Day 2 - Our Most Important Asset

[MandoRon]

Good morning! Did everyone catch the sunset last night?

Fred is out of town this week and asked me to help out by starting threads this week. So here goes...

Today's study talks about having a crisis mind-set. Sometimes it takes a crisis to drive us towards God and then we will be able to clearly hear His voice.

Dwayne Moore also talks about the three steps that the people of Judah took to prepare themselves to listen:

• they consecrated themselves
• they confessed their need for God
• they concentrated on God

How did God speak to you today? Please share your response to The Daily Surrender.

[MandoRon]

The commentary on Jehoshaphat's reaction in verse 3 really struck home with me. My normal reaction to crisis is to do the opposite. I try to fix it relying on my own skills, experience, talent, etc... Only when none of that works do I lean on God.

I'm surrendering to not make decisions more often, and rely on God to speak to me. I'm "grossly inadequate". I'm missing opportunities to hear from God, to learn, and to grow spiritually. My results are not nearly as great as His results would be.

[RuthABraun]

I was struck by the author's discussion from the bottom of P. 60 to the top of P. 61 about why we lead worship and the crisis state of the people in the congregation. My job is not just to minister to people from afar, from on a stage, but to minister to them personally as well. Since we have a unique perspective on the congregation, being able to see their faces during a time when they may be the most transparent, we have been given an opportunity to see what's in their hearts and on their minds and come beside them to help them break through the walls between them and God. Wow, what an awesome responsibility and priviledge!

God, I thank you not only for the work You are doing in our congregation, but also that You have given me the faith to wait on You. You have promised that "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus"; You will not leave us or forsake us. Our chains will be broken, our lives will be healed, our eyes will be opened and Christ will be revealed to us in all his glory.

Song for the day: "You'll Come", written by Brooke Frasier.

I have decided, I have resolved to wait upon You, Lord
My Rock and Redeemer, my Shield and Reward, I'll wait upon You, Lord
As surely as the sun will rise, You'll come to us
Certain as the dawn appears

You'll come
Let Your glory fall as You respond to us
Spirit, rain, flood into our thirsty hearts again
You'll come

We are not shaken, we are not moved, we wait upon You, Lord
Mighty Deliverer, our Triiumph and Truth, we wait upon You, Lord
As surely as the sun will rise, You'll come to us
Certain as Your word endures

You'll come.

[efrisch]

I think there's a really good point here: most of us acknowledge that when we are in "crisis mode" we need God's help, but we don't realize just how often we are in that state of mind. To think that our Sunday morning services are not times when at least some of the people in our churches are in crisis is naive. I'm guilty of that. It's easy to assume that everybody else in the room is feeling about the same way you are, good or bad, but that's rarely the case.

God, help me to better sense the needs of the people You have called me to lead! Help me to be in "crisis mode" this Sunday morning, and may passionate worship result.

[Wannabe a Worshiper]

Wow! Have I been spanked today. How often do I stand before my people totally oblivious to the burdens each one is carrying; concerned mostly that nothing goes wrong.

The sentence that jumped out at me, on p.59, "We're leading men and women into spiritual battle every week! Our own smarts are grossly inadequate; we must rely on the Lord's constant direction."
How often do we think in those terms: Leading people into spiritual battle?

O God, give me eyes to see what lies just under the surface of those I'm leading. Teach me to care much more than I do. Give me the songs to sing and the words to say that will lead us to put on our spiritual armor.

[MandoRon]

Well said Wannabe!

[Wrapped in Jesus Love!]

It looks like the same thing hit most of us in today's lesson. The statement about the men and women in our churches who are in spiritual battlesis a crisis we face every Sunday. It makes sense and is so right on - but I've never really thought about it that way before. I know I am up there leading worship but never really considered it to be a crisis situation. I think when I stand up there leading worship my thoughts on what I want God to accomplish on Sundays may be a bit different now.

[Maggievt]

as with everyone else, the same section hit me - that every Sunday we are looking at people in crisis.

For me, the [I]determined to hear from our God[I] hit me - the visual of all of those people, standing there, fasting for who knows how long, determined to hear from God.

I am rarely at that point - 'determined' to hear from Him. I still am very much 'Hey, Lord, when You have a minute.......' yet, as with many of us, there will be those times/have been those times when I need to stand firm and wait for directions and KNOW they will come. It is when slapped up the head by this stuff that I know my faith is not what it could be, will be, MUST be to be in this position I hold.

Mother Theresa used to pray to have enough faith that she would 'Love Him the most of anyone' - she used to worry about her weak faith!

Oh, for a faith like that - that wants only to love God above all.

Maggie

[Rogenia]

I believe that I was born in a crisis mode. I was always one of these people that always had to have something going on in their lives to function. I truly believe that is how I came to know and rely on God. Because the crisis became unbearable and to the point whereas they were beyond my limitations of taking care of them in my own strength.

Today, through the grace of God, I am able to minister and help others that rely on crisis situations to get them through. It is not so much the crisis, but knows what your help comes from and your strength.

For example, Jacob recognized the power that supported him through his crisis and so did I (Gen. 32:1-2). As Jacob traveled "on his way," he received assurance from angels. God's assurance comes to a believer through obedience, not before obedience. A believer never faces a crisis without God's presence.

Second, in crisis Jacob humbly prayed (Gen. 32:9-12). Jacob may not have had a regular prayer life. Yet, Jacob's prayer provides a model for any believer in the midst of crisis.

Third, in the midst of a crisis, Jacob clung to the person of God (32:24-32). Jacob planned (v. 7-8), prayed (vv. 9-12), and planned some more (vv. 13-21). Neither planning nor prayer is a substitute for the other. Both prayer and planning are important. Jacob reached the end of what he could do; he lacked the resources to handle this situation. For the first time in his life, he was powerless. While a believer derives strength from others in the midst of a crisis, a believer may need solitude in the crisis to hear from God. Some call him a “higher power.” I choose to call him God, my Lord and Savior.

I thank God today for any crisis that comes my way, because I know that he will never leave me or forsaken me and I am able to with stand. I can remember, when in interview for my job and was asked the question, how I would work or work in crisis situation. Told them then, I would take a break, get me a Dr. Pepper and talk with God. Between him and me, we will get through it fine and victoriously.