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www.truthworks.com 27 FEB 04 devotion archive |
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UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER I tell you the Truth, Living in southern West Virginia, only minutes from the New River and Gauley River, puts me close to the whitewater rafting action. If you’ve rafted either of them, you probably know that the New River offers lots of fun and adventure. It’s a family journey down the river, almost an educational trip when you hire the right guide. You’ll see plenty of wildlife, a few class 4 or 5 rapids and lots of splashing fun. But the Gauley River is different. While the New River occasionally takes you on an adrenaline rush, the Gauley River grabs you and won’t let go. Rafting the New River is good preparation, but it still can’t substitute for the experience you’ll have on the Gauley. You must experience the Gauley to be able to understand what I mean. It’s like a two hour roller coaster ride that just won’t stop. The New River will leave you with some neat experiences and memories. The Gauley River will leave you with a new respect, an awe of the power and might of rushing water. For me, the respect I gained from the Gauley River didn’t come from standing on the bank watching the water roar past me. It didn’t even come from manning the raft that would take us through treacherous waters. The respect I gained from the Gauley came at a point where our raft was “surfing” beneath a hydraulic. As we surfed around the white foam, I was suddenly and violently pulled backwards, thrown into a spin and found myself underneath the raft. Walking my hands on the bottom side of the raft, I popped up several yards downstream like a fishing bobber. Then the fun started. The rapids were carrying me (and two other passengers) further from the raft, taking us under and bobbing us back up again. Within several minutes we were all back in the safety of the raft and no one was hurt. That experience overwhelmed me with a new sense of awe for the dynamic power of moving water. You can’t put into words how formidable a force moving water is until you’ve been thrown around, turned upside down and held under at its own mercy. I believe that’s what Isaiah felt when he encountered the fullness of a Holy God.
Isaiah 6: Isaiah’s encounter with God was nothing like he had experienced before. This is not to say that Isaiah had never experienced the presence of God. Isaiah was fully aware of God’s might and power. He was a scholar of the scriptures and understood who God was. He recognized Him as Lord and Creator. But Isaiah had a new encounter this day. He stepped out of the ordinary and into the realm of the holy. He laid face down, sought the Lord with all his soul and experienced God in a way that would cause him to shutter in respect.
Isaiah 6: If you’re born again, you’ve had an experience with God. You’ve witnessed His grace and mercy. Too often however, we leave our experience there at the day of salvation. Occasionally we’ll watch God’s power and might from the river bank. And every once in a while, we’ll step into the raft and cast off from the bank. But when you’ve seen a life truly changed by the power and might of a Holy God, you’ve seen a life that has been pulled from the raft and drawn into the presence and deepness of God. There are times when God will jerk us from the raft and pull us under. It’s an experience we can’t forget. It changes us from the inside out. Isaiah had that experience. And when God spoke the question that still echoes, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah was quick to respond, “Here am I. Send me!” I’m not here today to tell you how to have that experience with God. But I am here today to tell you that you can’t have that experience with God by standing on the bank. You and I cannot create, nor recreate such an experience that Isaiah had. But we can easily avoid such an experience by never spending the time we need with God – in prayer, in His word and seeking His face. It’s not a question of how I can have that close encounter with God. It’s a question of, “Do I want to have a close encounter with God?” I encourage you today to stay close to God. Reach for Him daily. Seek His face. Keep seeking God and trust that the unexpected moments will come when God will take you deep. You can’t predict when it will happen but you can predict that it won’t happen if you fail to seek Him.
Your Servant, <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< Prayer Requests (and Praises!) “I have been on ur sight before but I have never really gotten
into the lessen and purpose u have for me and now I realize. I want to say a
prayer and praise request for my cousin’s girlfriend. She and he have never been
really strong. She had a baby at age 14 who is now almost 4 and she is soon to
be the mother of another. But a few days ago my parents went to her mother in
laws house to try to save that baby’s life. Well she had planned to have an
abortion the next morning but my dad went and talked to her. God really spoke
through him and my aunt called shortly after my parents left and said that she
and Shannon (the mother) were going to shop for maternity cloths the next
morning. My prayer request is that the baby will be born healthy because early
in her pregnancy she was hooked on marijuana... she is now off of it but now
her fear is that the baby won’t be healthy. I just want to pray that her and my
cousin will come to be in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and that if
it is God will that the baby will be born healthy. Thank you so much, Please reply if you have prayer requests, comments or simply need an open ear. I always enjoy hearing from you.
<*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))<
<*))))))< <*))))))<
Copyright © 200
Unless otherwise specified, all scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV.
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