CONVERSATIONS
WITH GOD
Here I Am Send Me: Complexity​
Archived Conversations with God​​​​​​
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Day 1
God's Timing
Throughout the Old Testament, God seems to be moving at a snail's pace. Israel groans under Egyptian captivity for generations, they wander in the wilderness for 40 years, Abraham doesn't have a child until he is ancient, and the list goes on. Why does God's timing seem so slow? Even in our own lives, we often pray for things and wait years or decades on the answer. I think we often fail to appreciate the complexity of what we ask for, and the tremendous work involved in giving us an answer. Let me give an example from American history. During the early years of America, chattel slavery was practiced, mainly in the southern states. Many religious people opposed this, and I'm sure many spent years praying for its end, especially those who were slaves. Why couldn't those opposed to slavery just get an anti-slavery president elected? Because the anti-slavery position wasn't popular enough. Why couldn't they sneak one in to deliver the emancipation proclamation years earlier than President Lincoln did? Because it wouldn't have done anything. The southern states would have ignored it, and if the north pushed it there would have been war, and war needs serious support. The reality is that political, social, economic, and other factors all have to mature to cause real change, and most of those depend on changes in the hearts of millions of people. Even in our own hearts, we struggle to change things we know hold us back from a more blessed life. We always must trust in God's timing and be patient for change. If we really want to speed up the process, we must commit ourselves to prayer, to changing our own hearts, and to doing our best to influence the hearts of others with love.
Verses: Galatians 6:9, Philippians 4:6, Jeremiah 29:11
Prayer Topics: Patience, Confidence, Wisdom
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Day 2
Preparation and Meaning
When I was a kid I lacked patience. When I watched movies, I wanted to get straight to the action. All the parts of the movie that were dedicated to little things like plot and character development were a waste in my mind. It wasn't until I got older that I began to appreciate the "slow" parts of the movie, because that was the part of the story that set up the stakes. Without that preparation, the action scenes that I loved so much were just people doing stuff. As I got older, this appreciation for preparation began to grow. Most of the time when I have projects to do around the house or the church, I just want to get them done as quickly as possible. You will know from my sermons that this is rarely how things go. Inevitably, things go wrong and I end up doing far more than I planned, and this used to drive me crazy. I'm starting to realize that these times before the joy of accomplishment and the sense of satisfaction are more important than I ever thought. These times are setting up the stakes, giving meaning to the work, and developing character. Scripture tells us that steadfastness must have its full effect so that we might be complete, lacking nothing. The trials that we face are preparing us, and God takes that preparation very seriously. In Matthew we are told that God has been preparing a place for us from the foundation of the world. If it has taken God that long to prepare the place, shouldn't we believe that our preparation for that place might take some time as well? Shouldn't we embrace the preparation needed to be effective in building the kingdom, seeing that preparation as giving meaning to all the various seasons and experiences of our lives? God has been preparing you your whole life, be ready for what comes next.
Verses: 1 Peter 3:13-17, Luke 21:34-36, Matthew 24:43-44
Prayer Topics: Training, Trials, Character
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Day 3
Equipped
Part of God's process of preparation for service in the life of the believer is equipping them for the task ahead. In order to complete the kingdom task given to you, you must be properly equipped with everything you need that is specific to the accomplishment of your specific task. This means that what we have previously been equipped with must be modified. Let us take David as an example. David had the task of herding sheep, so he was equipped for that purpose. He had his sling, his courage, and his devotion to God. When David was delivering supplies to his brothers in the army, he stumbled across the situation of Goliath. There was no time for further preparation, so David went into battle with the tools he had, and he completed the task of taking down Goliath. David goes on to face numerous tasks, many challenges and battles. How many times after the defeat of Goliath do we see David use his sling? Zero times. Why? Because David will be equipped with other tools appropriate to the tasks at hand. As Christians, we should never be in the position of retirement from the process of being equipped for service. We should always be adding new tools to our tool bag so that we can take on new challenges and complete new tasks. Are you learning new skills? Are you growing in wisdom and discernment? Are you mastering new techniques and processes? God uses the ones he has equipped to do his work. Let us all make sure that we are included in the work, because we have been equipped.
Verses: Ephesians 4:11-12, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 1 Peter 2:5
Prayer Topics: Tools, Resources, Skills
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To Be Continued!