Pausing

We talk to God. We talk, talk, talk, talk then we talk so more. We don't listen much.

We complain to God. We complain, complain, complain, complain and then we complain some more. We don't listen much.

The few times we do listen, it's always very brief and then we claim we don't hear anything.

Maybe, we're too impatient. Maybe we should wait a little longer. Maybe God wants to answer us but we keep interrupting. Maybe He's......pausing for affect.

Like Jesus?

Do we really want to be like Jesus? Do I really want to be like Jesus?

Many, many, many times I have said, "I want to be like Jesus," what a liar I am! I don’t really want to be like Jesus

I want a warm house in the winter, a cool house in the summer, money in the bank, food on the table, inside plumbing, a warm, comfortable bed and health and peace for my family.

Jesus would pray and fast alone all night on a mountain or in a garden or for a month in the wilderness, and then He would show up and heal the leper, the blind, cast out evil spirits and raise the dead. We want to get in our nice cars, drive to church and spend a couple of hours there, devote two minutes to praying and then we claim the “power of the Holy Ghost.”

I have heard people who claim to “believe in healing” criticize others for praying, “Your will be done.” You have got to be kidding me! They believe we are supposed to beg God to ameliorate are their pain and suffering so that they never have any real struggles. Sheesh! In other words, they don’t want to do any suffering. Yeah, I’d like to have it that way too. Sounds good to me!

Well, the “Name-It-And-Claim-It” crowd is relentless and insufferable. They say we’re not specific enough in our prayers. That’s what they say.

I say, God knows our needs better than we do and before we do. I for one find no problem of placing my life in the hand of an Almighty Father who “doeth all things well.”

Help Me!

This is a little story the Lord gave me a few years ago. Maybe it'll help somebody as it did me.

A Parable

A business owner was growing increasingly concerned about the dubious stability of his establishment. The economy was in a downturn and, short of a miracle, he would lose everything he owned.

Being a man of faith, he turned to the One in Whom he knew he could put his trust. He prayed, "God help me! I'm about to lose my business."

The economy worsened, his business failed and he was left financially destitute.

The loss of his income had the predictable affect on his marriage. He and his wife squabbled and quarreled incessantly about money. Their arguments became more and more heated and, short of a miracle, divorce was inevitable.

Being a man of faith, he turned to the One in Whom he knew he could put his trust. He prayed, "God help me! I'm about to lose my wife."

The relationship worsened, his marriage failed and he was left, of course, emotionally bereft.

The stress and strain of the poor man's successive losses wore him down physically. He became deathly ill. He even found himself consigned to a hospital bed. His doctor told him, short of a miracle, he had little time to live.

Being a man of faith, he turned to the One in Whom he knew he could put his trust. He prayed, "God help me! I'm about to lose my life."

His health worsened, his strength failed and he left this life alone.

The man awoke in Heaven and he raised his eyes to God on His throne. The befuddlement must've shown on the man's face. The Lord asked, "What seems to be the problem?"

The man respond with no small amount of exasperation. "I don't understand. I asked you three times to help me. I lost my finances, my family and my life. Why didn't you help me?"

His Lord, with tender patience and infinite wisdom, placidly responded to His forlorn child, "Help you? I brought you home, didn't I?"

"What Are You Saying?"

This is a little something the Lord gave me a few years back. I hope it helps someone. It helped me.

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Once upon a time, a man who was very distraught over a plethora of issues in his life, called on his pastor for counseling. Only moments after his arrival at the parson’s office, he embarked on a tirade of how things in his life were pushing him to the brink of despair. He concluded that, to top it all off, he felt God was not even listening to him. He declared that no matter how much or how loud he prayed, he heard not a whisper from the Almighty!

After patiently listening to the disturbed young man for the better part of an hour, the pastor simply sat at his desk apparently displaying no response whatsoever. This aggravated the man even further. So, he demanded some sort of reply. When he did, he noticed that the preacher was moving his lips, but no sound seemed to come from him.

The man then angrily cried, “What are you saying?” The parson only continued to move his lips, evidently without uttering a peep.

Now enraged, the distraught man stood up from his chair and leaned on the pastor’s desk, nearly shrieking at the top of his lungs, “What are you saying?!” His pastor only continued to move his lips without so much as a flinch.

This was about more than the emotional fellow could take and so he leaned even further on the desk, so far across it that his face was soon in his minister’s face, practically nose-to-nose. Once again he bitterly begged him, “What are you saying!?!” It was only then, with his face so close to that of his unassuming pastor, he finally heard the words that he had been saying from the start:

“Sometimes God whispers so that we’ll get closer to Him.”

I Kings 19:11&12