"Mirror Of Ink"

I look into this mirror of ink and see a soul that has no beauty in itself, but is silvery-white in the light of

Your Grace that covers me and makes me new.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Nourished By God

"I'm tired." "I'm hungry." "I don't have the energy." "I'm overwhelmed."

We often use these phrases to describe our lives. It is so easy to fall prey to the busy-ness of life and lose sight of the things that are truly important. We can get so absorbed in our culture that we let our energy- or lack thereof- dictate our steps rather than the leading of the Holy Spirit.

John chapter 4 tells the familiar story of Jesus' encounter with the Woman at the Well. It is a wonderful story that displays the mercy of the Father so vividly, but today I want to focus on what happens immediately before and after this encounter; something that has the potential to happen in our own lives, if we put the Father's priorities above our own.

When the story begins, we find Jesus journeying through Samaria and stopping in the town of Sychar. The Bible says that Jesus was tired from the journey, so he stopped at an obvious place of refreshment- a well. While Jesus rested, his disciples went into town to buy food. The scripture indicates that it was around noon- lunchtime. Back in that day, Jesus and his disciples traveled from town to town by foot. As much as Jesus was God, he was also man, and the constant traveling had to take its toll on his body. At this certain instant, the Bible makes a point to let us know that Jesus was tired and hungry.

I don't know about you, but the phrase "tired and hungry" describes me at just about any point in the day. With toddlers, there hardly comes a time that I am not at least one or the other, since mealtime is designated to cutting their food, wiping their faces, refilling their drinks, cleaning up spills and leaves no time for me to actually eat myself. We all seem to lead such fast-paced lives that our bodies often cry out for more attention than what we give them.

Jesus was tired and hungry. But he did not let that interfere with the opportunity to minister to a woman who was in need of the Truth that day. He expended energy he did not have to share with her that she could have living water and an intimate relationship with God. He was sensitive to the Spirit and obedient to the Father. He did not let his current feelings and needs distract him from what was truly important.

But the part of the story that strikes me is what comes next. After Jesus talks with the woman, she goes and tells people in the town about this man who she believes to be the Messiah. Meanwhile, the disciples return with the food they went out to get. But before Jesus can sit down to a nice meal after a long journey, the crowds are gathering. People are wanting to know if Jesus really could be the Messiah. The disciples have been with Jesus. They know he is tired from traveling and hasn't eaten in a while- possibly all day. They begin to try to talk him into eating something. Common sense, right? They are just trying to watch our for their friend and leader. But Jesus replies to them, saying:

“My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest."

Jesus was so in tune with the will of God, that he didn't even let appeasing his hunger take priority over winning souls. He knew that his needs would be met as long as he was doing the will of his Father. There was no hunger too deep, no exhaustion too great to keep him from doing the work and will of God.

This scripture is so humbling to me. How many times do we neglect what God is trying to do through us because of our "needs"? Have you ever seen someone in need, yet not stopped to help them because you didn't have the time or energy to do so? I think sometimes we believe that God wouldn't ask us to go hungry in order to do His work. He just wouldn't do that. But would He? Would He ask us to go hungry in order to give someone else the bread of life? Would He ask us to use energy we don't have to share the living water with a dry and thirsty soul? What makes us think that our physical needs are so much more important than the spiritual needs of others?

Jesus had it right- when we put our needs aside to meet the needs of others, we receive "nourishment" from doing the will of God. And if we make the sacrifice to be used by Him, we will reap a harvest that is ripe, just as Jesus did. Not only did he witness to a woman at a well, but the Bible tells us that "many Samaritans in the village believed." Often we stop with one good deed and don't realize that, if we would put off our hunger for a few minutes more, there could be a whole field waiting to be harvested.

I am challenged today by the obedience and sacrifice of Jesus. It is my prayer that I would never use my schedule or my needs as an excuse not to do the will of God. How often are you not simply fed, but supernaturally nourished by doing the will of God? May God increase it many times over!

Friday, August 13, 2010

The Miracle In Obedience

"Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water'; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, 'Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.' They did so." -John 2:6-8

Obedience can be hard, especially when we have no idea what the outcome of our obedience will be. That takes faith in the person whom you are choosing to obey. Whether it be a parent, employee, friend, or someone else, the outcome of our obedience is directly related to the motive of whom we are obeying.

When it comes to God, we can trust that our obedience to Him and His Word will always result in bringing Him glory, and drawing others to Him. When we read in Romans where Paul tells us that "God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose," we have to realize that the "good" he speaks of is not necessarily the "good" that we understand it to be. If we are called according to HIS purpose, things may not always end up how we think are best, but they will always end up in glorifying the Father and drawing others to Him, which should be our heart's true desire. Not my will, but Yours be done.

In the story of Jesus turning water into wine, we read the account the first recorded miracle that Jesus did. Jesus and his friends and family are attending a wedding banquet when they suddenly run out of wine. Jesus' mother immediately volunteers Jesus to help resolve the situation. I find it interesting that rather than entering the miracle scene with a big bang by performing a spectacular solo, Jesus chooses to rely on the help of some simple servants. Isn't that just like God? He can do anything and everything all by Himself, but He chooses to use us, His humble servants, to perform amazing miracles.

Jesus instructs the servants to fill some jars with water, and then take some to the master of the banquet to taste. Can you imagine what the servants must have been thinking? At this time, Jesus had not performed any miracles. It was doubtful that many people fully understood who He really was- the Son of God. So these servants are instructed by Jesus, who to them is just another ordinary guy, to take some water (which they got themselves) and let the master of the banquet taste it when he was expecting wine. Talk about faithful obedience! In those days, if a servant was to make a huge mistake like bringing the master water instead of wine, it could easily be punishable by death. So these servants were not only risking their jobs, but possibly their lives.

Obviously I was not there to witness firsthand this amazing miracle. But from what I gather from the Word of God, Jesus did not once touch the jars or the water himself. He simply gave the orders to the servants, who carried them out, and the miracle was performed. I believe with all my heart that if it were not for the obedience of those servants, the water would not have been changed to wine. And so it is with our lives. There are miracles to be performed every day all around us, but those miracles are a direct result of our obedience- blind and risky- to the Father. Many times we will not see the results of the miracle until we truly put our neck on the line, just like the servants in this story. The real miracle is in our obedience.

I want God to use me. It is my daily prayer that God would use me to do great things for Him. But how many times do we miss out on a miracle because our obedience seems too risky? When we get to the place where we are willing to obey God no matter how crazy it seems and regardless of what we think the outcome will be, I believe we will begin to see more and more miracles- not because of what we do, but because of WHO we choose to obey.