ANSWER HIM

Have you ever been reading along in your Bible and suddenly stop and ask yourself, “Wait a minute, what was just said here?” Sometimes I will read quickly past an introduction to get to the meat of the subject matter. That was what I was doing while reading Matthew 11:25-30. It’s the paragraph that has the quotable lines, “Come to Me, all who are weary and …I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me…For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” But its introductory statement—“At that time Jesus answered”—stopped my progress. Looking at the context of Matthew 11 it doesn’t seem that anyone has asked Jesus a question. It doesn’t even appear that Christ was in a conversation with any other person. Yet the text reads in NASB & KJV, “At that time Jesus answered and said.” Who was it that spoke to Jesus that issued a response from him? God!

Still, there is no record of God the Father speaking to him, but we know when a person answers, they answer the person who was speaking to them. Therefore, this phrase reveals just how constantly connected Jesus was to his Father. Because God spoke into his soul so often his response occurred automatically, naturally, and continually so, there was no need to make record of it.
Jesus had a habit of talking with God. This is our take away concerning this overlooked statement. This is the learnable lesson, the teachable moment that should weld itself to our core. We, like Jesus, should have a deep abiding relationship with our Heavenly Father. We should be in such constant, continual conversation with him that when he speaks to us, no matter what worldly gathering we are engaged with, we would respond to that voice, unheard by any other ears, because our ears are tuned in by the Spirit to answer with joy concerning his true and faithful promises. It would propel us to acknowledge the mercy and grace we live and walk in. Also, it would keep us confessing the sin of which his Spirit has convicted us making our hearts moldable unto his will. What a privilege it is to be in an intimate relationship with the Creator of our souls. When our ears are tailored to listen to His voice we will hear the whispers of His love. What a privilege it is to carry everything to him in prayer. This is joy!
Let our heart’s desire, like Jesus, be in such a state that when God speaks to us we would be prepared immediately to answer him.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 80-20 Rule

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. The Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule, states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.   Although this rule was first applied in Italy when Pareto was looking at the dispersal of wealth, it has since become a rule of thumb for many businesses.   It has been said that 20% of your workforce does 80% of the work, or 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients.   I think this law comes into play in our lives as well.   Life is 20% what happens to you and 80% what you make of it. There are tons of stories about people who come out of difficult situations — gang life, in and out of jail, drug addiction, broken families, abuse – yet still seem to rise to the top.   And of course, there are many stories of those who have been given everything they would n
Read more

Bounce Back

As a 7th grader in junior high school, I was devastated when I was cut from the starting 8th grade football team and sent to the second team.   I felt disappointed, embarrassed and dejected.   Latter that week, I spoke with my grandfather who passed on these words of wisdom, “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce back that matters.”   I took those words to heart. The Bible says in Proverbs 25:11, “Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.” I valued his wise words and committed to doing my best for this second string team, instead of pouting and complaining over my sense of failure. I committed to working hard, giving my all to bounce back. It served me well as I entered high school and played on two state championship teams. I learned that day that what happens to me in life doesn’t count as much as how I react to those things.   I had a choice the day I was cut from the team—I could wallow in misery and quit the team, or I could choose to fig
Read more

A THANKFUL HEART

As you know Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. It kicks off the busiest time of the year for the shopping malls, and it kicks off the busiest time of the year for most of us, too. In the next 4-5 weeks there will be parties to attend, shopping to finish, gifts to wrap, cookies to bake, cantatas and programs to go to, special services at church, visiting relatives, and on and on and on. For most of us, the next several weeks will be the most hectic days of the year. But before the insanity begins, we can look forward to Thanksgiving Day. Though Thanksgiving isn't specifically a religious holiday, it can be spiritually uplifting if you let it. Because a thankful heart opens the door to God's blessings in your life. We have a tendency to rate our lives on a scale of comparison with others. We compare ourselves with those whose lives appear to be richer, fuller, and more exciting than ours. Many times we feel short changed. We wonder why others have it so much better tha
Read more