I wrote last week about God asking us to take action and
offer what we have through the parable of the woman ready to die from debt in 2
Kings 4. When she obeyed and did, God filled them with oil overflowing. There
are many such stories in Scripture to inspire us to action. I also recognized that
God responded when I obeyed or stayed or prayed in His will even when I did not
feel like it.
Think of Jesus’s first miracle of turning water to wine as
the wedding at Cana in Galilee told in John 2. In this story Jesus is at a
wedding when the party runs out of wine. We read how His mother asks Him to do
something and Jesus tells the “dear woman” that it is not His time yet. He
wasn’t thinking it was time to let the world know that He was God. Are we ever
ready for action? Do we find ourselves in times of trial or temptation when we
do not expect it? Yes, I believe that is just the way life goes. We need to be
ready always. “But in your hearts
revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks
you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness
and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). Jesus told the servers to fill
the empty jars with water just at Elisha told the woman to go and find jars to
pour her little bit of oil into. You need to obey and always be prepared to ‘Do
whatever He tells you’ (John 2:5). There is the key to taking action.
Be careful Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:15 saying, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not
as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are
evil.” So how do we do it? I believe that the faith
chapter in Hebrews 11 gives us words of action from the many that have gone
before in faith. Everyone from Abraham, Rahab the prostitute, to Samuel and the prophets
all took action or had it done to them as we read words like; brought, built, obeyed, enabled, embraced,
reasoned, blessed, refused, persevered, conquered, administered, gained,
quenched, escaped, were tortured, persecuted, mistreated, yet ALL were
commended for their faith. Would you have built
the ark in the desert over 120 years of labor? I sincerely doubt that I would
have. But God calls us and through the still small voice of His Holy Spirit He
tells us to take action through His strength even in very tough places. Often God says to
wait while He is working. But keep trusting in His guidance.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts.