Essential Grace Blog

“Though the fig tree may not blossom Nor fruit be on the vines Though the labour of the olive may fail And the fields yield no food Though the flock may be cut off from the fold And there be no herd in the stalls Yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation The Lord is my strength He will make my feet like a deer’s feet And He will make me walk on my high hills”                                                             Habakkuk 3 vs 17 – 19 This passage speaks to many people in many different ways. We all have needs and wants in different parts of our lives and some may scream their presence louder than others. For the writer of this piece, his needs wer...

There was an article I read in a women's magazine some years ago. It was about the growing trend of glamourising stress. Apparently, people get into competition on their outrageously busy schedules, their tight deadlines, their endless to-do lists and the ever raising blood pressure. I don't quite know if this has something to do with wanting to be important, or trying to paint a picture of productive energy. The point is, stress can never be glamorous. Neither can the lack of balance and pacing in one's life. The Bible speaks about suffering in terms of it being a global experience. It is not exclusive nor can it be patented. For example, when you think of suffering in the typically African perspective, it is easy to imagine that famine, floods, wars, and corruption are localized to this sad part of the world. But this is simply not true, famine, floods, wars, and corruption are well represented all over the world. Perhaps it is much easier to project so me forms of suf...

Peace is a general concept. It can mean different things such as peace of mind or inner peace, peace from war, and peace in relational contexts, to name a few. A quick wiki search on the definition of peace brings its description as ' a deliberate state of psychological or spiritual calm despite the potential presence of stressors .' add wiki link. An article posted on Letterpile * by Dora Weithers gives a beautiful illustration of peace as being the state one chooses to be in regardless of the situation; be it times of danger or calm. As a Christian, I propose that having and maintaining a peaceful heart is a genuine challenge. I say this because peace is not an inbuilt trait in humans regardless of their faith. Rather, it is something that has to be attained and worked on constantly. It is a personal choice that everyone makes at one point or another. For some, depending on their personality, religion, background, or other such factor; living peacefully is not difficult at...

How do you determine your commitment to your God? How do you elaborate on ‘giving your best’ to Him? I came across an article this week on a man named Johnny. Johnny lives a full life, is deeply involved with his local church, works a full time job and has many meaningful relationships. He is also legally blind. Reading about this man got me thinking about the many different ways through which we serve or minister in our lives on a daily basis. There are many people (myself included) who perceive ‘ministry’ or Christian service to mean something extra-ordinary. I have believed for many years that I am not actively serving God because I have not been on a missions trip in years, or taken part in door to door evangelism, or handed out pamphlets. There are many things which the church attempts to qualify as service or ministry. There are singers, ushers, cleaners, preachers, cooks, childminders, and so on who serve diligently and are considered to be in ‘service’ because of thei...