How Can We Find the "Real Deal"?
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“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear” (Isaiah 65:240).
Photo credit: Unsplash/Priscilla-du-preez
God has set a desire in every human heart for relationship with Him, and in any good relationship we find good communication. Good communication requires clearly stating the message we wish to convey, but it also requires that we listen to the response to our inquiry. We are promised, as God’s people were in the passage of Isaiah we studied here today, that He would hear our prayers. His answers to our prayers supersede their delivery to heaven! God knows what we need before we ask, and in His providence is faithful to provide all we need.
There is a popular worship song which uses the name for God, Jehovah-jireh, which expresses the characteristic of God to provide for us. “You are enough,” the song proclaims. If only, we will still our hearts to listen to His response and guidance we will surely hear Him!
The apostle James, one of Jesus’ earthly brothers, warned those who follow Christ not to simply hear the word, but to do what it says. God did not create us to automatically follow every command and direction He gives. Every ordinance and boundary God gives us for our lives is so we can live them to the full as Jesus died for! However, God’s commands and directives often make us uncomfortable. He calls us to sacrifice things like being liked and approved by others.
When I think of my middle school daughters and their friends, I see the pain it takes to set that human need aside in order to follow Christ. It can be isolating at times, as we choose to turn towards Christ in the practicality of our everyday lives. It means we’ll be mocked and teased, and not just in middle school. But we can take heart …we serve a Savior who endured the same ridicule, and followed God’s will for His life, anyway. Obedience can be the most difficult part of our faith to work out, but it’s always worth every sacrifice to live within the love of Christ.
The Real Deal …is Love. God is Love.
We are called to love others as He has loved us. The real deal is praying for and loving our enemies; forgiving without apology; seeking others to serve instead of looking to fulfill our own needs. Jireh will make sure we have what we need, as we faithfully follow His call on our lives to love the people He has purposefully placed in them. See, it might feel isolating at times to turn towards Christ and walk away from the ways of the world. God is always faithful to place friends and community in our lives so we don’t have to go it alone. He promises, we are never alone. In fact, for Christ followers, those who believe He is the Savior God sent to rescue us from sin, the very Holy Spirit of God lives in us. The Holy Spirit – the third person in the Trinity – intercedes for us in prayer, counsels us through our daily lives, and He is always on stand-by.
More important than anything we accomplish in our earthly lives is our relationship with our Holy God through Christ Jesus. Through the small daily steps of obedience and faithfulness to seek and obey Him, we are promised a life more than we can ask for or imagine.
Glory up.
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