revelation7strong

Friday, March 4, 2016

Communion with God - 7: Draw Me Close to You

“A still small voice.”

From my journal, July 17, 2004:

I have been writing devotions now for four months. My first attempt was penned on March 15, 2004, the first day back from a trip to Chicago where I felt the anointing from the Holy Spirit and received the vision of a man writing at a table and heard the word, “Author.” The use of this gift has not subsided or waned; it has intensified in depth, grown in content, and become an integral part of my intimate worship with GOD. I can say that my faith has broadened, strengthened and stands firm, not from a self-made perspective, but rather, by letting go and allowing God’s Spirit to take control—control of my responses, emotions, attitudes, and convictions.

When God told me that He would sustain me for forty days on June 8, 2004, when I began this series of meditations, I had no idea what He specifically meant. In a way, I still don’t know, because His intent was overshadowed by “my expectations,” a teaching about which I wrote several meditations.¹ What I can say is this— All of my family’s and my necessities were met, and I am gainfully employed; yet more importantly, my faith did not fail during this period, a time that could have created stress and anxiety sufficient to break a person’s spirit, split relationships, and drive one to make choices outside of God’s perfect will.

This period was a test—a proving ground to show me the steps of growing in faith. It was not without challenges that brought my faith into question. On three occasions, I went to God asking for clarification and received from Him the same response, “I have already spoken, do as I have said.”

I have not “missed the boat” by walking with determination, looking neither to the left nor to the right for alternatives to God’s plan. I feel at peace. I feel that God has a reward as reflected in Jesus’ parable of the talents. I have an understanding that My Master would say to me, “Well done good and faithful servant.” Lord, I await your next call on my life.

“Faith is the steps between promise and assurance,”¹ I read from my Bible’s notes. Sitting back in my chair, my lips began to quiver; I took my glasses off and looked upwards, goose bumps pulsing over my body, “But have I done that, Lord?” I asked. “It’s not for you to judge,” He replied. A calm came over me; my anxiety subsided to peace.

I picked up my pen and began to write. This is how God speaks to me, through the words He has me pen on paper. “Read the story of Elijah, I have more to share and show you,” He said. “But every miracle, large or small, begins with an act of obedience,” I continued reading the Bible notes, “We may not see the solution until we take the first steps of faith”² Just as the widow of Zarephath followed Elijah’s instructions in faith, God promised that she would reap the blessings of a miracle:

And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’ ”

So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke by Elijah.³

My experience since June 8 is similar; my family, without any source of income, found sufficient provisions to bridge to God’s next providence. During those times, God gave me the comfort and encouragement of reflecting on the miracle of manna from heaven; sufficient provision provided each day, no more, no less.

Father God, as I read about the revival of the widow’s son and her resulting belief, — “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth.”⁴— I cry out to you as Elijah did, “Lord, place a conviction in the heart of my ex-wife that she would know that I, also, am a man of God, and that Your Word that you speak to me that I profess is Truth.” A wave of the Holy Spirit fell upon me, and I know at that hour, God had heard my cry just as it is written regarding Elijah— “Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah.”⁵

“God’s provision is never given in order to let us rest upon it. We need to depend on him as each new trial faces us,”⁶ I continued to read the notes of my Bible study. As God provided for us during this period, we faced new trials and at times questioned why God would allow more hardship in the face of what we were enduring, but through the exposure to each new challenge, as we chose to strengthen our stand in faith through prayer, crying out to God, and coming against the forces of evil with God’s spiritual armor, we prevailed victorious rather than defeated. Just as God revived the widow’s son, when our faith began to fail, God lifted us with words in our hearts from the Holy Spirit.

When we feel that we are alone in our experiences of trial, we can always count on God’s presence through the Holy Spirit living in us. The fuel that kept me revived was the daily soaking of God’s Word, reading, writing, listening, singing, and meditating on it every waking hour. When I would lapse, through distraction or spiritual weariness, the Holy Spirit reminded me to come to God in prayer for renewal and strength.

“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.⁷

Looking back, I was reminded of the numerous spiritual attacks, the lies from Satan attempting to denigrate my character. I must remember that my daily communion with God strengthens me.

I continued reading in my Bible and the study notes associated with this Scripture— “And Elijah came to all the people, and said, ‘How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’ But the people answered him not a word.”⁸ Baal is described as an idol made in the shape of a bull, the most popular Canaanite god representing lust for power and sexual pleasure, a god that Ahab and his wife Jezebel worshiped instead of the true God.⁹ The notes I read underscored the meaning of Elijah‘s confrontation with the people of Israel, “It is important to take a stand for the Lord. If we just drift along with whatever is pleasant and easy we will someday discover that we have been worshiping a false god— ourselves.”¹⁰ This explanation sings to my heart, for it is the journey on which I am presently. Rather than seeking control of my destiny to prevent me from appearing to drift aimlessly, I am allowing God to speak to me by waiting on Him, letting go of power and control, submitting to Him, and relying on His providence.

I am not a lazy character; on the contrary, I have in the past displayed character of an over-achiever with a relentless zeal to work at the tasks required to achieve my goals. Now, I ask God to set my goals, and I pursue those tasks to which He directs me. Ironically, this process may appear to others as aimless direction, but it is not drifting; others do not share the words and vision God has given to me, and the stand to which I am committed. I continued to read the story of Elijah to which God directed me:

And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”¹¹

“We can have faith that whatever God commands us to do, He will provide what we need to carry it through,”¹² the notes read. We get caught up looking for the great signs of God’s presence and sometimes fail to realize that the small miracles are as important an act of God as the dramatic fire from heaven. God does not need to call attention to you through His divine providence; it is the effect that the miracle has on your faith, the strengthening of it—that is His objective. God works in small doses because that is either all you need or all that you can handle. God wants you to walk with Him knowing that He is there around every corner. Even though you may not see Him, Jesus tells us what faith is about, saying, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”¹³

When the forces around you are pressuring you to give in, to walk away from your stand, return to God for confirmation to remain firm. “Draw near to Me,” are the words I awoke to this morning. God spoke to me saying, “This is about your relationship with Me; draw near to Me.” I am drawing near to You, Lord. I feel your presence and hear your voice in the quietness of my heart, and I am reminded that in order to hear from you, my heart must be clean of the noise of bitterness and unforgiveness. This is why you speak to us in “a still small voice,”¹⁴ to require us first to make amends with those we hold offenses against and to those we have offended.

Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.¹⁵

It is when we are rebellious to the point of spiritual peril that You may choose to show Your greatness in a “shout.” To have Your voice in my heart, still and small, is a blessing of our communion, intimacy and friendship.

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.”¹⁶

—Jesus the Christ, a friend who died for you

Praise to Our Father for the words He has given me. ~Jeff Cambridge

References:

1. “Ask God”

“Am I doing Your Perfect Will, LORD?”

“One-Way Thinking”

2. 1 Kings 17:13-16 notes, p. 592.

3. 1 Kings 17:13-16

4. 1 Kings 17:24

5. 1 Kings 17:22

6. 1 Kings 17:17 notes, p. 592.

7. John 14:25-27

8. 1 Kings 18:21

9. 1 Kings 18:18 notes, p. 594

10. 1 Kings 18:21 notes, p. 594.

11. 1 Kings 18:36-39

12. 1 Kings 18:36-38 notes, p.595.

13. John 20:29

14. 1 Kings 19:12

15. Matthew 5:23-24

16. John 15:11-17

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Communion with GOD - 6: One-Way Thinking

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts.”

When we want something, the thought of it begins to grow and if unfettered, the thought may consume us to the point that our thinking becomes clouded and our hearts become muddied with desires that do not coincide with the thoughts that God has for us. Our prayers become laced with personal agendas rather than desiring to discern God’s agenda. We begin to tell God what is best for us, as if we have control of our future or as if we have knowledge of God’s plan for our lives or as if He needs counsel from us. We ask for one thing, and then ask for something else that conflicts with the ability of the first request to take place. We view our wants independently as if each has its own discrete reward. God sees our lives as a continuum, one component dependent on another and the reward as having eternal value. We are so simple minded with our petitions that we fail to realize that the One to which we are speaking created our very being; certainly He knows what is best for us.

We ask God for directions and find Him telling us exactly what we want to hear (oh, really?) leaving us with no doubt that He knows our heart and will grant us our desires. Psalmist David writes, “Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.”1 But do you delight yourselves in Him when you get the rejection letter stating you didn’t get the job or when you don’t receive the child support payment from your ex or when your phone is shut off for non-payment or when the bank takes the last dollar you have in fees because you overdrew your account? It is pretty hard to be delightful during difficult times, yet there is an emptiness to fill when things are not going your way. It is how you fill that void, the lack of delight that will determine the outcome of your trial.

Turning to God when all is turning against you is delighting yourself in the LORD. Coming to God with a contrite heart open to His arms is delighting you in Him. Knowing that God knows so much better what you need right now - more than you or anyone else in this world - should delight yourself in His sovereign ability to provide for you. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says the LORD, “thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope.”2 When you are feeling down trodden because you felt God had confirmed your request in your heart, yet you did not receive it, remember that He knows best what you need not only today, but also for all your tomorrows. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD, “For as the heavens are higher than earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”3

There is no escaping our dependence on God, not that we would want to be outside His providence nor feel chained to His will, but rather, since He is all knowing, all powerful, and present everywhere, what better place to be, but where He wants you right now. “Not that we are competent to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God,”4 apostle Paul reminds us, and although we do accomplish providing for ourselves and our family, God is the one who gave us the blessing of our gifts to do so. We do not sit back feeling helpless, or that regardless of our efforts, the outcome is predestined. We can make changes in our lives; we do make a difference. We must understand the meaning of the proverb, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps,”5 and “A man’s steps are of the LORD; how then can a man understand his own way?”6 God not only sees the big picture, He’s the artist of the painting! Although you may stress over an event today, God’s timing and His brush strokes are perfect. Know that to make a particular color in a painting, it is often necessary to lay down a coat of a different color. You may gasp at the color portrayed underneath and exclaim, “That is not what I wanted; you know my heart’s desires; you said that they will come about!” What you do not realize today is that as the painter of your portrait, He is painting the foundational layers first so that when the topcoat is applied, that which He purposely painted for your development will shine through, radiant with the love and care that He painted you every stroke of His Way.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”7 —Apostle Paul describes how Christ Jesus re-painted his life, covering his past persecution of Christians with forgiveness and calling him to a life destiny as a preacher of the Gospel.

Praise to Our Father for the words He has given me. ~Jeff Cambridge

Written July 14, 2004, Copyright © 2004, 2005, 2016 Stellar Rhema Ministry, Jeff Cambridge

References:
1. Psalm 37:4
2. Jeremiah 29:11
3. Isaiah 55:8-9
4. 2 Corinthians 3:5
5. Proverbs 16:9
6. Proverbs 20:24

7. Ephesians 2:10