Have you been tempted lately by anything that tried to
get you off track? I have. Just yesterday I realized the place I usually go to
write has changed. I had been going to the same place for over two years and
the atmosphere was perfect for studying the Bible and writing. It was awesome.
“WAS” is the operative word here.
When two of my favorite workers left about a month ago,
the atmosphere changed. I noticed it, but I thought it would work out and
everything would be okay once the new people settled in. But yesterday I had to
face the fact that it just wasn’t working. I was fidgety nearly the whole time
I was there. I had a harder time getting into the Bible, and it was a struggle
to write.
Oftentimes our temptation is not the one that lures us
out into other places but the one that gets us to stay where we are. Generally,
people are more apt to go with the status quo, with what they’re used to,
rather than venturing out into the unknown. No matter how bad the situation
gets, our tendency is to stay put. The unknown just seems too scary or too
hard. But that is exactly what our adversaries want. The situation gets
slightly worse, then gradually gets so bad we wonder what happened. Satan
manipulates to delay us and hurt us.
Wisdom is to become aware of a deteriorating situation
as soon as possible, and if we haven’t got the authority or revelation to fix
it, get out. You will probably be surprised to know that Jesus our Lord often walked
away from bad situations. Check it out. Here’s one poignant example:
Matthew 4:12-13: “Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he
departed into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum,
which is upon the sea coast.” There was no confronting the authorities to get
John out of prison. God gave Jesus the message to get out of there. Jesus knew
1 Samuel 15:22: “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than
sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” Jesus got a word from God to
leave and Jesus obeyed, even though his cousin John was stuck there in prison.
Another example is in John 8: 59: “Then
took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the
temple, going through the midst of them, and
so passed by.”
And look at John 7:1: “After these things,
Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews
sought to kill him.”
Jesus just moved on to do God’s will for
his life in another place. That’s exactly what we’re supposed to do, too.
I don’t have to keep going to the same place
I used to study and write just because it’s convenient for me. I don’t have to
think I can stay and make it better either. I just have to pick myself up and
say: “Jesus, where to next?”
Let’s be brave. Let’s believe to see
quickly and clearly if a situation is bad for us, and then be willing to step
away if Jesus says go. Sometimes He will have a good reason why we need to stay
in a situation, but if we feel He is telling us to go, we step out courageously
into our unknown with our hand interlocked in the hand of the One who knows it
all.
Love, Carolyn
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REALITY
In this sample book I’ve chosen 7 chapters specifically about
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DOUBTFUL PRAYERS, INFORMATION VS REVELATION, MAMMON IS A LIVING BEAST
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