WORDS OF COMFORT FOR TROUBLED MINDS

WORDS OF COMFORT FOR TROUBLED MINDS

                “And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10, 11. 

                Normally this text is brought out during the Christmas season, but the Lord brought it to me this morning. It came as a great comfort to my spirit simply because I awoke this morning with the burden concerning choices that must be made. As clearly as the Lord has ever spoken to me, He told me what my mission must be for the remainder of my life. I said nothing about it to Bonnie, but strangely enough she woke up the following morning with the same conviction.

                If we are to listen to and obey God’s voice then it may often times require radical changes for us and so we wrestle with the meaning of what God is saying. Unfortunately I am given to understand that if we ignore His voice when He speaks to us clearly, then we will have no right to ask to hear from Him further. This is the risk we take when we set out to hear God’s voice. As Jonah found out, once hearing from Him, it is useless to run away. And as David found out, your anointing to be King also includes a great deal of preparation before you actually take your place in God’s purposes.

                Do you know why most of us avoid trying to hear God’s voice? It is because He almost always calls us out of our comfort zone. God is not fond of dead traditions, especially when they begin to replace our living relationship with Him.

                As I was writing these things, Desi approached me this morning with a certain sense of urgency. I wanted to ignore him because it was still pitch dark out, but then I remembered that I had not taken him for his evening walk the night before. So I said, “Okay Desi, fair is fair.” And we headed out, flashlight in hand to take care of his urgent needs. My mind was on the prevailing question that had been robbing me of my sleep. The prevailing question in my mind was:  Are we crazy?

                The air was cold and crisp and the stars were dazzling and beautiful. I looked up at the night sky and Luke 2: 10, 11 came to me so strongly. It was as though God had dropped that verse from out of the stars above and into my heart. His message was clear to me. ”Fear not; for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy…”

                Just as the incarnate Son of God came into our world 2000 years ago; even so He comes into our hearts if we will invite Him in. By His Spirit He enters into every soul that will make room for Him. It doesn’t matter how humble our dwelling. Any old stable will do, for this King, is meek and lowly and humble of heart. He says to us: “Come unto Me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Mt. 11:28-30.

                We never need to be alone. We never need to be afraid. If we have made room for Him in the inn of our hearts, then He is there. He is Emmanuel… He is God with us… He is God with you and God with Me.

                I love Christmas, and I care not who says it is bad and who says it is good. It is the one time of the year when the sleeping world is reminded that a baby was born that divided history in two. Every time someone writes his or her date of birth, they have to acknowledge that this date goes all the way back to the birth of Christ and no other. I don’t care anything for the commercialism of Christmas, but I certainly love the comforting songs that speak of His birth. “Silent Night, Holy Night.” O Little Town of Bethlehem.” These songs ring true for every person, who has made room for Him in their hearts. Regardless of the actual date, the message is true both historically and in our hearts.

                About 25 years ago I was in one of these highly stressful situations. I had recently been delivered of my depression, my addictions and a demon that had unknowingly haunted my life. My father was dying of cancer and in spite of his gargantuan faith and the prayers and prophecies of countless people; he was being eaten alive by this dreadful disease. My newfound faith was being shaken severely and my new birth was beginning to seem more like a dream than a reality. I was under huge pressure, not only because of Dad’s looming death, but by the fact that I somehow seemed responsible to carry on his ministry and for this I was neither spiritually or mentally ready.

                We were in a circle praying for my dad, when I was given a vision. I was standing in a logging yard and an angel was standing behind me showing me the vision. I wanted to turn around and look at him, but he would not allow it. I could see the light of his presence out of the corner of my eye and I just wanted to dive into that light. It was the presence of heaven and words cannot describe the deep nostalgia, the deep longing and hunger for home that the light produced in me. It seems that all wisdom and all knowledge along with all the fruits of the Spirit are incorporated into that light and it is wonderful and overwhelming.

                Together we (The angel and me) looked on at the scene in the logging yard. Much work had gone on here. Deep tire tracks had churned up the mud. It appeared to be early morning and steam was rising from the water in the tire tracks as the sun rose above the horizon. We looked at the small pile of logs over against the fence and I realized that a large amount of work had been done here and not much to show for it. The angel asked me if I wanted to continue this work. Instinctively I knew that there was no point in pretending. He already knew my heart. He knew me better than I knew myself and yet his voice was so full of encouragement and exuberant joy.

                I answered the angel honestly saying “No.” I didn’t want to carry on this work. It was Dad’s mission and not mine.  But then the angel surprised me by saying: “Heaven does not require it of you.” And with that the light faded, the vision faded and I was back in the prayer circle again.

                I know that we all wish that angels would come and speak to us and tell us what to do.  Don’t you sometimes wish that heaven would intervene and just give you the answer that you seek? Me too. But in this case I had neither asked for a visitation, nor expected one and yet during that intense period of time I had two other similar visions concerning my father’s upcoming death. No matter how many people prayed and prophesied that Dad would be healed and live, I somehow knew that this was not God’s plan.

                It is also noteworthy that these visitations often produce more questions than answers. I spent the next ten years of my life not having a clue what heaven expected. The angel gave me no hint of what God wanted me to do. It was frustrating to say the least.

                 I am reminded that Abraham went out from Ur of the Chaldees knowing not where he was going. He spent the rest of his life living in tents and it was only by faith that he looked for a city whose Builder and Maker is God. Now I understand that it is not so much what we do as what we become that interests God. He knew that I needed a whole lot of spiritual maturity in my life before I could carry on Dad’s mission. He also knew that whatever I did it must be born out of my own spirit rather than something borrowed from my father.

                And so it was that when I began to write on Face Book and to share my journey, I had no particular sense of divine mission. I just liked to write… and yet today this writing has turned into something of a ministry of its own.

                And so now I have had another encounter… no angel… just a profound wave of recognition… a message planted in my spirit… and like I said, to ignore it would be to trample upon the clear voice of God… to ignore it would be to have the voice go silent. We can’t hear from God just any old time we want to. It is He who makes that choice and He visits us when we least expect it and yes… we are left with more questions than answers and we want Him to come back and give us the rest of the instruction; but He expects us to go out not knowing where we are going.

                Faith takes each step, one step at a time. Faith obeys even when it can only see one step. Faith trusts that God will provide a way, where there seems to be no way. Faith is not usually the easy way. It is the road less travelled. We often walk that road alone because God wants us to learn to walk in lock step with Him rather than by the opinions of others. .. He often leads us contrary even to our own opinions.

                It is also important to understand that in hearing from God we need to have a firm grasp of His Word. If they speak not according to this Word it is because there is no light in them. We must always walk in the light of His Word. And secondly, this accountability to God does not release us from accountability to other godly people. We should seek counsel from others who hear from God so that His Word is confirmed by two or three witnesses.

                We tend to read our Bibles with a certain amount of complacency because we are reading these things after the fact. We see the great acts of faith that our Bible heroes accomplished and since we already know the end from the beginning, we fail to experience the knife edge of decision making and uncertainty that often plagued them. And so for those of us who step out by faith to obey God’s voice there comes this comforting reminder.

                “Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be for all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David (in your heart,) a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10, 11.                On the Mount of transfiguration Peter wanted to treat Moses and Elijah and Jesus as equals, but God spoke to them saying: “This is my beloved Son, Hear Him.” And suddenly, when they looked around about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with them.” Mark 9:7b-8. WE too must turn our eyes upon Jesus. We must hear Him and follow.

                No matter what stressful situations or deep questions, or challenging decisions you have to make in your life, be assured that the Lord is right there with you.  In most cases, an angel will not show up to tell you what to do, but God is just as surely with you. Learn to walk in His counsel. Take whatever small step of obedience that you know to take and He will provide the next step for you.

                It was at the Jordon River on the borders of the Promised Land that River God had the priests step into the water first before He backed the flood waters of Jordon all the way back to the city of Adam. He does the same for us, for even though we are born into this world as sons and daughters of fallen Adam, Jesus stops the waters of our earthly birth all the way back to Adam and He gives us a New Birth. Even as the Babe of Bethlehem is born in our hearts, so we become citizens of a new kingdom. Think on these things.

                Each of us has tough decisions to make in our lives and the way we make them either plunges us deeper into our own stubborn will, or teaches us to walk in lock step with the Lord. One way makes His voice sound more clearly, while the other way causes His voice to grow silent.  One way brings peace and the other way brings turmoil and fear. Whatever your choices may be; learn to walk in the favor of the Lord.