Yesterday I wrote about our adventure in Wyoming back in 1978. Sensing that the Spirit was leading us to that place, Bev and I went willingly. Once there, we experienced a mixture of experiences of our lives. The first week we lived in Gillette, I went to work supporting my family in heavy construction, gone for 12 hours a day! My wife, home with an infant in a strange town, endured terrible loneliness. That winter, our baby son, 9 months old, developed a kind of pneumonia that nearly took his life in just hours, landing him in the hospital for 5 days. Because I didn’t know and follow the proper transfer protocols within my church organization, I was called on the carpet by the district leadership and almost lost my ministerial credentials. To top it off my first encounter with a pastor there revealed an insecure man, fearful of any perceived threat. That’s just some of the bad stuff! There were good things, too. About six weeks after we moved, a young Christian I met there gave me his job, literally; working as a quality control inspector on construction sites. It was work with flexible hours and a company truck. Another loving pastor took me under his wing and taught me the meaning of grace. He guided me through my youthful foolishness. We never missed a meal or rent payment as God provided for us, often just in time. We began to discover what it meant to live by faith!
One significant result of that adventure was pointed out to me by my brother-in-law, who pastors a church here in New Jersey. He wrote the following: “If you hadn’t gone to Wyoming – I don’t suppose we would have gone. If we hadn’t gone – I might have taken a job with Johnson and Johnson in their lab. Hence, we wouldn’t be in the ministry today. So your obedience to Wyoming had a direct effect on our being in the ministry today. Domino effect!” A couple of months after we went to Gillette, John and Jeanne followed. There John met a man who opened doors to a career where he gained the skills that provided the skills that allowed them to go several years later to serve as missionaries in India for five years. That led to preparation for ministry in the church they serve today.
The Psalmist exults in the purpose and quality of a life that is committed to God’s guidance. "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand." (Psalm 37:23-24, NLT) I am not a fatalist! There are choices we each make to walk with the Lord or to walk in our own way. The priority choice to be made every morning is obedience. Presenting our head, hands, and heart to Him in a conscious way helps us to listen with ears that are more sensitive to the Spirit’s voice. And, when we are listening and responsive, we find the pathway that leads us to the place of maximum effectiveness and fruitfulness in the Kingdom. It’s not always the easy way, the way of comfort, or even the way that appears to be the walk of the prudent! But, His way is always the best way!
The wisdom of the Word urges us to integrity. We are reminded "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25, NIV) I love The Message’s way of presenting that Truth. "Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives." (Galatians 5:25, The Message)
Walk with God, friend. Walk in His general will that applies to us all, revealed in the Scripture, summarized by Jesus Christ in these two statements; “Love the Lord with your whole being. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” The Word fills in details, calling us to honesty, to be committed to moral purity, to be people who seek justice, to be people of mercy and gentle grace. Beyond that, walk in His specific will. Maybe He will whisper a call to a town in Wyoming, with consequences you can’t begin to fathom. No, that was for me, probably not for you! But, He may lead you to a new ministry, or a renewed relationship with an old friend, or a career change, or…. I can’t begin to even imagine what He can do with a heart that is open to His will, but I can tell you that God’s will and your obedience will produce amazing results; in your life and in the lives you touch.
Here’s a word from the Word. Revel in the truth it declares.
"I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God,
the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God." (Ephesians 1:16-17, NLT)
"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." (Ephesians 3:20, NLT)
________________
Spirit of God
Descend upon my heart,
wean it from earth,
through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness
mighty as Thou art,
and make me love Thee
as I ought to love.
Hast Thou not bid us
love Thee, God and King?
All, all Thine own --
soul, heart, and strength and mind.
I see Thy cross --
there teach my heart to cling,
O let me seek Thee
and O let me find.
Teach me to feel that
Thou art always nigh,
Teach me the struggles
of the soul to bear ---
To check the rising doubt,
the rebel sigh:
Teach me the patience
of unanswered prayer.
Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart
George Croly
© Public Domain
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