Thursday, April 9, 2009

The Devotion Allison mentioned in it's whole.

From Jon Courson's Devotional Footstps of the Flock:

"And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of the offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him." -1st Samuel 13:10

Samuel had told Saul to wait seven days before engaging in battle against the Philistines. When seven days had come and almost gone, and Samuel hadn't shown up, Saul said, "My troops are leaving, I've got to do something." So he assumed the role of priest and offered a sacrifice himself rather than waiting for Samuel so that he could engage in battle. No sooner had Saul finished offering the sacrifice than Samuel showed up.This is so often the way of God. So often the Lord waits until the last moment to step in. Why? It's not to tease us, but to test us.He takes us right down to the wire, not to taunt us, but to train us in order that we might have endurance (James 1:3). You see, the race we run as believers isn't a sprint. It's a marathon. And God knows how desperately we need endurance. The only way to get endurance is to go through testing that will force us to wait on Him in order that we might not panic, not run off the track, not throw in the towel. C.H. Spurgeon said the snails made it safely to the ark because they had endurance.You might be a snail.I might be a slug. We might move very, very slowly- but we will make it to the Ark, if we simply endure.

"Time is running out!" we cry. "We've got to do something!"Do we? I can give you all kinds of advice and recommendations, but it's only when God steps in that there will be a real solution. The sage was right when he said that the brave man is not braver than any other, but simply braver for ten minutes longer. Who is the brave man? Who is the mature brother, the wise sister, the deep Christian among us? It's not one who is necessarily super -spiritual. It's simply one who has learned to wait and not panic. Has God promise to show up? Has God promised you that He is going to work all things for good? Has God promised you that He will take cares you cast on Him? Has God promised you that He will give a peace deep within? Has God promised that the desires deep within your heart will come to pass? If He has, wait for Him. Don't panic, dear people. Be brave. Saul thought he waited seven days- but seven days hadn't completely passed. He didn't wait the full course. "Lord, make me a man of God," we pray. "Produce in me depth of character, and wisdom."

"Okay," God says. "I'm going to take you through some experiences in which you will have the choice either to panic and try to solve the problem by sacrificing this or looking to them- or to trust Me."




AWESOME, RIGHT???? I'm definitely waiting 10 more minutes!

1 comment:

allisonescalante said...

good thing i have you in my life to write out my thoughts in there entirety. hahah but seriously... your job title could beeeeee..... allison's world on paper... everything i say, dont say, and wish i did say with a little wish i could say... get on that one, sanka!