"NO WAY"

 

"NO WAY!"

 

This story took me back several years when we visited our son and his family at his house.  It reminded me of myself.

 

Emma, our granddaughter, had just awakened from her nap.  Those of us closest to Emma all know what that means!

 

Emma is just the sweetest, most loving and adorable child that has ever walked upon the face of the earth.  Although, when she wakes up from a nap in the afternoon, I just know that somebody has sneaked into her bedroom while we had our backs turned.  Whoever did must have traded our precious, adorable little Emma for a very upset and frustrated little girl.

 

You can ask her a question and her answer is never “Yes.”  Her answer is not “Maybe.”  She doesn’t even say “No.”  You can ask it soft and sweet and the answer is the same. “No Way!”

 

On this particular day, Josh summoned us all to the table. He asked Emma if she wanted to sit on the bench to eat. “No Way!”

 

Do you want to sit by Mommy? “No Way!” Do you want to sit by Meemee? “No Way!”  Do you want milk? “No Way!”  Do you want some meat? “No Way!” Do you want some bread? “No Way!”  

 

As parents, we all know she will have to eat in order to survive, but at this point she isn’t thinking about surviving.  

 

Neither Josh nor Kristy shoves food down her throat, hits her or forces her to eat.  They know that in time Emma will wake up enough and decide to eat on her own.

Watching Emma go through this process reminded me of a time that the Lord wanted me to be in fellowship with him, to read and his teach his word, to play the piano, to be a Pastor’s wife and to live for him. I was much like little Emma.

 

When the Lord spoke to me about what he would like for me to do, I said, “No Way!”  See, I had been wounded and there was no way that I was going to allow myself to be wounded again by people who professed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

 

I felt if I stayed away from the Word of God, the House of God, and the People of God, that I would be safe. The Lord continued to ask me to serve him and I continued to say, “No Way!” He had to meet me not where I used to be, nor where I would be in five years but he had to meet me exactly where I was at that moment.

 

When Emma wakes up from her nap, she just wants her Mommy to hold her.  She doesn't want Kristy to hug her and set her down, neither does she want her to hold her for five minutes.  Emma needs to be held until she feels secure with everything and everyone.

 

After Emma has spent some time being held by her mother, she will gladly take your hand and go with you to the table and eat a meal.  She will not do so one minute before she feels secure.

One day I remember my Father saying, “Walk with me.”  I said, “No Way!”  I said, “I don’t think I’m ready.”  My Father said, “I’m not going to make you teach.  I’m not going to make you sing.  I’m not going to make you play the piano, or even be a helper. Just walk with me.”

 

As I heard the gentle wooing of my Father, I finally agreed that I would walk with him.  All he wanted to do was feed my soul.  As I opened the word of God, he gently led me to attend church.  I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone, just sit on the back row.

 

I attended church for about six months and only sat on the back row.  As I slowly began to wake up, I realized that I was doing more and more.  I was no longer pushing him away, saying, “No Way!”

It has been eight years now since that time.  The Lord has walked with me slowly, never pushing, never demanding – just walking with me.

 

Before I knew it, I found myself walking back into the ministry.  I began playing the piano and speaking to women about my deep pain and helping them to have a closer walk with my Father.

I would never just walk out of Emma’s life when she says, ”No Way!” because I know that Emma is such an adorable, loving bundle of joy.

 

This is what your Father sees in you.  He see’s you as pure, and clean and filled with his love.  He is longing for you to fully wake up, so that he can see you laugh, dance, and bless other people’s lives once again. 

 

He is willing to wait patiently until you are ready.  He will not push or demand, and most of all, he will not leave you.  He is waiting with tender eyes of love and open arms the moment you are ready for him.  He is waiting for you stand and say, whenever Satan whispers fear, doubt, and frustration into your ears,

“NO WAY!”

Risk Taking - The Well of Salvation - II Samuel 17: 18-20

Do you ever take risk?  It can be quite a traumatic experience.   Can you remember the very first time you set your precious little baby onto the floor, held their hand until they gained their balance and then pryed your fingers away from their grip.  You watched them as they bobbled, as they panic to grab onto an object, and then as they fell to the ground.  Do you remember feeling the same way when you are ready to take a risk?   Feeling one second the calm assurance that you are ready to tackle it and the next second having the feeling of falling and looking for something to grab onto in order to cushion the fall.  We have all been there and done that and many of us have some scars as evidence.

Their are numerous people that take risk daily.    Mountain climbers, electrician,  fireman, policeman, bungee jumpers and the list goes on of people who have jobs taking risk daily.  Many of these people take enormous risk every day, but the same person might not be willing to step out and take the risk of giving their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ.   Just like with your small child, they may need for you to take their hand and let them hold onto you for a period of time.  One day you may see they have their balance and you may pry your fingers loose and let them began to stand on their own.  At this point is your job complete?   No, at this point you have only just begun.  You see this person still will fall down.  It is your job to teach them how to get back up, how to regain balance and how to take the first steps.  Just as you stood before your small child and said, "walk to mommy".  The heavenly father is standing before them saying, " walk to the father, this is where you will be safe".   All the while this person has good intentions, his footing is still unstable.  Be there for that person and remember that at one point and time you walked the same path.  Help them to the well of salvation.  You probably didn't discover this well by yourself and neither will they.  Allow them to take baby steps, fall down, get back up and to move slowly.  None of us learned to run before we learned to gain our balance so lets make sure that we don't expect others to be mature Christians before they first learn the basic steps and be able to rest in the presence of the Lord God Almighty and learn what his love, patience, kindness, long suffering, and joy is.

MISSIONS

I was listening to KLove radio this morning.  They are talking all about missions and I began to pray for our son Josh, who is a staff pastor in Garland, Texas.  The staff at his church began searching out what they feel missions is really about. As I was praying for them, the Lord lead me to look even deeper at what my definition of missions is.  I feel this is what the Lord showed me.  Missions is:

M - Myself

I - Invoking

S - Self

S - Sacrifice

 I - In

O - Others

N - Needing

S - Salvation

I didn't know if the word invoking really described it until I looked the word up and it is exactly the word the Lord wanted me to use.  Dictionary.com  shows the word invoking as shown below.

verb (used with object), in·voked, in·vok·ing.


1. to call for with earnest desire; make supplication or pray for: to invoke God's mercy.

2. to call on (a deity, Muse, etc.), as in prayer or supplication.

3. to declare to be binding or in effect: to invoke the law; to invoke a veto.

4. to appeal to, as for confirmation.

5. to petition or call on for help or aid.



Invoking is calling on God and unless we take the time to call on God for this we will not truly be able to do missions sacrificially. I'm afraid sometimes I give but not sacrificially. We are so blessed to have been given the gospel,, nice homes, cars, and wonderful vacations and we forget there are millions of people dying daily and are in need of a Saviour.  Someone to lift them out of the mire they are in.  Help them find a loving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  That person they are needing could be you.