LET JESUS IN

I have these nagging thoughts about God. Could He be seeking me out?

God's Response:
The Lord isn't really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.... And remember, our Lord's patience gives people time to be saved.
2 Peter 3:9; 3:15

[Jesus said,] "Look! I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends."
Revelation 3:20

Our Takeaway:
Jesus knocks at the doors of our hearts because He wants to save us and have fellowship with us. He is patient and persistent in getting through to us - not breaking and entering but knocking. He allows us to decide whether or not to answer His knock and open the door to Him.

God's Promise:
The Lord must wait for you to come to Him, so he can show you His love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for His help.
Isaiah 30:18

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
God's timing, is not our timing! This is always a painful thought for all of us to hear. God is all about patients, it's one of His greatest attributes. Most of us struggle with this, I know that I do. Invariably, our timing is almost always faster than God's.

His plan for our lives - each trial and each reward in it, includes an endless timeline of intricate details and deep workings. We typically don't care about such thoroughness. We want to get out of our difficult situation quickly or achieve our success suddenly. For us, time is of the essence and for God time is essential.

I remember last year getting so impatient due to the pressure and uncertainty I was feeling in a fierce storm of life - my lawyer and I devised a bankruptcy and reorganization plan for my sinking business. We had congered up a quick easy fix that would have me debt free and back on track seamlessly and without having to wade through the painful realities of life and the shattered economy we are living in.

There was two gaping holes in our secular plan... First of all, I still thought it was my business I was running - wrong! Secondly, this backup plan my attorney and I had crafted just in case God's plan didn't work out was never going to have God's blessing. It wasn't His way, His timing or His path for me. Could He have designed a workaround, sure He is in the workaround business. He has to be because we are always so impatient and forever getting in His way!

Praise: We squashed the bankruptcy plan; waited on God to guide and deliver us to safe passage. He revealed that His plan is always best and that He was going to keep me on the payroll, managing His business. We have been profitable ever since!

I love 2 Peter 3:8, it really helped me get my head around this Divine spectrum - "But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and one thousand years as one day".

This means that answers to our prayers often seem delayed in our own minds but are decisive in God's. It means that deliverance often seems slow to us but to God it is already accomplished. It means that when we act on our impulses, we're violating His patient plans. It means when our blood pressure is rising and our palms are sweating, God's voice is always saying, "Be still. Settle down. I am on My throne."

Can you hear Him? If you're in a rush, probably not. How many times was Jesus in a rush? How often does the Word describe God as panicked? How many people who have invested their lives in Him have been let down in the end? Relax - Wait -Be strong and take heart.

Are you intentionally keeping His life-changing presence and power on the other side of the door? Open it and invite Him in!