Saturday, April 8, 2017

Why Wait?

Why do we wait for God to open the way before us? He has shown us that he opens the way for his people only as they are willing to step out in faith.

He told the Israelites to "go and stand in the river." But when they did so he stopped the flow of the river so that they were standing on a dry riverbed instead of in a river (Jos 3). Jesus told the man with the withered hand, "Stretch out your hand." He did so and it was completely healed (Mk 3:5). We are told "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you" (Eph 5:14).

Of course, we do not have the power to raise ourselves from the dead. Of course, we know that the Lord must empower us to obey this command - but he has empowered us, that is just the point. He has enabled us to step down into the water, to stretch out our hands, to wake up, even to rise from the dead. When we do what he has enabled us to do, then we will see a fuller revealing of his blessing in our lives. But if we sit and wait to see his salvation fully revealed, we will never see it. He expects us to take action. He expects us to step out in faith. He expects us to do what he has enabled us to do. He will not enable us for more until we put to use the power he has already given us.

Is there not something that we could be doing for the Lord this week? Let us do the small thing that he has given us the opportunity to do and next week, very likely, he will give us a greater opportunity to serve. But if we refuse the small task at hand, greater opportunities are unlikely to come our way.

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