There is a kind of tiredness that sleep does not fix.

It is not the tiredness of a long day. It is the tiredness that comes from seasons of faithful effort with results that seem slow to materialise. Perhaps, it is also the tiredness of not knowing what to pray anymore or from the daily grind of adulthood; a certain burnt out.

In 1 Kings 19. Elijah had just witnessed one of the great demonstrations of God's power sending fire from heaven, the prophets of Baal defeated and yet, within days he is under a tree asking God to take his life. He is exhausted. He is afraid. He is done.

However, we will read on and find the grace God imparted to Elijah. He did not rebuke Elijah, instead, He sent bread baked over hot coals, a jar of water and an angel who woke Elijah and gently remind him to get up and eat. Twice, the angel said, "Get up and eat. The journey is too great for you." Kings 19:7
In every season, sometimes the posture we could adopt is not helplessness but a posture of rest, a posture which allows us to receive and allow the Lord to restore what trials and hardships have taken from us. He knows the limit of our strength.

The Apostle Paul wrote that God's power is made perfect in weakness, not despite it, but in it. A tired person is not disqualified; he/she is often the closest to God because they have run out of the self-sufficiency that can so easily crowd the Lord’s strength out.

If you are weary today and burnt out, you are simply in the place where God does His best work.
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2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

- John W.

There is a beautiful stained glass window in the historic Wesley’s Chapel in London. Etched into the glass are these tender words: “If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me.”

For as long as people have lived, we have longed for wings or metaphorically, freedom from our troubles. We seek ways to rise above the weights and troubles of our days and surely, we have had days where we think life must be easier, brighter, freer somewhere else or for other people.

The Psalmist understood that longing too. He cried, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest”  Psalm 55: 6 NLT. Yet he also discovered the true secret of rest and he proclaimed: “The Lord sustained me.”
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The Lord will sustain us and He extends the same promise in Isaiah 40: 31 NLT, “But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

When we pause and dwell on God’s Word and promises, His presence visits our weary hearts, in quietness and prayers, something beautiful happens; we rise. We find ourselves lifted into peace, steadied by His love and sustained by His strength.

The world will try to run on their own strength, they too, wish for wings and hope they can outrun their troubles. But in the Lord’s promise, He reminds us that running and walking come after the renewing. Wings come before feet. What hope does a weary soul have when it rushes to run before being renewed and restored?
 
Psalm 27: 14 NLT
Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.

Isaiah 40: 31 NLT
But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

Psalm 55: 6 NLT
Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest

- Irene Soon 

My cat, Mia, does not worry about tomorrow.

Each morning she stretches into the warmth of a sunlit patch, curl herself comfortably and simply rests. She does not know what the news say or when the electricity bill is due or what will happen tomorrow. She only knows that she will be fed, she is warm, she is home and she is certainly loved.

That simplicity taught me so much about trust, an uncomplicated trust.

There are times where trust feels less like ‘resting in sunlight’ but more of a continuous race of finishing one task after another, exhausted yet convinced that once I find this or get that done, I will then be able to ‘rest in my own sunlit patch’. I have forgotten that the Lord loves me and I’m able to access His strength and rest in the warm comfort of knowing that He is for me and not against me.

Mia trusts me without fully knowing, she doesn’t question or worry that I would forget to care for her. She doesn’t know my plans for her nor where her food comes from or why some days I come home later than usual, late in feeding her. She simply knows that I will be home and she greets me by the door without fail, surely with the hope of getting early dinner but she shows me her trust in a way a small creature could, certain and trusting. She knows she belongs to someone who loves her and she rests on that knowledge.

I wonder if this is what God gently invites us into. Not a blind trust that asks no questions, but a settled trust that says, “I do not need to understand every detail but I know whose I am and that is enough.”
The One who created and holds the universe, holds you and loves you. You can trust Him and rest; rest without needing all the answers.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Romans 8: 31 NIV
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

- Irene Soon

I keep a few photographs on my fridge and there is one that always makes me smile.

In it, my children are of toddler age, gap-toothed and smiling ear to ear, leaning to me with the complete and uncomplicated trust that only very young children have. I remember that photo, I remember that moment, I remember being exhausted that very afternoon. I remember wondering if I was doing enough for my kids.

I was present in body but my mind was burdened and three tasks ahead of time. Motherhood has a way of making me feel incompetent and not enough. The love we feel for our children is so vast that it could be frightening sometimes; knowing and worrying that we can’t always fully protect them, can’t fully fix their problems and then, there are some days where I have raised my voice when I meant to show my care in a gentler way or I simply came home from work with no more attention left to give to my children, that guilt settles in like an invisible yet tangible weight.

The Lord, however, He constantly reminds me that we are not called to  be perfect mothers. He asks us to lean on His strength. The same hands that formed our children before we even knew them are holding them still. We are not their only covering, the Lord is.

To every mother reading this, the tired one, the busy one, the one who wonders if you are enough, yes you are enough and yes, what you do matters. God sees you, God loves you and God loves your children.

Isaiah 49:15-16 NIV
Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.
 
- S.I.L

Have you ever watched trees during a storm?

When the winter season comes, they stand tall through the cold and rain, quietly growing itself by the steady pouring rain. When the storm deepens, their resilience becomes visible, they do not resist the forces of wind; the branches bend, yielding to the nature’s force as its leaves are torn away. The trunk however, remains steady and deeply rooted, making the tree stays grounded and unmoved, holding firm through it all.

We are living in a season where the storm seems relentless. The news carries unsettling headlines one after another and the future which once felt exciting and full of hope now seems to be full of uncertainties. If we are honest, the weight of daily life can bend us, tearing away the sense of peace we have cultivated as God’s children.

The Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians not from a place of comfort but from a prison cell and yet, he wrote words that have outlasted every empire, generations and times that has come since, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Paul did not promise that everything will work out, he did not assure everyone of a smooth circumstance but he simply urges us to present our requests, to bring all of it; to bring all the fears, tears, the uncertainties, the helplessness, the thoughts that keeps you awake at early mornings, bring all these to God. Paul also did not say the storm will immediately cease but because there is peace available to us, the ones that Paul testify to “transcend all understanding”

This could simply mean a peace that does not require us to have the answers first, a peace that guards our hearts even while the storms are roaring and our branches are bending helplessly. The Lord, He is the unshakeable root that holds the tree, unseen yet fully present holding us when we feel like we are failing.

Dear friends, when life feels out of control, it is not truly beyond His care. We belong to the One who spoke the world into being, the One who can calm even the fiercest storm. He is our steady ground, our unchanging certainty. We are not meant to carry the weight of being the trunk or the roots. We are simply called to remain connected to Him.

So let us gently release all things that steals our peace and rest in the One who holds all things with care.
 
Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

- Irene Soon 

It’s been awhile that I have noticed my unsettling morning habit. Before I say any word or prayer to God, I have already read 10-20 news headlines, scrolled through my phone notifications, reminders and watched reels that I can’t even recall properly.

When it is time to open my Bible, my mind was cluttered and full even at the dawn of morning and I couldn’t sense the Lord’s presence but of the world’s noise. Do you relate to this too?

The phone is mostly, the first thing many of us reach for in the morning and also likely, the last thing we see at night. The device itself its not sinful but when we allow the noise of all the information replace the stillness we need to hear from God, this is a sign we need to put it down longer.

In Mark 1:35, we read that Jesus rose early in the morning while it was still dark and went to a solitary place to pray. Jesus was not a man with nothing to do, crowds were following Him, demands were pressing in from everyone he meets including His own disciples and yet, He knew how to separate the noise of His worlds and protect the stillness and quiet time with His Father above all else.

If the Son of God guarded His devotional life against the urgency of work, ministry and everything else, how much more must we guard ours against the distraction of a phone screen?

Could I challenge you to try this daily? Before you reach for your phone tomorrow morning, reach for the Lord first. Even a few deliberate minutes in prayer or in the Word will reorient your heart in a calming peace that 10 – 20 headlines never will.

​The world will always demand our attention. Let us choose daily and intentionally, to give our first moments to the Lord who is worthy of them.

Mark 1:35 NIV
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

- John W.

This Easter Sunday, let us remember the Hope that Jesus has gifted us. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus cancelled the charge of our sins' debt that could condemn us by nailing it to the cross. 

Receiving Jesus' gift of sacrifice for the wrong we have done means we are able to wake with fresh new grace, hope and mercy everyday, free from the burden of sins. He has RISEN, He has beaten death and darkness and oh dear blessed ones, He loves you so very dearly.

Dear Lord, thank you for paying the price of my sins. May Your mercy and forgiveness helps me to extend forgiveness and love to those who needs to know you and of your Love. In Jesus Name, we pray.

Amen.​

Colossians 2: 13 - 14 NASB
And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings

- Hopeful Heart Team

Dear blessed ones, let us take a moment to remember the sacrifice that Jesus Christ has done for us at the Cross. Though initially the Cross and Jesus' sacrifice bore wordly sorrow, it opened the way to an incorruptible inheritance and reconciliation to our Father in Heaven that we have a living Hope who unconditionally loves us and call us His children.

His Light could break through any darkness and no death could defeat the power of Christ, His Spirit courses through our body with strength and assurance of victory. This Easter, remember the victorious power of Christ is on our side. Celebrate His Glory, praise His Holy Name! The Lord Jesus Christ loves you!

- Hopeful Heart Team

I often wondered how could Jesus forgive his enemies whilst He hung in pain and grief from the cross and graciously said "forgive them for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34) and for those who put Jesus on the cross, didn't they know they were killing an innocent man?

Perhaps, they were just following the protest where most people yelled "crucify Him" but would they know what was Jesus' crime? If only they knew how much Jesus loves them. Jesus demonstrated His love on the cross by dying for His children and He did not impose any blame unto them. If an earthly parents will never dream of seeing their own children suffer, how much more God will not allow suffering unto His children.

Are you weary and burdened today, let us return to the Cross.

The Lord has died on the cross to set us free from all torments, sins, shame and guilt; He reconciled us to God at the cross. For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more , having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation (Romans 5: 10-11). His resurrection then becomes the assurance that the same power that raised Him is available to lead us into a life of victory.

How would our lives be if we have the boldness and hope to live in the overflow of God's abundant love for us? That His Light could break through any darkness and no metaphorical death could defeat the power of Christ, His Spirit courses through our body with strength and assurance of victory. This Easter, return to the Cross, remember the Lord's unconditional love for you and receive His forgiveness. Let Him renew your strength and hope once again, to live wholly and joyfully assured that His mercy and goodness will follows us all of our days.

Psalm 23: 6
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

- Irene Soon 

In Australia, we have a bird called the willie wagtail. Although it is a  different type of bird, I often liken it to the sparrow.

​Perhaps it is just the way they puff their chest or how tiny I see they are. They are however much bigger than the sparrows but the sight of one brings me joy and reminded me of the verse in Matthew 10.

In the Bible, Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s care…So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows (Matthew 10:29 – 31).

Jesus is heeding us to hold on to the faith that the Lord is bigger than any of our problems and challenges. When circumstances threaten us to lose hope, we can find this truth that the Lord who loves the little sparrows are also our Saviour who numbers the very hairs on our head.

He is the Saviour who watches over us; the loving Saviour who remembers every detail of our lives and everyday, every moment, we are always under the Lord’s watchful eyes and loving care. His eyes who are on the sparrows are also on you and me.
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Matthew 10:29 - 31
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

- Irene Soon