Saturday, July 31, 2010

DIVINE WILL IN A WIND
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Verse for Today
Acts 28:13b - The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli.
God uses the ups and downs of nature sometimes to lead and guide His children in their sojourn. Even when the wind seems to be against God's children, it is used by God to accomplish His purpose for them. Some times the wind is used to lead His children to reach a place where some believers are thirsting for God's Word. It is amazing that subsequently some storms baffle Paul and others, but ends up in a rich time of ministries in an unknown island. In all of these movements of nature, Paul was able to see the hand of God in leading him in his ministries. God speaks to His children as well as to the world through the movements in the nature. The great flood at the time of Noah was a time of destruction for the disobedient world, but a time of salvation for the faithful of God, and for God to start a new order of things. Through a storm and a mighty wind, God spoke to His disobedient prophet Jonah and brought him to repentance. Peter was able to listen to the voice of the Lord to restore him in the midst of storm and waves. John the exile in Patmos was able to see the glory of the risen Lord at a time of loneliness and isolation. We need to be alert and see the various means God uses to speak to us. Sometimes, He speaks to us through our conscience and in our hearts as we read and meditate on the Word. At other times He speaks through His servants in a song, an article in a magazine or through a sermon. Occasionally we experience green signals of delays through wind or road blocks of donkeys to stop from going astray or lead us forward.

Dear friend, are you able to experience the leading of the Lord in all that you do on a daily basis? Are you keeping your eyes and ears open to the mysterious ways by which He speaks to us and thus leads us in a particular direction in our lives? Are you able to hear the voice of the Lord in your heart for direction in your life and ministry? Has He ever led you mysteriously to people and places where ministry needs were awaiting you? Remember, there are no accidents in a believer's life, and all our walks are ordained of the Lord provided we are fully committed to Him and His ways. But we need to spiritually discern these ways of leading so that what we do will not in any way contradict the written Word of God or break a commandment. This requires us to saturate our hearts with the Word of God and be fully controlled by the Spirit of God. Paul experienced the leading of the Lord in all that He did and was always prepared to minister to people in the face of a wide variety of needs. He was available, focused, prepared and awaiting for opportunities. So when wind or storm came his way, he was always thinking about the possibility of God's hand in it for direction in ministries. Let that be our attitude also and let us ask the Lord to reveal His will and ways to our hearts in all the circumstances He allows us to go through. Let us ask ourselves what God has for us in each of our circumstances for His glory and for the furtherance of His kingdom.

Philippians 1:12 - Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel.

Thought for Today
God guides through various ways for man to understand the pathways he ought to tread.

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