The Invitation

As I mentioned, I now look back and see the Lord’s involvement in many areas of my life, not only in the major events but in a multitude of small details, where I had no awareness of His presence at the time. I wasn’t pursuing Him but He was pursuing me – not because I am anything special but because He is merciful. Even when I was not walking with and serving the Lord, I knew I should be, and I could not escape the haunting memory of that childhood prayer and the Lord’s presence that I had felt. I didn’t deserve the love, care and attention but He would not let me go. He was there looking out for me and gently guiding me back to Himself even when I had no clue that He was anywhere around.

I believe many of us experience those desert experiences when we wonder where God is. We go through life so involved with, and absorbed by, the events of the moment that we totally miss the eternal perspective and so miss the opportunity to catch the Lord working in our lives. Sometimes, if we ever really take the time to reflect, we get a sense of it at some later date. What a blessing it would be if we could, through faith, see into that mysterious realm of the spirit and gain insight to what is really going on as we face the trials and tribulations of our day to day lives. Consider the comments of a couple of the fortunate few who have had the opportunity to catch a glimpse behind the veil that blinds us to those spiritual battles going on all around us.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai. Ex 34:29-32; NIV (italics mine).

When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked.

16 "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

17 And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike these people with blindness ." So he struck them with blindness , as Elisha had asked. 2 Kings 6:15-18; NIV (italics mine).

At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. 3 I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.

4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. 6 His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

7 I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. 8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. 9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.

10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.

12 Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come." Dan 10:2-14; NIV (italics mine).

I don’t suggest that we all have to have experiences like those in the scriptures above to be faithful servants or to do our best for the Lord. I don’t even believe that we should spend our time praying and seeking such experiences. What I do believe is that we can, through study and prayer, come to a deeper understanding of what is really going on around us.

These scriptures and others, if we believe, help us understand that what we see with our eyes and hear with our ears is not all that is going on in creation. We have the need to realize that there is much more happening. Unseen things are happening around us every day, every hour and every moment that affect us and our future, beyond what we are aware of through our senses. If we can truly come to that realization, it can benefit us in our attempt to deal with the problems in our lives.

God alone understands our needs and He tailors our experiences accordingly, so our prayer should be for His divine will. God, and the angels who faithfully serve Him, are on our side and we will win - if we persevere and don’t give up!

Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Tim 4:15-16; NIV (italics mine).

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Heb 10:36; NIV (italics mine).

Because you have kept My command to persevere , I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Rev 3:10-11; NKJV (italics mine).

The Lord invites all of us to draw close to Him. I seek to gain stronger faith, deeper understanding of spiritual truth, and greater obedience and faithfulness and clearly we all should. The Lord wants a close relationship with each and every one of us. We should want that also. In providing the scriptures, especially the Gospels, God has invited us to peer into the realm of the Holy Spirit; to open our hearts, our eyes, and our ears to His Truth. Jesus did die, in my place and yours, to open the way back into close fellowship with God and eternal life in His presence. The choice is up to each one of us. Each of us must make that choice – no one can make it for me and no one can make it for you! Life is not easy but we have help available if we will accept it.

I know me too well – I know my weaknesses and flaws. I struggle with them every day. Still, the Lord has graciously chosen to show me mercy and use me in His own way and at His own times. What He has done for me He will do for anyone who will permit. We have the choice. We are all sinners, every one of us – cracked pots! But God, because He is so great, uses cracked pots to bring great victories as He did with Gideon (Judges 7:14-22).

I am well aware that I am a mess but our Lord can turn a mess into a masterpiece. So, flawed as I am, with the Lord’s help I will continue to submit to His bidding to the best of the ability He gives me, so long as there is breath in me. For now I pray, I teach as I can, and I write in the hope that someone else may be encouraged and blessed by the things the Lord has taught me.

One final thought- being a Christian is totally worth it. Unbelievers go through the same kinds of trials that Christians do but they go through them alone. Christians and unbelievers alike have health problems, lose jobs, suffer the loss of loved ones, and ultimately die. The difference is this; unbelievers go through all those things alone and without the hope and peace that God provides in the knowledge of His promises: that He will be with the believer in the midst of every crises, to make ALL things work together for our ultimate good, to meet us in death with rewards more than worthy of every trial we ever suffered. Praise His holy name!