But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. (James 1:22, NASB)
So, this concludes our series on What God May Say. Can you relate to this discipline of asking God what we need and then listening for His response? Try this if you do not already have something that works better. So, what is the next step if you want to do this?
The next step is hearing God and responding to what God may have instructed us to do.
I was convicted after journaling what God may say. The next section became my response to what God may be telling me. I realize this is a team event—you are responding by the power of the Holy Spirit. Someone once said, “It is not what we don’t know that trips us up; it is what we do know and don’t do that causes problems.” I wanted to go on record that I had felt this nudge from God, and now I needed his strength and power to do what he said.
The old hymn Jesus Loves Me, This I Know was written by Anna Warner in 1869. Remember those beautiful words?
Jesus loves me; this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong;
they are weak, but he is strong.
Sing along, people. How refreshing those words still are today. It is interesting in reciting those words that the instruction shifts when you place a comma in the right place:
Jesus loves me. This I know for the Bible tells me, so. So what are we going to do about it?
Now doing is not performance or trying to obligate God to take notice and then bless us. The doing can be very simple—blessing others because we have been blessed. I think you know what I mean.
Send that note, call your friend and encourage them, read that book for the 30th time to your autistic granddaughter, unload the dishwasher, overlook an offense, and thank God for your thorns and blessings.
Have you got it? We know simple and hard tasks, but we get to do them through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our response means everything. Paul’s letter to the Philippian church reminds us that “…we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.” It also means we can do nothing without Christ strengthening us.
So, we move forward. God promised the Israelites the land, but nothing happened until they stepped forward into the river. Then God provided dry land and a way through. God will do the same for us today when we step out in faith and do what we know we should do.
We can be the change the world needs when we step out in faith and do what Jesus has told us. Isn’t that amazing to think that we can be world changers by changing the conversation simply by asking God what to do because we have confidence that he will always empower us to do what He has already instructed us to do. Always!
So, it is our turn and our opportunity to make a difference. See you at the finish line.
Closing prayer – Thank you, Jesus. You are with us as we respond.