TWILY Ministries | Love
Notes |July
2008
Prayer: Waiting for a Different Answer
Do you “instantly” obey
God’s voice, or
do you sometimes hesitate - waiting on Him to change His
instructions? You know, I had never
really thought about that, until very recently.
I had just finished rereading the passage about Naaman,
in 2nd Kings 5. If you recall, he was suffering from leprosy
and had traveled to see the Prophet Elisha, to
be cured. When he found Elisha, he told him to:
“Go
to the River Jordan and immerse yourself seven times. Your skin will be healed
and you'll be as good as new.”
Doesn’t that sound easy? Well, it didn’t to Naaman; He did not like that answer one bit!
The Bible says, “he went away angry” (vs. 11). See, to Naaman,
it was bad enough that Elisha wasn’t going to
do anything “spectacular” to
cure him, he had to further insult him by telling him to go and
wash himself in the MUDDY
Now,
from where I was sitting, Elisha’s
instructions didn’t sound so bad! Then, too, that was
last week, when I was “sitting” home, sick with a fever! I guess under those circumstances, “dipping in the
Then I remembered what
had made me reread this passage in
the first place; something that had taken place just two weeks prior.
I had met with
someone to discuss an “opportunity” that had come my way. I
didn’t have all the details yet, but I had
already planned to turn it down - just as I had done
all the other times. Now, you may be wondering, “why?”, and all I can say is that there was too
much “stuff” that came with those opportunities! – “Stuff” that I, and others, had been praying about for the longest. So far, though, nothing seemed to be happening! Well, I shouldn’t
say “nothing”, because something was happening; The more I prayed about things, the more “opportunities would
come my way – and this was the 10th one (for real!)! As
I’ve mentioned, though, I had turned them all down, waiting on God to “answer
my prayers”. If I had accepted those
opportunities then, I would have been
right in the middle of the stuff I’d been praying about!
So
then, you can see “why” I was about to say “NO” again! But, you know what? I
didn’t say no; not this time. Just as I was about
to say NO, something happened; The Holy Spirit
reminded me of Naaman and how I had said that “I would have
jumped right into that Jordan River…mud
and all”, and I stopped my answer mid-sentence! My eyes filled with
tears, and I said to the person, “Pray for me…and a few other
things!”
In a single instant, He had shown me that the Lord had already answered my
prayer – long
ago, but I had been “walking away”
– not mad, but waiting for a different
answer! I had been duped! - “distracted by the mud”, mud being the stuff that
kept me from jumping on into the center of God’s will! So you see, not only had
I been responding just like Naaman had initially responded, I hadn’t even
“recognized it”. Thank God for the Holy Spirit’s wise counsel!
Because He reminded
me of Naaman’s story, I was able to see what
I had been doing wrong. I am no longer “waiting for a
different answer”; I’ve have accepted the one He gave me. Don’t get me
wrong, I still see the “mud”, but I also feel the
“joy” – the joy, which ALWAYS follows obedience!
Friends, I leave you with this: Only God, who
knitted
us together (Ps. 139), knows the right answer
for what concerns us. Even when we don’t “like His answer”, it is yet the best answer. With the Holy Spirit’s power, we can trustingly “jump into “our”
Jordan Rivers!” Please don’t let the “mud”
(fear,
politics,
favoritism,
uncertainty,
etc.) cause you to “walk away” from the center of His will!
Okay! God willing,
see you next month (hopefully on time…smile).
Stay encouraged!
Sincerely,
Joyce
© 2008 Joyce Bailey - Use by Permission
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