desperate time of need.  Brisbane is my hometown where I grew up and it is unbelievable to see so much of it under water.  However, Brisbane has now been swamped with a new flood. Human kindness.

The human has a spirit that does not sleep during the deepest sleep. It is powerful, and is capable of earning eternal life.

John Teske views human spirit as a social construct representing the qualities of purpose and meaning which transcend the individual human.   It is not just the power of one, but many coming together in UNITY – when a group of people come together for a common cause.  If just one person turned up to help with the clean up it would not accomplish much, but together we can really make a difference.

During times of loss and devastation like this it is easy to ask WHY?  It’s human nature to want answers to justify the devastation.  But if we keep asking this one question we will never move on to what’s really important.  Instead of asking WHY did this happen, ask WHAT can I do to help? 

I loved what one man said on the news…”The flood has taken our homes and livelihood, but it will not take our souls.”  There is something in the human spirit that God created only to rise up in the midst of adversity.                                        
                                                                                       
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul.

We have Hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

We can now thank God for the flood of miracles that have come and will continue to come after the flood waters recede.

Yet hope returns when I think of this one thing:

The Lord’s unfailing love and mercy still continue,

Fresh as the morning, and as sure as the sunrise.

The Lord is all I have, and so in Him I will put all my hope.

The Lord is good to everyone who trusts Him.

Lamentations 3:22-25

So I pray that the word God gave me for this year – RESTORE - will be imparted into the hearts, souls and minds to every life effected by the flood waters.  And to those who have not been directly effected, our fingerprints never fade on the lives that we touch… so please help in some way donating some of your time, money or skills.  If you would like to donate money please go to this website

http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

As of today $103,325,414  has been donated by generous souls.  You can also register to volunteer at the above website.

RESTORE

"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"
Oscar Wilde




I have spent the first week of 2011 asking God for a word that I can place as a mandate over this new year. I wanted a word that would represent the future and not a past full of regret or unattained goals from last year, but all the potential God has for me and all HIS plans for me - not my own agenda. 
Psalm 80:3 
Restore us, O God;  
Cause Your face to shine upon us,  
And we shall be saved! 

I felt He gently dropped the word RESTORE into my heart. 
So I looked up the word restore in the dictionary;


1. To bring back into existence or use; reestablish: restore law and order.
2. To bring back to an original condition (how He created us, pure and whole)
3. To put (someone) back in a former position (before we were hurt, abused, rejected or deceived) 
4. To make restitution of; give back: restore the stolen funds.
5. Undo changes if problems occur
6. Backup and recover (I have done that many times on my iPhone but never thought of it in relation to my life!) God will always back us up in time of need and help us recover. 


2Cor 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new

After reading these I was truly moved by how much God is FOR us and not AGAINST us. 
God wants to make all things new again. Situations and circumstances that we have messed up or situations and circumstances where other people have mishandled our hearts. 
So this year I yield control for God to restore every area of my life that I have taken control of and messed up without acknowledging Him in that area. 
He wants to RESTORE:

Strained Family relationships
My passion for His Word
My relationship totally devoted to Him
My mind full of Faith  
Dreams and Visions that I have slowly let go of over time
Disappointment and heart break

God intentionally wants to RESTORE ALL of these things in my life and in yours too. The thing is, for Him to do that - we need to RESTORE back control to Him in some areas of our lives.
.   
Matt 12:13
Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. 
This scripture talks about a man with a withered hand who needed healing. Jesus asked him to reach out his hand to him before it was healed. Why would Jesus ask him to do that? He could have healed Him anytime?
I believe it was symbolic to us reaching out to him in abandonment like we do in worship, showing God that we truly need Him and we can't do this thing called life on our own.

I recently read this quote that I thought was so true.....

"The benefit of looking to the past is that we gain perspective. We see things differently after developing an awareness of what we know and what we wished we knew." 

We have all experienced the harsh reality of life through wrong decisions, bad judgment or careless advice.   How true is it that we often learn our most effective life lessons through the bad experiences as opposed to the good ones, or even other people's bad ones!  But the good news is that  all of those things we often regret in life is covered by the amazing grace of our Heavenly Father, and can be RESTORED.

 

I truly believe God can and will restore everything if we allow Him.  We will never forget the past, but will grow stronger and learn from it.  


I pray 2011 brings greater blessings, greater opportunities, greater growth, wisdom and prosperity! I pray courage to pursue your dreams and the tools to make them a reality!