‘Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.’ James 4:8 NKJV
Author Reimar Schultze writes: ‘No man can become much like God, accomplish much for God, be intimate with God, be used much of God, unless he has learned to be much alone with God… and what a classroom you’ll find yourself in. You won’t become a photocopy of other Christians, because there’ll be no one in the class but you and God. In church you can say, “This isn’t for me; perhaps it’s for someone else”… Here time is designed to meet your particular needs, to equip you in your unique calling… to fine-tune you… to draw the foolishness out of you… and mould you into His likeness. He may start with a chisel, but eventually He will only need sandpaper… Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me.” (John 10:27 NKJV) He’ll not only teach you to hear His voice… He’ll show you what’s hindering you from hearing it. He’ll teach you as quickly as you surrender to Him, yet slowly enough so you don’t miss a lesson. He’ll teach you what it means to be yoked together with Him and to walk at His pace and in His time. Of course the devil will fight you every step of the way. He’ll give you rational and religious excuses to delay [but you don’t have to act on them]. Resist him! He’s a liar and a deceiver… There’s a price to be paid for neglecting God. Some have lost children and grandchildren to the world, endured hardships, disappointments, financial crisis, and marital breakups… Some of our lives revolve around getting ahead, instead of getting around to God… Repent and start doing the right thing now—you’ll never regret it.’
SoulFood: Gen 32–34, Luke 9:46–56, Ps 145:14–21, Pro 4:23–24
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©