Be ready in season and out of season. —2 Timothy 4:2
“Many of us suffer from the unbalanced tendency to “be ready” only “out of season.” The season does not refer to time; it refers to us. This verse says, “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season.” In other words, we should “be ready” whether we feel like it or not. If we do only what we feel inclined to do, some of us would never do anything. There are some people who are totally unemployable in the spiritual realm. They are spiritually feeble and weak, and they refuse to do anything unless they are supernaturally inspired. The proof that our relationship is right with God is that we do our best whether we feel inspired or not.” CHAMBERS
It's not about feelings, it’s about faith. If you are letting how you feel determine how you respond to the Spirit’s leading, you are very likely going to quench the Spirit. You are prompted to speak to someone, but fear rises up inside. “What If they reject me?”, you wonder. “I don’t feel comfortable talking to people about my faith”, you think. “This is just not the right time”, you plead. The problem is you are trusting in yourself and not the Lord. You do not see the particular circumstance as being orchestrated by God, but as the normal course of events. As if it doesn’t matter whether you obey the prompting or not. So your heart stops beating quite as fast. You stop sweating. The mental scramble to figure out what to say ceases. You dodged the bullet once again. But down inside, you know that you have missed something .. something important …. a God moment.
“They have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof.” (1 Timothy 3:5) We can say “religious” things, but if the Spirit is not behind the words, there is no power. God uses us to convey the Gospel. We are to live it and to speak it. (1 Peter 3:15) “Always ready to give an answer ..” We are supposed to be anticipating the times when the Spirit will say to us “Speak!” To be ready means to be prepared. To be prepared means that we have gone through a time of preparation. Preparation for what? Not to convince someone with our wit and logic that Jesus is the Way. But to prepare ourselves with the Word and prayer to engage in a spiritual opportunity that the Spirit will bring our way when we least expect it. When I was on Promise Keepers Staff in the ‘90s we had a saying “You can’t lead where you won’t go. You can’t teach what you don’t know. And you can only recreate what you are.” Where are you willing to go in your relationships? Do you know the Truth? Is the Word of God part of your life and thinking? Are your living by faith and walking in obedience to the Word, waiting with anticipation for the prompting of the Spirit? You need to get ready, to be ready … to the glory of God! ELGIN
Charley Elgin
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