itsawonderfilledlife

A dark and rainy Sunday, snug on the sofa, soaking in the Swindoll sermon, with steam coming from my tea cup.

Not a bad sabbath day, if you ask me.

Can you tell I love alliteration? Sentences filled with words that begin with the same letter or sound … it’s like music to my ears.

I love listening to a speaker who makes melody with their message, who turns simple sentences into poetry that not only shares a message, but also sings to my soul.

I think that is partly why I have always loved listening to the teaching of Chuck Swindoll. It also because he speaks the truth … with heaps of love. As the sermon finished I said, aloud,

I love how he preaches with a constant smile, with ample grace. There is never guilt piled on the listener, yet … I am always convicted by his message to do better, live better, love more.

This Sunday was not different. A study in Habakkuk. A reminder that God can handle hearing our pleas, our complaints, our whining. A reminder that God always listens to us. And that he answers. God’s answer to this prophet was not good news to Habakkuk’s ears. This too was a reminder … God’s plans are not just about the now, but the big picture that only He can see.

At the end of the message, Chuck gave five statements to “embrace as we claim faith in our sovereign God”. These were the application, the message in the message, the truths to hold on to.

1. God is able, I am not
2. God knows what is best, I do not
3. God sees the end from the beginning, I cannot
4. God should have His way in this, I should not
5. God must be glorified through this, I must not

This message is better than any I could share. It is one I will be ruminating on for days. I just might contact my beautiful lettering friend, to see if she could make a little music with her markers and create a hanging reminder of this symphony of words for me and my house.

Chuck’s sermon is embedded below in the video. If you just want to hear the entire sermon part of the service, start it at 33:35, or, if you just wish to hear his five statements (a sermon in themselves), start at 1:15:40 (to 1:23:30 … the best 8 minutes of your day!).