Greetings to you in the name of the Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ – THE Risen Saviour! It seems that we are going to get an adjustment to our weather patterns…beginning this morning, but…it is still the day that God has made for us to enjoy His delights and give Him praise! Today I will be praying for you, asking Father to speak words of encouragement into your heart and to let healing power flow through your body.
This morning we were reading Acts 16 and took notice that there are two references to the fact that God stopped Paul and his companions from going places to share the Gospel. On one occasion it says that they tried several times to move forward but Holy Spirit would not let them…and they waited for further instructions. All too often when we are ‘on our mission for God’ we fail to consider that God might not want us to do what we desperately want to do. In fact we suggest that it is Satan standing in our way, and in some instances we refuse to pay attention and force our way into our way.
Just after reading the scripture passage I came across two quotes that seem to highlight the tension between God saying “no” and our desperate desire for “yes” . First: …God will take you around the obstacle or remove it – Oswald Chambers and second: Sometimes when God says “no” He simply sits with us in silent strength until we cannot avoid the awesome recognition that, yes, even now, He is here – Gloria Gaither. In the Acts 16 passage there is the encouragement that perhaps the obstacle has to be respected and accepted so that a new direction can be revealed. God, it seems, does not simply stop us and then leave but waits with us.
Another quote that I came across this week says: There is a huge difference between wanting to change and being willing to change. Almost everyone wants to change for the better, however very few are willing to take the steps necessary to create that change.. – John T Child. I think that one of the things we need to learn again and again is being willing to let God change us and our plans and our ‘want-to’s’. We need to not just sing but be willing to be found…Sitting at the feet of Jesus!
Something to ponder — have a blessed day!