I received an invitation from my financial institution this week to come in for a review. They advised that now would be a good time to sit down and discuss my needs and new opportunities. I thought, “hmmm…what if I received a message like that from God, what would my response be?” In truth, God sends us little hints and reminders daily. Many of us are just not checking in with Him. Certainly, the beginning of a new year would be ideal to get real honest with Heavenly Father, because we should want to find out from Him what we need to change, shift, or make better. The issues that affect our lives are becoming increasingly complex as each day passes. We are living in a time where our commitment to pray often is no longer optional; it is absolutely critical. Now, more than ever, we can’t afford to miss what God is saying; having our needs met and seeing new opportunities depend on it.
Not long ago, I read a book by a man who was going through an incredibly difficult time in his life. His marriage was falling apart, his best friend had recently passed away, and their family was struggling financially. Being reared in a small church, he knew the Lord Jesus Christ, but only heard teachings about the person of the Holy Spirit as an adult. His life became desperate, and he told God that if the Holy Spirit didn’t show up at 2:00pm on a particular day, that he was going to end his life. He said things had gotten so bad that he didn’t want to live anymore.
This man made an appointment with the Holy Spirit but didn’t expect God to show up and do anything different. At the time he set, he went into a room in his home. He closed the door, sat down, and waited in silence. What he received from the Holy Spirit changed his life forever, and through His Holy Spirit, this is what God wants to do for us. Jesus Christ teaches in John 16:13(NLT) that “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” The Holy Spirit is a person with feelings and a personality. He is God’s Spirit and has more power than any of us can ever know. He lives inside our recreated human spirit, and his guidance is essential.
John 4:24(KJV) tells us, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” We keep wanting our encounters with God to be initiated in the physical realm, when He’s told us in His Word that we must meet, worship, and encounter Him in the Spirit. It’s in the quietness of our time with Him, when we do nothing but vacate all other thoughts and allow Him to work within; this is when we are in full surrender. Yes, there are times when we become full of emotions and praise, but there are other times when the flesh must decrease, and we must yield to the Spirit and let him have his way.
Our needs and opportunities are not mutually exclusive; they go hand in hand. Both are very important to living a full and satisfying life. So, we should expect that God will have lots to say on these two subjects. Jesus Christ tells us in Matthew 6:5-7, that we shouldn’t be like hypocrites who pray out in the open, so everyone sees them. They pray by reciting the same things over and over again. Our time with God should be a very intimate dialogue—Spirit to spirit—Deep to deep. He speaks to us through the Spirit within, and our recreated human-spirit speaks to Him. To make sure we hear the conversation, we must quiet ourselves. We don’t have to use our special times with God to repeat our requests. Jesus said in Matthew 6:8 that God knows exactly what we need, and He knew it well in advance of our asking.
When our bank or someone one else wants to show us a new way to increase and expand, most of us get excited about the possibility and make an appointment for a review right away. We expect them to say something that is going to help our lives tremendously. Why would we not expect this and more from God? He’s planted opportunities all around us, but sometimes we can’t see them with physical eyes. They must be revealed first in the Spirit, and then communicated to us through our spirits. Let’s schedule appointments for a review with the Spirit of God on a regular basis. We desperately need it, so that as we grow in our relationship with God and He takes care of all our needs, we will not miss those vital opportunities to be a blessing and to be blessed ourselves.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Schedule Your Review with God” written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2018. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.