You have heard the old saying, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink." Sometimes the Spirit of God is leading me to green pastures, quiet waters and paths of righteousness and I'm not sure I am paying attention. The cares of this life can sometimes keep me so preoccupied that I miss the moments when God wants me to just take a moment or two and remember that he is my God, he has unfailing love for me and is Sovereign over my life.
"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Psalm 23:1-4
Do you ever feel that way? First of all remember this: any inclination of taking a moment to pray, to read the Bible or to act in a Godly way toward your wife, children, friends, colleagues or people in general is the Spirit of God working in you! Stop, and take that moment...let God do what he wants to do in you.
I once heard a pastor tell a group of men that in regards to devotional time, "You sit until God speaks to you, it is as simple as that." To be honest, I wanted to smack him in the forehead! I mean, really, it is easy for him to say that you should just sit there until you get a warm fuzzy because his job is to wait on God on behalf of the flock God has him serving. But, if you have a job that requires you to be there at a set time, that simple little peace of legalism just makes people feel guilty because they have a set time to get ready for work. Not to mention that he totally missed the real truth that if you read the Bible, God speaks to you. Did you hear that? Did you read the verses above? God spoke to you because that is his Word and it will not return to him empty but it will accomplish what God desires (Isaiah 55:11). Getting a warm fuzzy or not is beside the point. God's word is true. All we are asked to do is listen to God (read the Bible and to teachers of the Word and however else he may want to speak to you) and try to live by faith in love.
When you come to a moment that might be a green pasture, some quiet waters or a path of righteousness, first of all thank God for it. At this point I am hesitant to say anything else because I don't want to add some foolish element of legalism to anyone's life.
Father, thank you for speaking to us truth in the Bible and in your Son, Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life. Help us to open wide our mouths of faith and receive all that you have for us. Praise be to you in us today!
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