Sunday, I was having one of those days where you just seem off step. The whole morning I found myself moving from room to room either forgetting to bring something I needed or not being able to remember why I had entered in the first place. The whole morning felt that way and truth be told it began before then. As I had worked on my sermon during the week and as the clock kept ticking and I started working even harder, nothing was really flowing. Saturday I went to bed with a whole lot of knowledgeable wonderful things to say about the history of kings in Israel and how Christ fulfilled the duties of what a king was meant to be. However, truth be told I still didn’t feel like I had a sermon. More and more though I am learning to not be panicky and just continue to move forward to the best of my abilities and trust God.
I arrived at the church and was still feeling unresolved and committed to the “sermon” I had. I use the word “sermon” quite loosely. Then in an instant, that all changed. I unknowingly dropped a bag full of purples strips of cloth that were going to be given to members of the congregation as signs to remember when the soldiers dressed Christ in a purple robe and mocked him following his arrest and sentencing. I had to kneel down to pick up the pieces and suddenly I realized that what I was doing was so allegorical for what we often go through in faith.
There are times when we drop the Lordship of Christ and in so doing we mock him. When we profess him as our Lord, our King, but we fail to live as servants of his kingdom we mock him. I had been thinking about all of these things, but it wasn’t until I had to go back and find where I dropped the pieces and knelt to pick them up that this is exactly what we must do. When we realize that we have let go of the Lordship of Jesus, we need to go back to where we let go, kneel before him, humble ourselves and ask to once again serve him. As this came to me it became the catalyst for my sermon. It came in the eleventh hour. If you would like to hear the resulting sermon click the embedded player below or click the link at the end of this post to download it.
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Recently, I have had multiple sermons like this where I have worked and worked and worked trying to get to what God is calling me to share only to find myself very disconnected to any of the thoughts or insights coming my way. Then God, very faithfully has come through in some way I could not have asked or imagined sometimes only minutes before worship. Go God! I am learning to trust God more fully in these things. I continue to study, pray and labor to discern what God would have me say, but am learning to trust that should it not come when or as I think it should that God is still God and will not abandon me in that task for the end result.
What is God calling you to work on? Are you doing all that you can as you diligently watch for God’s involvement? When God intervenes are you acknowledging that it was God and expressing thanks?
I can’t understate the value of gratitude. When God speaks to us it is a gift. I find that when I honor those gifts through thanks, God seems to share even more with me. Perhaps, I am just more attentive when I am grateful, or perhaps God truly starts entrusting me with more. I think it is a little of both. Either way, don’t take my word for it. Just start practicing gratitude every time God speaks or acts in your life and watch what unfolds.
I would love to hear your stories of answered prayers.
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