But his delight is in
the law of the Lord,
And in His law he
meditates day and night.
He shall be like a
tree planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its
fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall
not wither,
And whatsoever they do
shall prosper.
(Psalm 1:2-3 NKJV)
Photograph: Myall
Creek, Dalby Qld.
Some time
ago my Pastor spoke about stretching and I wrote this because I’m the living
testimony of what stretching can do.
Many of us
fall short of our capabilities. If we would only stretch, we could go a lot
further in life.
Do you know God can bend time? Isaiah 38:8 says: “Behold, I
will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the
sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backwards.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the
dial by which it had gone down. (NKJV)
Because God
consistently elongates my days, I’m truly amazed at how much I can accomplish
and yet never be in a hurry. He bent time for me, as I stretched and needed
more of it, to achieve what I set out to do.
God says to
give Him a portion of our money and He will add more to it. He does the same
thing with time. Give Him the first part of your day and He will make your day longer. I can attest to this, because this is what’s happened in my life.
God also
asks that we trust Him, step out in faith, believing we shall accomplish what
we set out to do, and it will happen. For many of us, that’s a stretch of
faith.
He states
He’s not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, of love and of a sound
mind (2 Timothy 1:7). For me personally, that too is a stretch at times.
I have the
mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16 tells me so and I believe it. To win in this
life, in this partnership with the Lord, you have to believe every jot and
tittle in the bible. For there are incredibly wealthy people out there; successful
people who may make a lot of money, but fail in relationships. Or win at
relationships, but fail in the area of finance. If we want to win in every area
of our life, we must believe in the bible and do what it tells us to do.
Anyway, because
I have the mind of Christ, you can introduce me to 30 people and I’ll remember
29 names (hey, I’m not perfect, but 29 out of 30 isn’t too bad). Because I have
the mind of Christ, you can give me a one-hundred-digit number and I can relay
it back to you – forwards and backwards. But I wasn’t always like this. I had
to stretch to get there.
Things come
at us in life and we say to ourselves; “I’ll never do that again” and we erect
a wall. In the end, we erect so many walls, we’ve boxed ourselves in. We’re
safely cocooned inside our 4 walls, but we’re not living life.
That was me
25 years ago. Although I grew up in a very loving home, I was still full of
fear. Too scared to say boo to a goose. I was painfully shy. I figured I was
born that way and there was nothing I could do about it, but I was wrong.
25 years
ago, I didn’t like me very much. I didn’t talk to people. I didn’t have too
much to say because I wasn’t doing anything. Yes, I had young children then and
was doing my best for them, but outside that, I felt I had nothing to offer the
world. I believed I was boring to be around and no one wanted to hear anything
I had to say.
At that
point in time, I was depressed, well overweight, had asthma, arthritis,
psoriasis and hay fever. My relationship with my husband was pretty poor and we
were pretty poor. Poverty was a constant at that time. Suicidal thoughts were
also a constant with me.
One day, I
walked out the door with the intention of taking my life but couldn’t do it. My
daughters were eight and ten. A week later a work colleague of my husband’s
committed suicide. I was so angry with God. Why did He take him and not me?
I hadn’t
been a born-again Christian long, when this happened. Just 2 years. My life
initially hadn’t changed much in that 2 years. I expected more, in becoming a
Christian and it didn’t appear to be happening. I also didn’t understand about
co-labouring with God. I didn’t understand about stretching, but I was about to
lean.
When this colleague
committed suicide, I was mad at God. “Why did you take him and not me?” I cried
out in my despair. I distinctly remember His reply. It was the first time I
heard the audible voice of God. He replied; “Because you’re a lamb of My flock
and I never lose one of My own.” I knew then, I’d never attempt suicide again.
And it was then I realised – I needed to change. I started reading self-help books.
And so, the
stretching began.
I did a
speed reading and memory course from home and over the next 2 years, read over
200 books. Everything, from the biblical, to positive thinking, to investing
and how to succeed in life. That was me stretching.
Then I
stretched again and took a 2-day course, because 2 days was all I felt I could
manage. I was so shy, had so little confidence in my abilities that I knew I
had to start small and I became a Justice of the Peace.
This tiny
step of stretching out of my comfort zone, gave me a little more courage and so
I stretched further. I opened myself up to try more and more new things.
As I walked
with God, (spent time with Him, reading my bible and in prayer every day) my
health improved. I no longer have any health issues. It was like the time Jesus
healed the ten lepers; as they went, they were cleansed. Only one leper came
back to say thank you and he was the only one of the ten, who was made whole.
I don’t
know in what way. Was he made whole in that his fingers and nose grew back? Was
he made whole in his finances, as now that he was healed and able bodied, he
could work? Was he made whole in his relationships, for no longer was he
ostracised from society? We don’t know. The bible doesn’t say in what way he
was made whole, but I think he was made whole in every area, just as I have
been. For all that, there is one thing I do know; we need to remember to give
thanks, when Jesus moves in our life.
So, I no
longer have any health issues. My relationships improved, I lost weight, I grew
out of poverty and no longer suffer the depression I’d lived with for so many
years.
Recently I was asked how I got over the depression. It gave me pause
for thought, because it had gone from my life and I didn’t particularly think I
did anything. However, when I pondered further on it, the Holy Spirit brought
to mind; I no longer listen to the devil and his negative words upon my life. I
take every thought captive. Every thought.
It has been
some years since I thought about depression and during those times, I
remembered God’s words. The Holy Spirit brought them back to me now. I used to
say them: think upon what’s true, noble, right, admirable, pure and lovely and
don’t give the devil a foot hold. If I started to spiral downhill, I’d say to
the devil: Get lost you gnat. You’re less than a flea and I’m not listening to
you. Then I’d recite bible verses, the ones which would edify and build me up.
I refused to listen to the devil tear me down. Once the devil understands he
has no effect on you, he leaves. He can no longer bother me with tormenting
thoughts.
God says to
write the vision and make it plain, that he may run that readeth it…though it
tarries, wait for it, for it will surely come.
So, I wrote
the vision. I wrote what I wanted to see in happen in my life. And I waited. I
wasn’t idle though. I was learning all the while, as I waited.
My dream
was to trade shares, write and travel as I did so and there were times I felt
I’d never make it. Satan did his best, but I kept the faith and I’m now living
the dream.
Because I
stretched myself and my faith, because I took God’s word as truth, I am now thrilled to say, I no
longer feel boring. My dream is in full swing. Where I used to clean motels and
wash dishes, I’m now an investigative photojournalist and author, who trades
currency and commodities on the global stock exchange, while travelling the
countryside; sometimes in my car, sometimes in my little caravan.
I’ve
written books that have made it onto Amazon’s best seller lists, taken award
winning photographs, had my written work printed in newspapers and magazines.
And a blog, which is a lot of fun, even if I didn’t know what I was doing
initially. In hindsight, I should have had 2 blogs; one for my written work and
one for my recipes, for I do love to cook. But we live and learn.
I managed
to retire ten years early (something I never saw coming) and now am seeing my
fruit, my grandchildren, prosper and overcome, for the Lord blesses our
children and our children’s children to a thousand generations.
One
granddaughter is too little yet, but the other is sport’s captain at her
school. She’s made the cricket team, the soccer team, went to the regional
races for sprinting and has won awards in Jujitsu. She was also one of the few in her school, chosen to go to the leadership conference and the writer’s festival. Last year
she was environmental officer and library monitor. (None of this, would I have
had the courage for at school and yet here she is; going for it all.) God is
blessing my family.
We need to
practice the principles to partake of the promises. My daughter and I purchased
our house together. We weren’t in big income jobs, both being in the disability
field at this time. Initially we paid a tithe of less than 10%, until we could
afford to pay more, but we were diligent tithers. We stayed within our
financial means and didn’t buy anything outside our home with credit, for the
Lord states we’re to be lenders, not borrowers.
Recently we
sold our home and my daughter just paid cash for her own house. I’m still
looking for my forever home and I know it will come, when the time is right. My
daughter’s dream was to be a UNI student (which she couldn’t do while paying a
mortgage) and she’s doing that right at the moment, now that she’s settled in
her own place. My other daughter is studying in a field she never felt she
could accomplish and yet here she is, passing every exam. These children are
the treasures in my house. They all are.
I don’t say any of this out of pride or to boast, but to show you; God blesses His people as He promises He will.
During this
stretching process, yes, I failed at times. But I learned more through my
failures than through my successes. God asks us to try, then he refines us
through our failures. And He can use everything we go through, the good, the
bad and the ugly. So, don’t dismiss yourself as a failure. You may have failed
at something, but you’re still a success in God’s eyes, for just having the
faith to give it a try.
I’ve heard
God (The Holy Spirit) speak many times, since that first time. Sometimes He lights the path
ahead, sometimes He lights only the next step, but somehow I muddle through,
as I continually plug away.
God is all
powerful and we can do all things through Him who strengthens us.
He’s geared
everything in our favour. If you stretch yourself out of your comfort zone
(which although terrifying at times, can actually be quite fun), but if you
stretch and never quit, you’ll be surprised just how far God can take you.
I’ve had
colossal enjoyment, as I’ve stretched myself out of my comfort zone. I’ve
corresponded with world renown trading gurus, artists, poets, photographers of
some repute, other authors (large and small) and I’ve even had a phone call from
Big Arnie. Yes, that’s right, Arnold Schwarzenegger called, inviting me to a
seminar he was holding in Sydney. Okay, it was a recorded message, but it was
enormous fun (for we all know his voice is quite distinctive) and it all
happened, when I stepped out of my comfort zone.
The crowds
left and Jesus asked His disciples; “Do you want to leave too?” Simon Peter
answered Him, “Lord, who would we go to? You have the words that give eternal
life.”
Don’t ever
leave God’s side. Don’t ever quit, for where will you go? God cannot work in
your life if you quit. Stick with Him, through all your trials and tribulations.
Praise Him in the midst of them and you will come out the other side as refined
gold, removed of any dross.
And just a
little side note…
My husband
had a football sized tumour removed from his abdomen a number of years ago. He
initially thought it was just a beer belly, until it was so large, it
interfered with his breathing. So off to the doctor he went.
The tumour
was removed and found to be benign and no further treatment was necessary,
except follow-up checks.
Since then,
he’d been going for check-ups every 6 months to be sure the growth didn’t
return and at some point, in one of the check-ups, they found nodules in John’s
lungs.
During this
time John also had a knee replacement. The fellow who took the scans of his
knee couldn’t believe John was still walking. John’s doctor said: “Oh John,
this knee is shot.”
Shortly after,
I broke my wrist. I broke it in 3 places and crushed the forearm, so no minor
thing. I don’t like to say blessing in disguise, because at the end of the day,
God doesn’t give us illness, but still, at the time it was a blessing of sorts
and a whole other long story.
After his
knee replacement, John’s doctor sent the surgeon a letter saying the healing of
John’s knee was the fastest she’d seen go through her doors.
Interestingly
I had the same surgeon for my broken wrist, as John had for his knee replacement
and the surgeon said I had healed very fast. I told him that’s because I’m
blessed.
Then he
treated John and got the letter from John’s doctor saying it was the fastest
healing she’d ever seen. I put this down to prayer and
wondered if the doctor remembered me and did he realise; we’d both healed fast
and well.
At the time
of one of these 6-month checks, they found cancer nodules in John’s lungs, as I
mentioned. I said to John; “Nope. You’ve already been healed of cancer. I’m
going to pray they dissipate and disappear.”
At the
first check-up they found the nodules hadn’t grown. That in itself was
something. At the second check-up they found the nodules had shrunk. John
remembered I’d said I was going to pray they dissolve and disappear and he told
the doctor about it.
I found
this to be quite amusing, as my husband is an atheist (who I decree and declare
to be the man of God, God designed him to be), and he was witnessing to the
doctor and didn’t even know it.
And the
third check-up; John was declared cancer free. As I mentioned, John’s an
atheist. It wasn’t John’s faith which healed him. God healed John because a
believer believed.
You see, if
you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, be thou removed
and it shall be cast into the sea. Our mountain was moved. It was 10 years
between the initial diagnosis and being declared cancer free. 10 years of
holding onto faith, until we saw the fullness of our prayers complete.
Never quit,
until you see the desires of your heart transpire. For God not only promises to
meet your needs, He also promises; you shall have the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
John 15:7
If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it
shall be done for you.
Matthew
21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.
Having said we need to practice the principles to partake of the promises, it isn't about our works, or what we do, as long as we accept Christ. As a righteous child of God, we are acceptable, just as we are. So, ask
away my friend and expect great results.
About
the author:
Alexandra Grose –
An investigative photojournalist and author for over twenty years. Writing is
her passion and her dream and helping others achieve their dreams, through her
written work, is Alexandra's greatest aspiration.
#Integrity;
truthfulness, honesty and reliability, in all things.
I believe one
should....be truthful in everything you say and do. Keep all relationships open
and honest. Be reliable, punctual and organised and if you say you'll do it -
do it.
If you want to soar
like an eagle, make an effort, not an excuse.
This work is based
on the belief of the writer. All she asks, is that you study and form your own
opinion, as to the validity of her beliefs. You can’t assume you’re right on
any given topic, you have to prove it.
©2023
Books:
alexandragrose@amazon.com
