Glued to the promise…

"… for the joy of the Lord is your strength” Nehemiah 8:10

This verse has been ringing on my head while I was in the bus going to work. For many times I have asked myself, what makes people endure? What keeps people smile in the brink of breaking? What holds them to be strong and just pursue the promised future? And there are so much unspoken mysteries that I can muse about… And then I asked myself… what keep me then fighting the good fight?

I was given a promise since I was a child and just the picture of the fulfillment makes me enthusiastic of the future.

In 2 Samuel 23:9-10, these verses boast about one of the great men of David – Eleazar. When the men retreated, he stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and FROZE to the SWORD. Like him, I glued myself to the promise and HIS promise is my SWORD.

"… for the joy of the Lord is your strength” Nehemiah 8:10. We have this inner joy that only HE provides – a joy that is not dictated by any circumstances or joy that is not bound by time; it never fades and it never falters. But this verse gave another impression to me this morning, a whisper that says, “It is MY joy to see you enduring. It is MY joy to see you standing over and over. It is MY joy to see you winning battles after battles. It is MY joy to see you believing in Me. It is MY joy to see you walking on the water. MY JOY is your fuel because it’s your joy to please me.”

These very words brought tears to my eyes. Since day one, I’m still that same child who received the promise. Years passed yet still I’m that same child who is glued to HIS promise.

Sometimes

Sometimes, you just want to sit in a corner where no one else could find you

Or just fly to a mountain where not a single person could touch you

Or dance under the rain that no one will dare to stop you

Or maybe just stare the stillness of the sea and feel the breeze where no one is around you


Sometimes, you just want to do something "not you"

Something that will just make you feel good

Something that would make the time freeze for you

Or something that will make all the birds flock around you


Sometimes you feel like playing around the clock

Going fast forward to have a glimpse of the future

Or pressing rewind to hold back some memories

Or pause some pictures on your mind, capturing every detail


Sometimes, you enjoy the attention

But sometimes you long for your space

Sometimes, you pray for the courage to speak

Yet sometimes, you also seek for the strength to remain quiet


Oh sometimes, you don't know what you want

Or clueless how to juggle all things with 2 hands

And sometimes things would trigger you to change your mind

But sometimes, all you have to do... is to do nothing


With many choices in a box, sometimes you dont know which one fits you best

With your joy to paint love around you sometimes left you puzzled which color to pick

Oh sometimes... and all these "sometimes" moments

Still, would lead you ALWAYS to one thing and one place... To a place that never change --- HIS place

(random thoughts within 30 minutes, alone at riverside...)