I hardly delete emails – well except spam and junk mail. I don’t
know why. Maybe it’s because I tend to get sentimentally attached to stuff. I
hardly throw anything out, and I don’t re-gift, even if I don’t like what I was
given, I appreciate the thought behind the gift and will try my best to find
some use for it.
Anyway, yesterday I was organizing my personal inbox and came
across a friends reply to a devotional I’d sent her in 2010 (copied below). I haven’t
been able to get it out of my mind since then and even today’s ‘Word For today’ (copied below) seems to
tie into it as well.
I’ve been praying to God about a certain issue for a while, and
every time a friend of mine asks me how I feel about the situation, my response
has been “I don’t know, and I’m still in a place where because of my feelings
and preferences I’m not sure what my response will be when I do hear from God”.
So coming across this email yesterday got me thinking.
Are my
preferences and prejudices concerning the situation making it impossible for me
to hear from God?
Why am I
praying to God for something and asking His opinion about something when I’m
not 100% sure how I’m going to react to His reponse?
Is He really
going to give me a response when I’m not being 100% honest with Him regarding
my preferences?
Is He going
to give me up to the idol (the preference I’m ‘hiding’) in my heart? Has He
even already given me a response but because it’s not what I want I’ve
convinced myself I haven’t heard from Him?
If I believe
God wants the best for me, and I believe He knows the end from the beginning,
why do I feel my way is better than His when I don’t even know what is going to
happen in the next second?
What I feel the Holy Spirit telling me as a type this is that
human beings by default have a mentality of ‘the half loaf in my hand is better than the bakery God ‘might’ give me
at some point’. Yep we are short sighted. It’s ideal to go to God without
already having a preference in our hearts, but we are human and that’s not
always the case, but the trick is not to hide the fact that we have our
preferences. We shouldn’t pretend like it’s not there, we shouldn’t pretend
that we are already at the place where we are willing to go when He says go, or
ask how high when He says jump. God desires our honesty; preferences and all. After
all that’s what Jesus did in the garden. Luke
22:42 “Father,
if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
I think it’s safe to assume here that Jesus didn’t want to go through the
ordeal that lay ahead of Him, but what’s most important is that when He went to
God He didn’t pretend He was good to go; instead He laid His preference at the
feet of His father and asked for God’s will to be done over and above His own.
I’m really grateful to God that I came across
this old email, now because of it, the next time my friend asks me what I want,
my response will be “I want to be made willing to do God’s will- whatever that
is”. I realise that if His response isn’t what I want, I’m not at the place
where I’ll ask how high when He says jump, however I will be honest with Him and
ask Him to help me get to that place, because if I know that what I can get for
myself is nowhere near as fabulous as what He wants to give me.
MANIPULATION?
MEORISE: “The meek will he guide in judgement; and the meek will
he teach his way.’ (Ps 25:9)
READ: Acts 1:15- 26
Divine
guidance is vital for anyone contemplating marriage. This is because marriage
can either make or mar you. You have to truly seek God’s face in prayer. It is
very dangerous to move without God’s green light. ‘The meek will he guide in judgement; and the meek will he teach his
way’ (Ps 25:9).
Many
people pray TO God for the right partner. Only a few receive guidance from him.
God will only guide the meek: those who are humble, ready to listen, and
prepared to obey his will. The fact here is that some Christians are not as
sincere as they would like us to believe. They may say, “Lord, give me your
perfect will for my life in marriage. I am ready to do your will.” But when God
reveals his choice, they find fault with it and begin to dictate to God.
Immediately
some Christians feel the person God is asking them to marry does not meet with
their carnal standards, they begin to kick and even reject him or her for some
other choice. Why o you ask God to choose for you if at the end of the day, you
reject God’s choice? This is insincerity. God’s ways are not ours; God may
choose someone you do not think is ‘your type’. It takes meekness to believe
that God knows what is right for you and God’s choice is the best choice you
can ever have.
Do
not manipulate things to suit yourself. Some brothers, after making a carnal
choice, will later fabricate a testimony to back up their desire. A sister once
sought God’s will in marriage. God asked her to look out of the window and the
man she would see was the one. It happened to be a young, handsome gateman who
wanted to go to school but had no means. The sister told her pastor and on
inviting the brother, he said God had spoken to him long before then but he had
been afraid to tell her. The sister succumbed, sponsored the brother through
school and they eventually married. Why not for once be sincere with God and
ask him without anyone in mind? He will direct only those who allow him.
ACTION POINT
Ask the Lord to give you the grace to be willing to receive his guidance.
Source: Open
Heavens
OPERATING
BY THE PEACE RULE
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Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts... Colossians 3:15
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If you don't have peace about it, don't proceed! Often peace is
all God will give you to let you know whether you're in or out of His will.
So how can you operate by the peace rule? 'Don't worry about anything;
instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank
Him for His answers. If you do this you will experience God's peace, which is
far more wonderful than the human mind can understand...His peace will keep
your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest...' (Philippians 4:6-7 TLB).
Pay close attention to the words, 'Don't worry...instead, pray.'
Prayer transfers the problem from you to Jesus. 'Let him have all your
worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching
everything that concerns you. Be careful-watch out for attacks from
satan...Stand firm when he attacks...' (1Peter 5:7-9 TLB).
Don't give the devil a few days to work you over. The longer you
wait to resist him, the stronger his hold over you becomes. The moment you
find yourself worrying, stop and ask, 'What's the enemy trying to do here? If
I give in to these thoughts and emotions, what will the result be?' 'Do not
give the devil a foothold' (Ephesians 4:27 NIV). Know your enemy, and each
time he attacks put him to flight by saying what Jesus said to him in the
wilderness: '...It is written...' (Matthew 4:4 NIV). When Jesus said for the
third time, 'It is written,' we read, 'The devil left him, and angels came
and attended him' (v.11 NIV). So here's the question: How well do you know
God's Word?
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