01/30/2019
Is God active in your life right now, or are you waiting on Him? There are times in our relationship with God when our faith feels like it is adrift on a calm sea without the slightest hint of a breeze in our sails, but at other times the wind is brisk and our sails are full and tight as we speed forward; cutting through the waves with the spray in our face. What are you experiencing right now, the calm sea, the exhilaration of the wind, or the fear of a storm?
“And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines."”
2 Samuel 5:24 ESV
I have written to you before about one of my children that had become addicted to alcohol and prescription pain killers, and about how my wife and I prayed and prayed for God to move in this situation; it was as though our prayers were falling on deaf ears... but then it happened... God’s hand stretched out and healed my child. That was wonderful, and I thank Him with all my heart, but before He touched my child He had to deal with me.
God used what was happening in my child’s life to circumcise my heart, and as a result I started feeling His movement like never before. First it was the hint of a breeze that ever so gently rustled the sails of my faith, it started with words on a billboard along the interstate highway that were confirmation of an answered prayer, and then as the days passed, other small signs and voices in my life. Then the breeze became stronger until one evening while at church, a very good friend laid hands on me and prayed for my child... suddenly I felt small hands all over my back as he prayed and and I couldn’t believe that all those people were praying with us... but when I opened my eyes, and turned to thank them... there was no one there. Healing came almost immediately. A week or so later the wind began to really blow again... I pulled into a state inspection station to get my car’s emissions certified, and I noticed that mine was the only car there. This was unusual because that station was always crowded... but as the woman flagged me forward it felt as though something incredible was about to occur... she leaned towards my window and as she took my fee and paperwork she looked at me with an almost shocked expression on her face. She turned and completed the inspection, and then as she handed me my certificate she paused and asked me “Are you a pastor or something”, to which I said “no.” She turned to walk away and then turned back and asked again... “You’re not a pastor?” And again I said “no”, and she said “I dreamed about you last night, and you aren’t a pastor?” To which I responded “no” again, and as she turned away I heard her say to herself “weird, I thought he was a pastor.” As I pulled out of that station onto the main road I looked up at the car in front of me and across the back window was the sticker of a large pair of angel wings that stretched from one side of the car to the other, and the Holy Spirit filled me. Many things continued to happen like this, then, he sent a young IBM salesman from Atlanta to my office whose faith was flourishing, and with him acting as a catalyst, and as I spoke to him of my faith, the wind picked up again, and one day this friend gave me a tiny devotional book titled “The Power of Prayer”, that I later read an entry from, texted him my thoughts about, and a daily text exchange began between us which sparked this ministry of daily devotional that now reaches around the world.
“"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"”
Psalms 46:10 ESV
There are times when God is quiet, and during those times we can begin to feel that He doesn’t hear us, but when He begins to move we need to be ready, and willing to take action! Jesus spent His entire life waiting for that perfect moment when God desired to fill out His sails with an incredibly powerful wind; His will! An entire life preparing for three short, yet incredible, years that would change all of creation... years that began with a mother telling her son that the time was now...
“When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."”
John 2:3-5 ESV
When the wind picks up in our spiritual lives, and begins to blow our hair back, filling our physical faces with a salty sea spray, we need to be ready at the tiller of our faith. We need to feel the wind, anticipate the waves, and know where God wishes us to go. We need to be calling out to Jesus, shouting above the wind, “Where to Lord?!” Then, we must listen for God’s will, sail towards His voice, and tack within His will just as Jesus did. This should be our prayer...
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:10 ESV
So have you stepped into the boat that is your faith, and cast off boldly onto the open sea? Are your sails full, and pulling you speedily forward, or have you sailed far from shore and become becalmed? Is everything calm and quiet around you, even though you are praying for a breeze? Are your provisions running low and you fear for your life... but still no sign from God... not a breath of moving air? Well, do not doubt our Lord, and prepare yourself for the coming wind. Call out to Him, and say things such as “Come quickly Lord Jesus!” Or “Help me Father, for I am in trouble, and I need you!”
“and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."”
Psalms 50:15 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for those times when you are so active in my faith that it feels like I am racing across the sea of life. I thank you Holy Father for the storms in my life that buffet me, and cause me to shout in my desperation and fear for your rescue. I thank you also Merciful Father for the days when the sea of my faith is like glass, and I feel no movement whatsoever. I thank you for the quiet times when I listen and yet hear nothing but your silence, because it is in these times, these days of rest, when I listen most intently, and wait patiently to hear your will. Speak to me Merciful Father, whether in a mighty rushing wind, or a small still voice... just let me hear your voice. Steady my hand upon the tiller, and set my sails as you would have me go. Guide me, even as you did your Son Jesus, and give me the same obedience to your voice, your will. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God, who is the wind in my sails. Praised be your name in the spirited motion of my faith, and amidst the terrifying crashing of your waves, but let your hand still me Gracious Lord as I wait upon you and see my face in the windless mirror of your sea. Let me find your glory in the ocean of my faith, and let all those around me see your face in mine as I look upon your living waters in silent contemplation and awe. Holy Father hear this my prayer, in the name of your Son Jesus.
Rich Forbes