And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. Exodus 40:33 Moses was able to finish the work of the Tabernacle because he knew precisely how to build it. How did he know? As he spent forty days on Mount Sinai in fasting and prayer, God laid out a perfect pattern for him to follow. “I wish God would give me a blueprint,” we say. “If He would give me a plan, I would follow it.” But do we take forty days to seek Him for it? How about four days, or even four hours? Paul spent three years in the deserts of Arabia getting the divine pattern for his life. Jesus spent thirty years tuned into the Father before He ministered publicly for three years. So too, we need times where we seek God fervently and expectantly. For an example of how this happens, turn to the book of Habakkuk . . . Habakkuk’s name means “wrestler” - an appropriate name for this one who wrestled with why God wasn’t doing more to combat the evil in the world around him. And in his life, we see three characteristics of those who seriously seek specific vision from God. I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. - Habakkuk 2:1–2 The first characteristic is determination. Habakkuk didn’t say, “I should stand upon my watch,” or “I think I’ll stand upon my watch.” He said, “I will stand upon my watch.” “You will find Me when you search for Me with all your heart,” God declared (see Jeremiah 29:13). As with Habakkuk, there must come a point in our lives when we are determined to seek the Lord if we truly expect to hear from Him. Second, we see the importance of isolation. I have found that when I’m in desperate need of vision and direction, I must get away from the telephone, radio, television, away from the clamor and clutter of the world. Wherever your “high tower” might be, find a place where you won’t be distracted by the needs that incessantly pull at you if you want to hear what it is God would have you do. Finally, we see Habakkuk’s expectation. He didn’t say, “I’ll watch to see if God will speak to me,” but, “I’ll watch to see what God will say to me.” “He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him,” declares the writer of the book of Hebrews (11:6). James echoes this when he writes, If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering: for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. - James 1:5–7 If I approach God but don’t expect to receive from Him, I won’t. Determination, isolation, and expectation - as these three components become part of my life, I’ll find direction. And if I’ve dropped the ball, missed opportunities, or failed miserably? I simply go to the Cross, where the One who finished the work died to cleanse me completely, and I begin again. Oh, that we might be a people who find freedom in the finished work of the Cross, that we might finish the work God has called us to do, that we might hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” This Daily Devotional is an excerpt from the book "A Pillar By Day" by Pastor Jon. "A Pillar By Day" is a collection of 365 short devotions from the Old Testament books of Genesis through Deuteronomy. If you would like your own copy of "A Pillar By Day" you may click here to go to the SearchLight Store
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 02:02:15 +0000