Thank you for joining the Partners in Health and Wholeness Book Club. You can officially sign-up here. Through it, we hope to engage people of faith in discussions over why our health matters. Our current choice of reading is “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” by Jim Cymbala. We are posting updates through the PHW Facebook page, but our PHW blog page has the discussion posts in full with responses from staff. Just look for the apple on top of the book picture among the blog post pictures and you will find past Book Club entries.
Cymbala won my heart with these words:
Anything and everything is possible with God if we approach him with a broken spirit. We must humble ourselves, get rid of the debris in our lives, and keep leaning on him instead of our own understanding. Your future and mine are determined by this one thing: seeking after the Lord. The blessings we receive and then pass along to others all hang on this truth: “He rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
This quote has meant so much to me because I can make no promises if my dad will ever be completely healed, or my mom for that matter. I can make no promises that those you love will either. But I can make this one promise, that the Lord of Hosts promises a great future and a hope for those that seek the Lord. So whether my dad or mom gets a sense of freedom on earth or not, one thing remains: it is better in the end for me to seek the Lord because that will always lead to a better future and a hope. I have to believe this no matter what the earthy outcome is.
Questions:
1) How would you answer someone who wants to humble themselves before the Lord but doesn’t know how?
2) What do you do to remind yourself that it is important to seek the Lord always?
–Joy Williams, PHW Regional Consultant
Partners in Health and Wholeness is an initiative of the North Carolina Council of Churches. PHW aims to connect health as a faith issue. Please visit our website to sign your personal pledge to be healthier, and to find out about grant opportunities for places of worship in NC.