No Gimmick.

“Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard.  A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.”   - Malachi 3:16

CCF just completed an event called Seek Week, where the intent was to earnestly and deliberately seek the Lord’s will and direction in our lives both individually and corporately.  Through fasting, meditation, prayer, and worship, we all gathered together as a community with this common goal, and some really amazing things occurred as a result.  The Lord made clear to me that time with Him is not something that I should take for granted, nor should I expect it to happen by accident.   It wasn’t the program of Seek Week that made for a richer relationship with God; it was an earnest heart dedicated to knowing him better.  No gimmick.

The Lord listens and hears us when we call out to Him.  He may not always answer us in the immediacy we expect, and the results are not always what we had envisioned.  The result is not the point; it is the openness of the creator God to listen to our prayers that is compelling.  Once He has heard, his plan for deliverance and blessing always out way our quick fix and yelps for relief from a situation.  I think of Joseph’s life in Genesis, and how this principle plays out with 13 years of slave/prisoner circumstance for a boy who had naiveté concerning the hatred of his brothers.  After much turmoil, the earnest Joseph remains faithful to the Lord, and the Lord is faithful in delivering him from his circumstances in a way he could not have imagined while sitting on the cold dungeon floor.

All of us can relate to a time of strife, pain, and uncertainty in the midst of difficult situations in our lives. The Lord’s promise to us, is that He will hear us.  When we call out to Him, we need to do so with an open heart to His deliverance, no matter what it looks like or how long it takes.  Once we are freed from our trouble, we are to remember.  The contemporary version of the “scroll of remembrance” mentioned above, is my journal.  For some of us, it is in a ‘Disciplines of Grace’ book this year, and for others it is a file or two on their computer.  Yet for others, it is physical scars, memories, or rectified relationships.  Whatever your scroll of remembrance, do not forget it in the midst of your current or next trial.  He is good, and will deliver you.

Lord, help me to remember you in times of trial.  You have a plan and a purpose, and work good through all.  Help me rely on your timing, not my own.  Remind me of your provision when in need.  Keep me in a dedicated relationship with you, that you might be always ripe in my heart.