Greeting Him first every morning has become one of my greatest joys in life. The priority time slot that is my one true constant.
I remember when it wasn't so easy or natural. When sleeping until the last minute then rushing into my day was the norm, regret and shame following closely behind. I hated that.
I was missing out on so much, but not realizing that fact, I didn't make the time or effort to sit and talk to my Father each day.
Those days are long gone and nothing can keep me in bed in the morning because I know the Lord is waiting for me out by my window chair. Isn't that wonderful? Not sure?
Read Isaiah 30:18:
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.
Right there in the Bible, where all His promises are. I picture Him sitting in my living room, offering me a chair next to Him or if I'm feeling particularly needy and vulnerable, to crawl up into His lap.
We, as followers of Jesus, know this is God's intention toward us or we wouldn't have entered relationship with Him to begin with, right? So what keeps us from running there every day?
Perhaps we are tired, too busy with things that may be good but not the best. We've filled our lives with so much activity and responsibility (some not expected of us maybe?) that we can't squeeze a minute more margin. This can be fixed.
Or maybe we are afraid?
Are we hesitant to come because we think He is mad at us? That because we don't like ourselves very much, He probably doesn't either?
1. That's not true.
2. Likely this stems from guilt over sin.
We are all sinful and prone to sin, but we don't have to be slaves to sin any longer. On the cross Jesus purchased our freedom from sin. Hallelujah! This passage in Hebrews is what has brought me to these thoughts today. I just love it.
As a priest,
Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it! Then he sat
down right beside God and waited for his enemies to cave in. It was a
perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect
people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be
done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process. The Holy
Spirit confirms this:
This new plan I’m making with Israel
isn’t going to be written on paper,
isn’t going to be chiseled in stone;
This time “I’m writing out the plan in them,
carving it on the lining of their hearts.”
isn’t going to be written on paper,
isn’t going to be chiseled in stone;
This time “I’m writing out the plan in them,
carving it on the lining of their hearts.”
He concludes,
I’ll forever wipe the slate clean of their sins.
Once sins are taken care of for good, there’s no longer any need to
offer sacrifices for them.
19-21 So,
friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the
Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice,
acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is
his body.
22-25 So let’s do
it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out.
Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always
keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love
and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but
spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. Hebrews 11
Still, if you are sinning, you need to stop. Just stop doing it. Tell God you're sorry and turn away from it 180 degrees and get going in the right direction. Live according to what is written in the Bible. That is wise living.
Confess. Repent. Receive His forgiveness. Live in peace.
Then you can bounce out of bed every morning (yes, you can be a morning person too!) ready to sit with Him and enjoy the relationship Jesus suffered to give you - because He loves you. Then you can ask whatever you wish and He will hear you.
Just one more thought on the notion of hesitation....maybe we are asking for the wrong things. There are times when we want something badly enough that we clench our fingers around it so tightly we can't rightly pray "whatever you will, God".
Other times we know for sure that what we want is not in God's will and we cower back, not willing to bring it to Him in prayer. This is stressful living. No peace. Not fun.
I heard it said that we can never ask for God's will until we don't care what it is. Now that is faith.
The question on the table is - do you trust Him with everything in your life? If you're struggling and you want what you want no matter what, may I gently suggest you remember His faithfulness, His lovingkindness toward you? You can trust that He always has your best interest at heart. Even if He asks you to give something up or says no to the thing you want the most, His character is trustworthy. Recognize that He knows better than we do.
There's something I want right now. Really badly. Like I think about it many times throughout the day and am practically begging for it. When I feel the desperation that I must have it or I'll die (enter drama queen), I calm myself with what I know.
God's will is best. I can place my desire right in His hands and leave it there. I can pray, "If You want to, I'd like this. If You say no, that's ok, because You know best and You never withhold something good from Your children."
Does this kind of surrender makes you uncomfortable or is it a new way to pray you haven't engaged much?
It used to be that way for me too, but the advantage of getting older is what I now see in the rear view mirror. Now I can look back at the things I begged God for that He didn't give. All the "nos". And.I.am.so.grateful. The boyfriends I hoped would be husbands? Oy. Thank you, Lord.
Taking away a difficult situation the minute the pain starts, how would my faith have grown? How would I have seen His faithfulness? How would I have learned to trust Him and watch Him bless me for it? These are good nos.
He knows. He's trustworthy. March right into His presence with both humility and confidence. Ask for what you want. But don't stop there.
Yield your desire to Him. Tell Him you only want it if it will bring Him the most glory in your life. Because that's the stuff.
If it's not going to bring Him glory, we need to not want it.
The next chapter in Hebrews after the one I quoted above is the frosting on this cake. (And we all know the frosting is the best part!)
Hebrews 11 - read it. It's the names and brief stories of those who are on God's list. (Yes, God is a list maker!) Amazing stories! Need to be inspired? Don't watch sports on tv or make fictional characters your super heroes - the Hebrews 11 gang are the ones we should be following.
And remember this -
...without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. v.11:6
Show faith by the way you pray. By how often you pray. Bring all your desires to Him, trusting Him to lead your life and write your story. As I regularly pray for myself, Scott and our kids, dare to pray this: "Lord, don't let us want anything more than we want you."
Then maybe we can be added to the list of greats like I'm sure Elisabeth Elliot is who puts it this way:
"I realized that the deepest spiritual lessons are not learned by His letting us have our way in the end, but by His making us wait, bearing with us in love and patience until we are able to honestly pray what He taught His disciples to pray: Thy will be done."
Yes and Amen. To live His will, not mine is my heart's cry.
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