Hunted

15th of March

What do you think of when you read the head line? Do you think of an exciting television program or a crime novel?

Many get an uneasy feeling when they hear the word hunted and they might think of a lonely woman being followed by a dangerous man. They might think of children being persecuted by other children or others who are there to mob them. They might also think of people who are constantly exposed to accidents.

I can assure you that God had neither of these things in mind when He gave me this title, but something completely different. He showed me psalm 23 and the sixth verse. It goes like this: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Many got negative associations when you saw the title, but God wants to show us that we are followed by something very good.

The day that we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior and we became the children of God, we entered a new covenant with lots of fantastic promises, but also some responsibilities, but the promises are far greater.

The word goodness gives us very positive associations. You might think of a kind grandmother who always was there for you or a wonderful mother who was reading for you at bedtime. Maybe you think of a grandfather who showed you the secrets of nature in the forest or a father who always had time to listen. Whatever of whoever we think of, the word goodness gives us a nice feeling? I think of people who are kind and generous.

Many people have lacked goodness and mercy in their lives, but are desperately longing for it. When we became children of the Living God, we were promised to be followed by goodness and mercy, but even the lives of Christians can testify about sicknesses and accidents. How? Is God a liar? NO, naturally not. HE IS THE TRUTH AND HE SPEAKS TRUTH. I cannot give you all the answers to the tragedies of life, but I do know that FAITH comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God. There are unfortunately many who preach another gospel. They only talk about a God Who is after you to see if you make any mistakes, One who is there to punish you and to put burdens and a lot of laws and regulations on you. I, myself, am brought up in a religious home and I had a wrong picture of God.

When I was filled with the Holy Spirit, I started to follow a preacher who was preaching a lot about God’s goodness. I was so hungry for that kind of teaching that I couldn’t get enough of it. I needed a completely new concept of who God is.

Do you believe that God is good or angry and mean? Do you love Him or are you afraid of Him. We do not come close to one we fear. God wants us to respect Him, but not to be afraid of Him. GOD LOVES US AND HE WANTS THE BEST FOR YOU AND THIS GOODNESS WILL FOLLOW YOU THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

Why do I not feel this, you might wonder? One of many answers might be that you have heard the wrong teaching and therefore do not expect anything good. We must also remember that we have an enemy. He wants to do anything in order to destroy our lives. He is stealing and lying. It is therefore very important to learn about spiritual warfare. We have to know how to fight our enemy and which weapons to use.

God tried to bless me for years, but since I was brought up with the wrong teaching, I could not receive the blessings. I didn’t think I was worthy and I thought that I had to suffer the things that Jesus took for me on the Cross. I could not receive from God or from people before I got teaching that was built on the Word of God. I have another life to-day and I can enjoy the blessings. I live right now in a house with a couple who are extremely kind and helpful. The Holy Spirit reminded me of a prophesy that I received some time ago. God said that He would always give me all the help I needed and He would always take care of me. When I got sick in India last spring, He gave me a family to take care of me. GOD IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL TO HIS WORD.

Before I got very upset when I met a problem, but I count on God’s help and goodness to-day. Nothing is too small for Him. My friend’s mobile was ruined the other day and I prayed for a solution. The next day she got a new one in a wonderful way. I can also testify that God can help you to find things that are forgotten or even lost.

I can “hear” some of you saying: “ I am without a job and my children are starving. Where is God?” I can understand that such difficult situations cause questions and I certainly do not have all the answers, but I do know that my life changed when I received the teaching about a Good God.

I do understand that it depends on where you live in the world and the circumstances around you, but many can testify about God’s’ goodness in the middle of difficulties and hard circumstances.

I will also mention something that we often do not want to hear. We might not have done our part of the deal. I have some friends and they needed to sell a house since they had bought a new one. He also needed a new job. They asked God why they never got an answer. They had a grudge against a troublesome neighbor. Two days after they had forgiven him, the house was sold and a new job on its way. GOD HAS SPIRITUAL LAWS AS WELL AS SPIRITUAL PROMISES, but this is not the theme this time.

I could easily write page after page about all the fantastic things Jesus accomplished on the Cross and the consequences Golgatha has on our lives to-day, but I feel that God especially wants to emphasize His concern and love for us in our everyday life.

In Luke 12 we read that we should not worry. I do believe that you would visit the doctor less and use less sleeping pills if you could stop worrying. Your whole being would be more healthy. Worries steal our energy and our sleep and influence our entire being. God wants to show us His mercy and goodness and wants to tell us that He provides for us. One of the covenant names of God is: Provider. He is more than enough. I believe that you as a parent provide for your children. You would rather be hungry yourself than seeing your children go hungry. God has created us with such parental love and concern and He has an even stronger love for His children. When we suffer, He suffers and that is why it says in the Bible that we minister to Jesus when we help the sick and those in prison.

What do you think of when you get up in the morning? Do you expect another day of problems or do you wait for God to shower you with His goodness and mercy? You receive what you expect or have faith for. Your tongue will partly decide your day.

I will end by quoting Rom.8:31 “ If God is for us, who can be against us?” In verse 39 we read: “Nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

EXPECT SOMETHING GOOD FROM GOD TO-DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mother Else