Recently a new friend of mine asked if I thought that someone who was merely “muddling their way through life”; (not living the way they should be living, but never really experiencing any type of “serious” problems either), could come to know the Lord without first going through a major crises.
One of the godliest people I know says no. He states that invariably someone must reach a crisis point in their life in order to call upon the name of the Lord, (someone dies, gets diagnosed with a terminal illness, goes to jail, their significant other finds another, they lose their job, a financial catastrophe hits them, they find themselves hopelessly addicted to alcohol, drugs, pornography, one of their children goes south, etc.)
While I agree that all of those events have a tendency to force us to finally turn to God to help us through the crises, I will respectfully disagree and say that good friends of mine have drawn exceedingly close to God without going through any extraordinary circumstance or crisis at all.
Okay so how did they do it? I found that it began with prayer; I’ve seen prayer work time and again. I’ve prayed and prayed for some of my close friends who were not bad people, but just didn’t have much of a relationship at all with the Lord. Not only did I pray for them, but at every opportunity I encouraged them to come to church with me, read the Bible, and give God a try. I emphasized the brevity of this life and the never ending value of the next, and encouraged them to put more emphasis on eternity by accentuating that the truly “smart money” builds treasure in heaven where it will be utilized forever and not on this earth which will be left behind as soon as the heart beats its last beat. (The average life span is 77.9 years while eternity is just getting started at ten million years – Where should we invest our time and money? Duhhh . . .)
Most of these friends occasionally went to church, but seemed driven to go more so out of a desire to “see and be seen” than through a genuine desire to draw close to God. Of course that was unfulfilling to them and was more a matter of just going through the motions, (or something that people of their stature were expected to do), than a case of attending in order to enrich their lives and achieve that fulfillment that can only come through a close relationship with God.
I’m delighted to say that many of them are now walking very close to the Lord. They seem happier, smile a lot more, are less cynical about their future, actually talk about God and mention Jesus Christ’s name in public without fear, and in fact do so proudly. They not only attend church but enjoy it and have a great time while they are there. They are getting deeply involved with God’s ministry including learning the benefits of giving back, and it is meaningful to their lives. And of course the net result is that God is blessing their lives as never before.
So if you know someone who is not walking with the Lord, and not experiencing a crisis yet, then pray for them, (intensely), talk to them about God and everlasting life. Encourage them to study the Bible daily; (not just read it like a novel), but use it to converse with God and gain an understanding of our Creator. The Bible says of itself, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”.
Spend some time this morning thinking about this verse. What is God telling us?
Hmmm . . .
Listen to the Spirit. God speaks to us through His Holy Word and if we aren’t spending time there, we are missing out on spending quality time with the most loving, compassionate, wise, merciful, Father any of us could ever hope to have in our lives . . .
Get a Living translation version of the Bible or equivalent, and read it every day. Begin in Romans and then go back and read all of the New Testament. Skip the parts that are difficult or boring and focus on the parts that God draws you to. Pray for understanding and look for solutions to your problems. You will find them; God will see to that.
If you are already walking close to the Lord, look around and find someone who is not as fortunate. Don’t wait until a crisis strikes their life, be proactive, pray for them, fellowship with them, encourage them without preaching and by allowing them to see your light shining, buy them a Bible, invite them to Honey Lake Church or some other Spirit filled church. Love them . . . You will be glad you did and so will they.
Have a great day today and go to church this Sunday!
1 Thess. 2:13
And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.