Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks put the circumstances of our lives, both good and bad into God’s hands and help us see them through His eyes. Last night our beloved daughter-in-law Melinda slipped from this world into the presence of Jesus. And while we are overwhelmed with grief and shock, these words are promises to which we cling. Melinda has finished her race. Her battle with cancer is finished. And while that pernicious disease claimed her physical life, it could not touch her soul. That remained fully and exclusively in the hands of Jesus with whom she now lives. Nancy and I didn’t know how to process the news that came in three words. “She is gone.” Yet as sadness rolls over my heart I sense the message echo back from Heaven, ” She has arrived!”
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 John 5:14 NKJV
God taught me a lesson about answered prayer during my battle trying to start my lawn mower last week. Here in Florida, we’ve had lots and lots of rain this October. Lots of rain is great because we were in drought, but lots of rain also means lots of lawn mowing (Every 5-6 day recently). Last Saturday I went out to start my mower, but when I pulled on the starter cord, it wouldn’t even budge. I decided to take a peek underneath and immediately noticed that it was totally clogged with grass clippings from the previous mowing. So, I carefully disconnected the spark plug wire, turned the mower on its side and spent several minutes scraping and cleaning. Feeling I had the problem licked, I turned the mower back up and tried again, and to my great relief the cord pulled back smoothly, yet the machine still wouldn’t start. Figuring that I had probably flooded the engine while leaning it on its side, I went inside, had a snack and a cup of coffee and came out to try again…but still no results. This time I went in again for a bit longer and came out determined to get my lawn mower started before it got too hot to work. I pulled…and pulled….and pulled, still with the same results. Just then, the neighbor, from whom I had bought my mower passed by and asked, “What’s up Pete?”
“”This lawn mower just won’t start for today.” I replied between deep breaths, and then, suddenly a little light bulb went off in my brain, “The spark plug dummy!” Sheepishly, I reconnected the loose wire and do you know what happened? Yup! That stupid lawn mower started! Many times, that is exactly what is happening with our prayers. We pray and pray, pulling with all our might on the cord, but nothing is happening, because we have become disconnected from the Lord Jesus Christ. Our mind, our heart and our schedules are so filled with everything else besides God’s will. We grow impatient, discouraged and frustrated yet all the while God is waiting for the spiritual light bulb to go off in our minds.
Sometime in the 1960’s in Namibia, Paul Makai wrote a simple chorus we call, “God is so Good.”. It became so popular that in 1970, when a missionary named Marilyn Foulkes, heard it, she loved it and translated it into English for us. But whatever language we speak, that truth rings clear, God is so good: and one of the first verses of this chorus that we sing adds “God answers prayer, He’s so good to me.” Does it feel as if you are singing about God answering prayer, yet experiencing very little of it? Remember the spark plug wire! I do hope you will enjoy this simple video, where I share this message and song at Life Care Center this past Friday. Have a blessed weekend everybody!
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 Timothy 3:1 NKJV
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And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” 2 Samuel 9:7 ESV
This verse paints a beautiful picture of the restoration of Mephibosheth, though he is not the focus of the story. Mephibosheth had been hiding in Lo Debar, because He was afraid that King David would want to kill him, since his grandfather, King Saul had tried to kill David. But instead, David remembered his best friend Jonathan, who was Mephibosheth’s father. In that same way, restoration in our lives begins because God promises to forget our sin, when He remembers that Jesus gave His life for us on Calvary.
Because of that friendship, Mephibosheth’s life was completely changed by the kindness of King David. First, David gave Mephibosheth everything that his grandfather King Saul had lost because of his sin. Then, instead of digging up past grievances, David invited Mephibosheth to come live in the palace with him and join him every night at the super table. While many of us admire wealthy and powerful people, few of us are ever invited to live on their estate or sit down and have dinner with them. But God invites us today to come to His house and sit at the table with Him. God is determined to do more than just bless us: He not only wants to be our closest friend, but He also offers to adopt us into His family! But we will never fully receive all that Jesus has in store until we return from our own Lo Debar, come and live in His house, and sit down at the table with Jesus every day for the rest of our life!
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