Clear the Table

It's like stepping into the ring with Mike Tyson. Before the opening bell stops echoing, you get hit so many times you don't know where to look next. And that's just chapter one in the book of James.

There's a verse right up front that reminds us that if you ask God for wisdom He will give it to you. I've held on to that verse a long time. In fact, it's written on the wall in my office. And I ask. A lot! But.... it's the next line that really punches.

"If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you...when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind...Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do." (James 1: 5-8) 

Ask, sure, but don't try to force God's answer into your convenient little world or viewpoint. The reality is that often times, I'm not asking for wisdom, I'm asking for affirmation or justification.

It's like this. I spend all day in the kitchen, preparing what I think is a great meal. I set the table, have everything plated just the way I like it, invite family and friends to sit down and leave one empty chair for Jesus. I want Him to sit down, bless the food I've prepared, share the wine I poured, enjoy it and say well done.

The problem is, He wants me to come sit at His table. While I'm trying to serve Him what I want, He's saying it's not my meal to cook. He doesn't need my cookbook, He has His own. If you really want a great meal, get out of the kitchen, stop being busy, and sit down and listen with undivided attention.

Where have you been praying for answers but you're not receiving them because what you want is in the way of what you need? Where the discomfort of truth is blocked by the calm of convenience? Where you are so busy preparing a meal that Jesus doesn't want to eat? Where your faith in you is bigger than your faith in Him?

If you need wisdom ask. But when you ask, clear the table and let Him serve.