Hi everyone
Spring is in the air and as new buds on the trees signal a new growth point so I find myself discovering expanding my knowledge. I have been hearing new words that I have never heard before. Not only words but phrases and idioms too. It is fascinating and at the same time, I cannot believe that in all my life I have never heard them before.
I heard a new word for me recently and it fits exactly with what I wish to share in this letter. The word is mantra. A mantra means a motivating chant or a repeated word or phrase people use constantly over time or in conversations or in situations.
Friends, it made me realise that people from all kinds of backgrounds and societies have come up with words and phrases that often give them hope in difficult times. As I write this letter I want to highlight some of the amazing phrases people have used over centuries, whether during world wars or pandemics or during political and unstable times in a country or on a continent. People have come up with inspirational quotes that just have the ability to give people hope amidst their challenging moments in life.
People look for hope in all kinds of places. We do not even know the origins of some of the quotes we use often. What is important is the lessons we can learn from the wisdom of others.
Here are some quotes I picked up that people often use. See if some are familiar or even new to you.
Keep calm and carry on.
British Government poster during WWII
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
A life lived in fear is a life half lived.
Baz Luhrmann
Don’t worry about a thing, cause every little thing’s gonna be alright.
Bob Marley
Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.
Vivian Greene
Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.
Vivian Greene
Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.
John Lennon
Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean.
Wolfgang von Goethe
If you’re going through hell, keep going.
Winston Churchill
If one would put all these into a book a person would have their own personal mantra book. In a way, God’s Word, the Bible is our mantra book. It is a living Word that gives hope and provides us with God’s own promises that never return void. I was so inspired by Pastor Reuben’s message entitled, “God is still my Dream Maker!”
So my dear friend there are many quotes taken from scripture like:
With God all things are possible.
Jesus Christ in Matthew 19:26
But GOD stood with me and gave me strength.
Postle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:17
The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you.
Billy Graham
I remember in the most broken and saddest moment of my life I read a book written by Gene Edwards and he said the following:
It’s remarkable that the men and women who are the closest to God seem always to be the ones He deals with the most severely.
Strength, power and victory lie only in weakness.
Victory lies only in the willingness to utterly lay down all, surrender all and lose all.
For me getting up from my miserable state due to circumstances far beyond my own control was when God spoke to me and said: ‘The day My son died was the day His Church started living.’
Here is the thing, no matter how many biblical quotes you may place in your Spiritual Mantra they are all yes and amen in Christ Jesus!
My dear friend our mantra might come from many places during the time we face right now, but may I suggest that we get ourselves a bumper sticker in the spirit so to speak, and write a quote you on it that we know God gave us in person during this difficult time. Then we begin to speak it, quote it, write a song about it, share it and pray it, for surely God will never allow His Heavenly Words to return to Him void.
It is time to allow God to be our Dream Maker, no matter what has happened for it’s like I always say: “It’s not over until God says it’s over!”
We Love you!
– Ps Roland and Denise