Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Devotional 140109

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. God is at work and He is at work all the time. The question is whether we are aware of His work among us. We don’t listen because of our pre-occupation by so many concerns in life. We assume God will only speak to us when we open the Bible or when we pray. Yes, we are more conscious of God’s small voice when we open the Bible or set our mind to pray. But God is at work and continue to communicate to us if we care to listen. The word ‘disposition’ is so essential for our spiritual sensitivity. It means our ‘outlook, character or orientation’ in life. It implies a decision on our part to choose God over other things as our main and primary desire. The goal of our spiritual formation is to truly let God be the Lord of our lives, or let the life of Christ be fully form within us.

"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me" (Isaiah 6:8). God did not address the call to Isaiah; Isaiah overheard God saying, "Who will go for us?" The call of God is not for the special few, it is for everyone. Whether or not I hear God's call depends upon the state of my ears; and what I hear depends upon my disposition. "Many are called but few are chosen" (Matt 20:16), that is, few prove themselves the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ whereby their disposition has been altered and their ears unstopped, and they hear the still small voice questioning all the time, "Who will go for us?"

It is not a question of God singling out a man or woman and saying, "Now, you go." God did not lay a strong compulsion on Isaiah; Isaiah was in the presence of God and he overheard the call, and realized that there was nothing else for him but to say, in conscious freedom, "Here am I, send me." Get out of your mind the idea of expecting God to come with compulsions and pleadings. When our Lord called His disciples there was no irresistible compulsion from outside. The quiet passionate insistence of His "Follow Me" was spoken to men and women with every power wide-awake. If we let the Spirit of God bring us face to face with God, we too shall hear something similar to what Isaiah heard, the still small voice of God; and in perfect freedom will say, "Here am I; send me."

Our Triune God always speak to one another as He sees the rebellion and the suffering of mankind, “Who will go for us?” God is not helpless just as we are. He prefers to involve His people to demonstrate His love and plan for mankind. God is waiting for those who ‘desire to be chosen’ to carry out His will in human history. God is always at work. He desires His children to co-labor with Him as well…Do you want to be His chosen one?

Love you in accordance to His will,
Lawrence

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