You can trust Him

    There once was a man who one day decided to go to church. This man was not really religious. In fact this man had not darkened the door way  of a church since he was a boy. However one of his co-workers who he was good friends with had invited him. So the man decided to go out of respect for his friend. 

    The man sat there as the service went on. Nothing unusual went on that day. They sang songs and some of them the man remembered from childhood memories. The preacher preached on what it meant to truly surrender to Jesus Christ. The preacher shared how to be a true follower of Christ will mean a great deal of changes and hardships that you will have to face. 

    As the sermon drawn to a close the pastor bowed his head and prayed a simple prayer. The pastor prayed "O Lord, you know we can trust the man that died for us" The prayer was simple, but it was the one thing that got this man's attention. 

    As the man headed home, the pastors message flooded his mind. He began thinking about all the challenges and sacrifices that surrendering to God might mean for him. He began to think about all the things He might have to give up, things he might have to do without. He started to think about all the things that he would have to change or do differently. 

    As this man kept thinking about all the changes it caused him a great amount of stress and fear. He thought to himself "there is no way I could do this". I can't be a true follower of Christ, if it means I will have to make certain sacrifices to do it. How will I ever manage making all the needed changes in my life to be a true follower of Christ. Then there is the issue of messing up and the possibility of failure."

    Then as he continued meditating on this in his room. He was once again remembered those words the preacher prayed  at the close of His sermon. "O Lord, you know we can trust the man that died for us"  The man thought for a moment and said "If I can't trust Him to help me to make those changes then who can I trust?" 

    It was right there and then that the man decided to settle it once and for all. He realized that no matter what challenges and changes he would have to face to follow God that he might have to make. He could make them by trusting in the one who died for Him. He understood that he could trust Jesus with every concern in life that he might have to face. 

Following the Lord is not always easy. Sometimes it involves some sacrifices that we may not want to make. It might mean that we will have to do something we don't want to do. It may involve risks that we rather not want to take. 

· I am sure it was not easy for Abraham to leave his home town of Ur to take his family on a nomadic adventure in his old age. We know how Moses viewed God's call on his life to emancipate the Israelites in Egypt. When Jonah was given the task of going to Nineveh, He spent time and money to go on a ship in the opposite direction. This list could go on and on. My point is this, many times living for God is not always easy. Many times its the exact opposite. 

    There are many times people receive a call from God in some way. They feel led to do something or be involved in some ministry. There are times when the Holy Spirit leads us to go out and talk to someone. You may feel God is leading you to share your faith or invite someone to church. It maybe that you might feel led to write a letter or send an email. It might just be that God is calling you to do something way out of your comfort zone, like go on a mission trip. 

·    The moment we feel led to do something that is when the fight comes. That is when the enemy attacks us with all of the challenges this will mean and all of the "what if's". We begin to come up with excuses and reasons why we can't do it and why we shouldn't do it. 

    However this is not the time to give in to these worries, fears and excuses. Instead this is the time we needed to remember that "We can trust the one who died for us" In fact if we can't trust Him then who in the world can we trust. It might be scarry to go on a mission trip, or talk to someone, or serve in some ministry. However we need to put our faith and trust in Jesus and know that he will be with us. He can provide and protect us through all the trials we might face as we seek to Follow Him.  

Listen to what Paul tells us in (Romans 6:13) 

Do not yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but yield yourselves to God, as one alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

So Trust me on this....You can trust Him. 

When Your answered is Delayed

   It has been 4 years now since we had to deal with COVID and the "New Normal". Since that time we have endured a great many changes. Now some of these changes were good, and some were not. 

    For me one of the positive changes has been me using Amazon Prime to purchase various items online. Prior to COVID I had never used Amazon prime and rarely did I purchase items online. I never really felt the need to use it. However with the demands of social distancing we were forced to use more online shopping options. Since that time I have been using Amazon prime for a variety of reasons. I have bought everything from coffee, tools, and even some country ham. 

    If you have ever used Amazon prime, or you have ever bought anything online, or even the Shopping Home Network you know that it will take a couple of days before your item's arrive. Normally it will tell you when you can expect your items to arrive at your house. 

    Now there are moments I have found when my purchased items does not arrive when it is supposed to. It may have gotten lost, it might get delivered at the wrong address, or it may for one reason or another been delayed in it's shipping. Its in those rare moments that I find myself getting frustrated and a little discouraged. Especially if what I am waiting for needs to be delivered at a certain time. 

    My daughter had to deal with this recently. She had ordered a belt buckle for her fiancé. It took weeks for the belt buckle to arrive, but she was expecting it to arrive much sooner. Every day she was checking the mail, texting me if there was a package on the porch. 

    I say all that to say this, that is how it can sometimes feel when we pray to God and it would seem like God is not answering our prayers. There are times we go to God in prayer over some issue or problem. Everyday you wake up wondering when is God going to answer your prayer. You begin to wonder if God will ever answer them. Its in those moments we can often get discouraged, frustrated and dare I say it, want to even give up. 

    That is exactly what happened to Daniel. Daniel had been praying for three long weeks. Daniel was waiting for an answer. He was wondering when God was going to answer his prayer. Daniel not only prayed but he was fasting all that time as well. He went without food and drinks as he prayed to God. However throughout those 21 days Daniel did not receive one answer to his prayer.

    Now at the end of those 21 days Daniel is greeted by an angel and that angel tells Daniel something interesting. The angel informs him of just exactly why He has not received an answer to his prayers. Listen to what this angel tells Daniel, it's found in (Daniel 10:12-13)

Then he said to me, Do not fear, Daniel; for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to chasten yourself before your God, your words were heard. And I have come for your words. But the ruler of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days. But lo, Michael, one of the chief rulers, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.- (Dan 10:12-13)

Notice that the very day that Daniel sought after God in prayer, God sent the answer. The problem is that his answer did not arrive until 21 days later. It had nothing to do with Daniel or the prayer that Daniel was praying. It had nothing to do with the faithfulness of God to answer his prayer. No, Daniel did not receive the answer to his prayers, because of the spiritual warfare that was going on, that caused the answer to his prayer to be delayed.

 I believe this can show us a few things about prayer. 

    1. Spiritual warfare is real.

    We cannot see it taking place around us but it is there. Many people, even our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ refuse to believe it. There is a spiritual battle being waged as we speak, a real battle that our eyes cannot see, but it does affect our lives and the lives around us. 

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world's rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places.- (Eph 6:12)

2. Sometimes our prayers are answered before we see the answer 

    This is where faith comes in. We need to trust that, because of Jesus Christ we have access to the Father that He hears and answers our prayers. That even if we may feel God is not listening and/or He will not answer, we need to continue praying in faith. Its in these times we need to pray like Daniel. Don't stop praying until you get an answer.

 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;- (Eph 6:18)

 So maybe you have been praying for some need that you or someone you know has. Perhaps you have been getting discouraged. You have been wandering if God is listening to your prayers. You have started thinking that God will not answer your prayers. Your frustrated and you want to give up. 

Well before you do, I want to encourage you today There is nothing that you know of that would prohibit your prayers from being heard. You have no known glaring sin that has strained your fellowship with Jesus Christ. You have done your best to make sure that what your are asking is in line with the will of God. Yet there is still no answer.

 Well then perhaps you are in a Daniel situation and your answer is on its way, so just continue to pray and wait for God's prayer package to arrive. Look for His delivery and trust that one day It will arrive right in time, and in the right way.