Even though you’ve regularly seen a devotional written by me each Saturday in the Nugget, these do no weekly flow as to when they are written. Sometimes God gives me all kinds of material, and 5 or 6 devotionals flow out in a couple days. Other times, nothing. And once in a while, circumstances dictate that I take a break from writing…
This had been the case over the past 6-8 weeks. First it was Christmas and company, and then my mom passed away suddenly, two days after Christmas. It all makes me think about Eccl. 3:1: “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” (NLT).
One of the other Nugget writers was also talking about this irregular flow of devotionals. This writer expressed surprise that regular devotionals were not forthcoming. He hit the nail on the head, however, in his explanation: The fingers on the keyboard only flow out words with God’s inspiration, and that inspiration isn’t consistently steady.
I know there are some who can just sit down at the computer and type out a devotional whenever they wish, and my hat is off to them, that they are so in tune with God’s Spirit that they can “turn it on” so to speak, whenever they wish. I am not in that category, though I wish I were. Instead, there are things vying for the space in my mind that should be taken up by God’s Spirit. As a result, I have learned to not just sit down and type out my own thoughts; but rather, to wait for God’s Spirit to move.
Take today, for example. I felt impressed to sit down to write this devotional, the first in 6 weeks. I didn’t, however, know what I was to write. God had not given me any ideas. Instead, He said to sit down and start typing, and in obedience, I did.
I feel that the main point God wishes to express in what may seem like a random volley of words is this: Anything that will ever have Kingdom power must be Kingdom driven and Kingdom inspired: “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:12 ESV)!
And I’m not just talking about writing devotionals, either. I’m talking about sermons, songs, novels, paintings, and poems. I’m also talking about our monetary gifts. Yes, believe it or not, the New Testament never mentions giving the Lord 10%, and by example, we see the early church gave so much more! They gave as the Spirit of the Lord put on their hearts to give, and this is how we are to give as well. We need to consult God for when, where and how much we give. This also applies to our gifts of time to the Lord. These shouldn’t be just rote actions. We need to seek God’s wisdom to know when and what and how we are to function as God’s hands and feet.
When I was impressed to sit down to type out these thoughts today, my first response was, “Not now, Lord. Busy morning!” But here again, this is an example of how we must let the Lord lead. When He says, “Jump”, our response needs to be, “how high?” Otherwise, we would (and probably do!) miss so many beautiful opportunities to show God’s love! “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:28 ESV)
I could go on, but I feel that this one is supposed to be short and sweet (perhaps because I do actually have a busy morning!). The point I hope you have heard loudly and clearly today is that everything we do for the Lord must be … Inspired by Him, dictated by Him, and done in His time!
Think about that today! Ask God what He has for you today, listen for His response, and then… DO IT!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two adult boys, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, The Illustrator, a four-times-a-week internet newsletter, and the Sermon Illustrator website, all with Answers2Prayer Ministries.
