A Word From The Lord

Then King Zedekiah sent for him, and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house, and said, "Is there any word from the LORD~" Jeremiah said, "There is!" Then he said, "You shall be handed over to the king of Babylon." (Jeremiah 37:17)

Jeremiah felt compelled to preach the word of God. Even though the people mocked him, he still preached. He said, "If I say, 'I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,' then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot" (20:9). What a marvelous thing to be so called by God that the message just burns to get out. So Jeremiah let that message out and was imprisoned on the charge that he was deserting to the Chaldeans.

After Jeremiah had been beaten and held captive for many days, King Zedekiah sent for him. I find it quite interesting that after no one wanted to hear what Jeremiah had to say, this king asked if there was a word from the Lord. Because Jeremiah could not keep that word shut up in his bones, he responded, "There is!" and told the king that he would be handed over to the king of Babylon. I am sure that his being captured was not the word that King Zedekiah wanted to hear. But Jeremiah, though his fate was in the hands of King Zedekiah, delivered the word that God had given him. Zedekiah was indeed captured, his sons were killed in front of him, his eyes were put out, and he remained in prison until his death.

How many of us accurately receive the word of God that is boldly preached. We often ask, "Is there a word from the Lord?" but may not listen to it. When a true servant of the Lord preaches and delivers God's word, a word that just burns to get out, we need to listen and respond accordingly. If there is a word from the Lord, internalize it!

Lord, help me recognize and respond to your word when one who just cannot hold it in preaches it. Amen.

DOING TOO MUCH

You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. (Exodus 18:18)

Moses had a wise father-in-law. This man observed Moses as he listened to the complaints of the people. He knew that the people came to Moses because they wanted to know what God would have them do. But Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, asked why others were standing around doing nothing.

Jethro knew that Moses had taken on too much. He needed to delegate some of the responsibility. Jethro suggested a plan for teaching God's laws to the people and selecting able persons to assist in judging cases. They could decide the minor ones, bringing only the major ones to Moses.

How often do we try to do it all? Is it that we just don't trust anyone else to do the right thing, or are we afraid that no one can do things as well as we can? It may even be that we are afraid that someone will do it better!

We must learn to delegate responsibility. Give your coworkers an opportunity to show what they can do. Let them know that you are counting on them, and compliment them when they are successful.

We do not have to be supermoms and superdads. Our children can help, and so can our spouses, neighbors, and coworkers. We wear ourselves out by trying to do it all. Take Jethro's advice. Divide the work. Moses did.

Lord, teach me to divide the work. I want to be a good servant, but I cannot be good if I am worn out. Give me the courage to share that which has been entrusted to me. Amen.

FAILING TO ASK

You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. (James 4:2)

Whenever I ask for something and am surprised to get it, I am reminded of the words, "You do not have, because you do not ask." I wonder how many blessings we miss because we do not ask. Asking involves risk taking. We must be aware that denial is always an option. However, if we do not ask, we will never know what the answer would have been.

Yet, we must be aware of the spirit in which we ask. The passage from James lists the sins that have resulted from worldly desires. He warned that one who sought to be satisfied by the world would be an enemy of God. Many of the material things that were desired were not received because they were not asked for in the right way. Things were requested for worldly pleasure, but God desired requests made in humility with the spirit that he had made to dwell in his people. How different our requests would be if they were made in humility with a godlike spirit.

Before you ask God for anything, think about how you will respond if your request is granted. There are ministers who ask for larger churches and doctors who ask for larger practices and many who simply ask for greater wealth. Why are they asking for these things? What will the minister do with the larger church? Will he or she be a better pastor? Is that minister faithfully serving the members he or she already has? What if that doctor gets a larger practice? Will he or she become a better doctor? Will the time available to his or her patients be shortened? If any of us had more money, what would we do with it? What spirit dwells in us as we ask?

God is able to do abundantly more than we dare to think or ask, but he expects something from us. Are we willing to give it?

Lord, I promise to make my requests known to you in a spirit of humility and love. Amen.

STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS

Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10)

Paul wrote of his weaknesses. He had a thorn in the flesh that God would not remove. He had been beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, and imprisoned. He had been hungry, cold, and naked. He had worried about the churches so recently established; he considered himself to be weak. He accepted his thorn in the flesh because he knew that God's grace was sufficient. He grew to understand that God's power is made perfect in weakness. All that he suffered had made him strong.

Are we content with weakness? I know that I am not. I want to be good at what I do. I want to be strong for my family. I do not like to fail. I am not content when I suffer hardships and persecutions; yet, I do know that I have grown whenever I have suffered. When I was in school, I was challenged to achieve academic excellence because it was not believed that a black girl could do it. When I was in Corporate America, I was promoted to management even though I had to overcome racial and sexual barriers. I even became an award-winning author after receiving numerous rejection letters in response to the book that would win awards. Although I did not like them, the hardships made me strong.

What is your thorn in the flesh? What hardships and persecutions do you suffer? I am sure that you have not been beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, and imprisoned. You may not have been hungry, cold, and naked; but I know you have suffered because suffering is a part of life. How have you handled your weaknesses? Have you asked for your thorn to be removed, or have you received Paul's message that God's grace is sufficient?

I can testify that there is strength in weakness. God is in control of the lives that we submit to him. Let God lead you and make you strong.

Father, I surrender my life to you. Take my weaknesses, and make me strong. Amen.

WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH?

I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. (2 Samuel 12:8)

David had been richly blessed. He had been anointed king over Israel. He had been given houses and land, wives and wealth. But he was not satisfied. He kept looking around for more, and he saw another man's wife and wanted her. He already had many wives, and still he wanted the only wife of another man. He did not have enough.

David did not stop at wanting the other man's wife. As king, he commanded her to come to him. She became pregnant by him, and he tried to make it appear as though the child was her husband's.

When that did not work, he had her husband killed. He did not have enough.

Nathan, the prophet, confronted him and asked him why he was not satisfied with what he had. He even suggested that God would have added so much more if he had only asked. But he had taken matters into his own hands and had caused the death of an innocent man. With all that he had, he did not have enough.

I wonder whether we, like David, are ever satisfied with what we have. Do we keep looking around to see what others have and still want more? Is there something in our nature that makes us want to "keep up with the Joneses"? Considering the consequences of David's actions, we ought to be forewarned that there is a time when enough should be enough!