July 2018

“Hey, would you touch that other
person? They should know You,
too.”
The Bible calls King David “A
man after God’s own heart.” The
Psalms contain 150 emotional
and very personal prayers, some
of which are a shock to the modern
reader. God’s not afraid of
our emotions. In fact, He knows
how we’re feeling before we say
a word. Psalm 139:1 NIV says,
“You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me. 2You know
when I sit and when I rise; You
perceive my thoughts from afar.
3You discern my going out and
my lying down; You are familiar
with all my ways. 4Before a word
is on my tongue You, Lord, know
it completely.” Even so, Jesus
Himself prayed and taught us
to pray. Why? When we pray,
we focus our attention on the
Source of all good things. We
hand over our frustration, anger
and pain. We prepare our hearts
to receive His wisdom, power,
peace and clarity.
Proverbs 2 NIV tells us if you incline
your ears to God’s word,
“10Wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant
to your soul. 11Discretion will
protect you, and understanding
will guard you.”
Think about it:
Has there been a time when your
heart made a mess of your life?
God doesn’t waste even the mistakes
we make, although working
them out may hurt. Give the
Lord any bitterness you still harbor
from that mistake and thank
Him for healing your heart.
What if I’m not sure I’m hearing
God?
Proverbs 19 NIV says, “2Desire
without knowledge is not good—
how much more will hasty feet
miss the way! 3A person’s own
folly leads to their ruin, yet their
heart rages against the Lord.”
Hasty feet or leap of faith? How
do you tell? Nobody wants to
miss the way, either by moving
too fast or by waiting too long.
“Leap of faith” is a great motivational
phrase, spurring us to jump
hurdles on the way to success.
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
leader Doc Blevins likes to say,
“God doesn’t give you what you
can handle. He gives you what
He can handle.” I absolutely believe
this is true. If I’m God’s kid,
He’s not going to take me to the
drag races and let me stand on
the ground, peering through a
sea of legs to catch a glimpse of
whatever I’m tall enough to see.
I’m going to jump into His arms
and He’s going to put me on His
shoulders. From up there, I can
wave and cheer and watch the
fat tires smoke past the starting
line the second the flags go
down. Other people are going to
see us having fun and say, “What
a great dad!” I believe God enjoys
moments like that.
On a long-term scale, God lets us
do more than sit on His shoulders.
The world’s greatest teacher, He
gives us tasks which require His
help. He walks us through them,
handing us the tools as we need
them. He doesn’t rush things. He
prepares us for what He’s going
to do, although we can’t always
see the prep. He teaches us to
trust Him as we obey. We must
act when we feel Him instructing
us, even if He’s saying, “Jump!”
while we’re in a perfectly good
airplane.
The HFH (Hasty Feet Hurt)
comes when we’re not listening,
and we jump. I’ve heard some
people joke, “It’s easier to ask
forgiveness than permission.”
This is cute when you’re dealing
with fast deadlines and slow
committees, but not when you’re
talking about God. I’ve seen
people pick out something they
want and run headlong towards
it, often going into debt while
laying a faith claim on it. Verse
3 tells us, “A person’s own folly
leads to their ruin, yet their heart
rages against the Lord.” Desire
without knowledge, chased after
by hasty feet, sets us up for a
crash landing. Don’t blame God.
Learn.
When you’re not absolutely certain
God is leading, wait. In your
daily devotion time, talk to Him.
Listen. Meditate on the good
things He has done to get a better
understanding of what He’s
likely to do. Ask for guidance
and commit to obeying what you
know He has already said.
The ultimate Networker, the
Holy Spirit uses scripture, sermons,
Christian music and life
experiences to metaphorically
pack our parachutes. Always
test what you hear in sermons or
from other people. You want to
make sure their statements are
sound and fit the wisdom you’ve
learned in scripture. When you
think He’s calling you to step out
in faith, be responsive. God’s a
good Dad, so He’ll be right with
you. When He says, “Jump,” we
82 www.faithfilledfamily.com July 2018