Holy moments 2 - God has plans for you.
I’m sad to say that I am not sharing any of this from a position of success in regard to my 'quiet times' with God. I’m not writing this because I have been successful in this respect for decades or won any awards.
My time alone with God has been troublingly inconsistent. This has often left me unresourced when dealing and responding to situations. It has left me out of step with God’s plans. All I know is that none of us can afford to live like that. God has plans for us and wants to share them with us!
“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer 29:11) This verse reminds us that God wants to declare this to us! To share His plans with us. This is personal and empowering. You see, as disciples of Christ, we are not going to hear what God’s plans for us are in a church meeting first; it will be when we are alone with God!
Having said this I must admit that God has had to resort to shouting at me in a meeting so that I would get alone with Him so that he can share His plans with me! But it shouldn’t be that way around, we should be hearing God’s whispers.
I don’t want you to be mistaken, this isn’t tough to do; in fact it couldn’t be simpler. A quiet time is simply time when it is just you and God, listening and reading – any time any where.
God isn’t just in church on Sunday, He’s always with you! King David wasn’t above reminding himself of this – check out Psalm 139! Spending time with God doesn’t even have to be done somewhere traditionally thought of as ‘holy’. My quiet times have recently been taking place in a toilet cubicle in work, and trust me what happens in the cubicles around me is less than holy! But in there I read God’s Word, I hear His voice and I learn to respond.
(Handy tip - when you read the Bible there are 3 easy questions you can ask that will help you hear what God is saying to you – 1. what did it mean then, 2. what does it mean to me now, 3. what do I need to do as a result).
Do you remember the original Mission: Impossible TV series?
It always began with a tape, an audio cassette. Nothing dynamic about that, but there’d be a message and then it would smoulder. From that message all of the thrills and excitement of the show unfolded. Without the tape there’d be no plot.
God’s Word is our mission file, and it doesn’t self destruct.
My time alone with God has been troublingly inconsistent. This has often left me unresourced when dealing and responding to situations. It has left me out of step with God’s plans. All I know is that none of us can afford to live like that. God has plans for us and wants to share them with us!
“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer 29:11) This verse reminds us that God wants to declare this to us! To share His plans with us. This is personal and empowering. You see, as disciples of Christ, we are not going to hear what God’s plans for us are in a church meeting first; it will be when we are alone with God!Having said this I must admit that God has had to resort to shouting at me in a meeting so that I would get alone with Him so that he can share His plans with me! But it shouldn’t be that way around, we should be hearing God’s whispers.
I don’t want you to be mistaken, this isn’t tough to do; in fact it couldn’t be simpler. A quiet time is simply time when it is just you and God, listening and reading – any time any where.
God isn’t just in church on Sunday, He’s always with you! King David wasn’t above reminding himself of this – check out Psalm 139! Spending time with God doesn’t even have to be done somewhere traditionally thought of as ‘holy’. My quiet times have recently been taking place in a toilet cubicle in work, and trust me what happens in the cubicles around me is less than holy! But in there I read God’s Word, I hear His voice and I learn to respond.
(Handy tip - when you read the Bible there are 3 easy questions you can ask that will help you hear what God is saying to you – 1. what did it mean then, 2. what does it mean to me now, 3. what do I need to do as a result).Do you remember the original Mission: Impossible TV series?
It always began with a tape, an audio cassette. Nothing dynamic about that, but there’d be a message and then it would smoulder. From that message all of the thrills and excitement of the show unfolded. Without the tape there’d be no plot.
God’s Word is our mission file, and it doesn’t self destruct.
posted by Andrew at 10:56 pm
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