John 1:37-39 And
the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned,
and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek
ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted,
Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come
and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day:
for it was about the tenth hour.
I remember one time, as a young college student, I was
walking down a hallway and saw the man who had just preached in chapel. His sermon had been very profound, so I
trailed him until I caught up and said, “Bro. so and so, I sure enjoyed your
preaching today.” He immediately turned,
towering over me, and demanded to know what it was specifically that I
enjoyed. His abruptness scared me and
took me off guard to the point that I forgot who I was, what I was doing and I
froze. Seriously, my mind went so blank
that I couldn’t even remember what he had preached on! Then I remembered an illustration I thought
he had used and I hurriedly repeated it and told him how good it was. His eyes seemed to stare straight into my
soul with their withering glance and he promptly turned on his heel and walked
away. It was at this moment my wits
returned from their vacation and I remembered that he wasn’t
the one who had told that illustration, rather, it had come from YESTERDAY’S
chapel sermon by a completely different preacher. Talk about embarrassing! My cheeks went hot and I felt miserable. I never spoke to that man directly again for
fear of what he might say to me. I
avoided him at all cost for the rest of my years at school and truth be told,
if I saw him today, I wouldn’t relish the thought of having to speak to him.
Andrew and John were John the Baptist’s disciples. They had just heard their own chapel sermon where John declared that Jesus was the
Lamb of God. Imagine how thrilled they
must have been! As Jesus began making
His way away from the area, Andrew and John followed Him. And that's when Jesus turned and questioned them, “What
seek ye?” Can you fathom what you would
do if you were physically there that day and Jesus turned and looked at you and
questioned you what you were looking for?
I don't know whether they hesitated or not, but they ask Jesus where he lived.
Jesus knew they wanted to get to know Him better and didn’t make fun of
their asking where he dwelled. He told
them to “Come and see”. It must have
been an exciting moment for the two men as they accepted Jesus’ invitation to
follow Him. Unlike me that day at
college with the chapel speaker, they didn’t hide from Jesus or decline the
invitation and avoid Jesus. No, they
followed Him.
I have to say, I am not a great Christian. I don’t excel in my faith how I would like
or what I imagine most Christians do. I
don’t consider myself a great prayer warrior or even a mediocre one. I struggle with my flesh and battle quite
frequently in my spiritual life. And you
know what I have come to realize? So does everyone else. We all feel like we can’t
get to know the Lord as well as the next guy.
We think preachers have some special in road with the Lord that we don’t
have and we often feel inadequate to teach a Sunday School or Ladies Bible
study. Don’t get me wrong, we can find
thrilling heights of peace and joy when we are sitting alone in our homes
reading His Word while sipping on a cup of coffee or tea. We bask in His presence and find it to be an
amazing time, until we go to church or work.
Then we begin comparing ourselves among ourselves. Someone looks at us sideways or makes an
offhand comment that leaves us hurt or angry. Our children are disobedient and we fuss with our husbands.
The week wears on and our prayers don’t seem to be getting answered and
we assume it must be because we are insignificant little dots in the vast array of
Christians God has to hear from each day.
Long forgotten are those precious moments alone with Christ and His
Word. We begin to shrivel as we doubt and
then all of a sudden He speaks to us through a Scripture as if to say, “What
seek ye?” Let’s not seize up and blurt
out what we think He wants to hear or repeat something we have heard another
say in a prayer! When we are invited to
fellowship with Him at our prayer spot, let’s not lose our minds and babble
vain repetitions! Why waste His time or
ours? Let’s just deal honestly with
Him. If our minds are prone to wander,
then tell Him, “Lord, my mind wants to wander off to think about the laundry or
my teaching schedule today, so would you help my weakness? Would you guide my thoughts and protect my
mind with the Helmet of Salvation? Lord,
I don’t feel like I belong here at your feet or even in your presence, but I know
you promise that you will draw nigh unto me if I draw nigh unto you, so here I
am, just as I am.”
Don’t turn tail and run when God’s Holy Spirit draws your
attention to a verse. Don’t wander off
thinking He doesn’t really want to spend time with you. You are of no less importance than the next
Christian! You are allowed to come to
Him. You are wanted in His presence. You matter.
The next time God nudges your heart, don’t lose your
mind like I did with that chapel speaker.
Follow His lead into His presence and dwell there with Him. Prepare yourself to withstand the day ahead
and all that awaits you. He sees what is
coming and He wants to equip you with what you need. Why would He do that for someone if He didn’t
care about them? He cares about you and
your life.
John 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
Until next time, Lord willing,
Sheri
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