The Season Of Preparation

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

There is a season of preparation for every servant of God, but very few are willing to pay the price of being made ready for the task. The prophet Isaiah describes the season of preparation of the Messiah: “The LORD has called Me from the womb; from the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, and made Me a polished shaft; in His quiver He has hidden Me” (Is. 49:1-2). Like a polished arrow, Jesus was prepared and hidden in the quiver of His heavenly Father.

The “quiver experience” is very hard for most people. Many would think that after going through the painful experiences of being polished and sharpened in the hands of God, they are ready to be sent forth. But now they ask, why am I waiting aimlessly in the secret place of the Master’s quiver? But this is a time to learn patience. God has a perfect time to “shoot” forth the believer so that it hits the mark God ordains for him. Look at Jesus. He came to the earth at the perfect moment in history. Galatians 4:4 says, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son.” Jesus, who was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, waited patiently for the moment in which He would be revealed.

Moses was destined to be the great leader of Israel, but there was a perfect time known only to God for the release of that “arrow.” When Moses killed the Egyptian, it was not the perfect time for him to be Israel’s spiritual leader. Moses had to be in the quiver for another 40 years. David was destined to be king over Israel. He was anointed when he was about 17 years of age, but he did not ascend to the throne until he was 30. David had to wait in the quiver for 13 years.

While David could have killed Saul on a number of occasions to gain the throne for himself, he did not. He chose to submit himself to God’s divine time and not man’s. Temptations and pressure will come to you, from without and from within, urging you to move ahead of God’s timing. However, let us develop patience and wait for the timing of the Lord, for He is the only perfect Marksman. Remember the exhortation in Hebrews 6:12 that says, “That you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Beautiful Savoir

We are the reason

God Tests The Heart

But, O LORD of hosts, You who judge righteously, testing the mind and the heart, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You I have revealed my cause. Jeremiah 11:20

God tests the mind and the heart of His servants. He will arrange situations to reveal a person’s true inner motivations, intentions, thoughts, values and priorities that cause him to make choices or act in a certain way. In Numbers 22-24, Balak, the king of Moab, saw how Israel had defeated all of her enemies in the land. He feared they would destroy his nation as well. Consequently, he offered to pay the prophet Balaam to curse Israel and to put an end to their victories (22:6). Balaam responded to Balak that the Lord had told him not to go with the elders of Moab to curse the people of Israel. Balak tried again, sending more distinguished ambassadors to persuade Balaam to do otherwise (22:15).

This time, God told Balaam to go with the elders of Moab and Midian, but to speak only the word that He would give (22:20). Balaam went to Balak, but each time he inquired of the Lord, the Lord told him to bless Israel. And this greatly frustrated the Moabites and Midianites. But God was testing Balaam’s motivation. God allowed Balak to tempt the prophet’s motivation continually. Would he sell out, or would he be faithful to God’s word? Balaam was tempted again and again and each time the size of the bribe increased (22:7, 15, 17). Unfortunately, it appeared that Balaam’s motivation did not stay pure, though he initially tried to remain faithful to speaking only the word of the Lord (23:12, 26). Balaam failed the test.

Deuteronomy 8:2 says, “And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” Deuteronomy 8:16 says, “Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end.”

We see then that God uses tests to expose our heart condition, not to harm us, but to do us good in the end. It is to purify us so that our desires are for His kingdom and His glory. A person may serve God for what he can get out of God, rather than what he can give to Him. A person may use his gifts to glorify himself, rather than God. God puts His servants through tests to expose any ungodly desire, so that He can replace it with a righteous desire to serve Him out of a pure heart of love. “He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness” (Mal. 3:3).

James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Therefore, do not be double-minded like Balaam, but draw near to God and stay pure in your heart toward Him.

One Last Suggestion For Daily Devotions

Please Don't Give Up!
If you miss a meal, it does not mean that you should give up eating. The same is true of your quiet time. It takes time to develop and maintain good habits. Remember, a habit is like a ball of twine: every time you drop it, many strands unwind. Develop good habits by doing your best to:

Always be consistent, so that spending time with the Lord each day will become rooted in your life.

Avoid exceptions that will take you away from your quiet time. Recognize that yielding to such distractions will only reinforce the idea that other things are more important.

Another Helpful Hint For Daily Devotions

Be Ready For A Spiritual Battle.
Satan will fight you tooth and nail to keep you from your daily meeting with the Lord. He hates nothing more than seeing a Christian getting down to business with God, because he knows that such believers are dangerous to his kingdom of darkness. Watch out for these problems:

The Battle of the Blankets
Almost every morning you will be tempted to hit the snooze button and sleep in and shorten or miss your time with God. Resist at all costs! Go to bed early enough and with thoughts of Scripture (the night before leave your Bible open to the passage you'll read in the morning) and get out of bed immediately when you wake up!

Concentration
Your mind will easily wander. Make sure you are ready. Try praying out loud in a whisper to help you stay alert when sleepy. Avoid having your quiet time in bed. Take a shower, drink some coffee, and keep a notebook handy so that when your mind wanders to a task that you need to do that day you can write it down, and then forget about it until later. Take control of wandering thoughts. Keep bringing your mind back with quiet firmness and without scolding yourself.

Dry Seasons
Sometimes you won't feel like you are getting anything out of your daily devotions. Just realize that obedience to truth is more important than following your emotions. Feelings come and go but the Word of the Lord endures forever (1 Peter 1:25). If you only had a quiet time when you felt like it, the devil would make sure you never felt like it. Dryness can be caused by:

Disobedience
is there unconfessed sin in your life?

Your Physical Condition
Are you getting enough rest?

Rushing
Don't try to do too many things. Be simple.

Routine
You have to watch out for staleness.

Selfishness
Start sharing your insights with others. Don't hog them!

Satan's most vicious attacks will come in connection with your desire to be diligent in your quiet time. He knows that if he can keep you out of the Word, he has defeated you. If he can keep you from spending quality time with the Lord at the start of a day, then he's won the battle. Expect these types of attacks. Dropping your quiet time is usually the first step in spiritual backsliding. You must persevere!

How to start a daily devotion

Tips For A Great Daily Devotion

Have a Basic Plan.
It's been said, "lf you aim at nothing, you are sure to hit it!" To have a meaningful daily devotions, you will need a plan or some kind of general outline to follow for your quiet time. It could be something as simple as this:

Briefly Pray
Invite Jesus to be with you (Psalm 139:23-24; 119:18).

Praise God
Read a Psalm out loud to God or sing a praise song to get your heart and spirit in an attitude of worship. Daily devotions are a form of worship.

Read the Bible
Read slowly, systematically (not randomly) and read only a small amount. If you are on a Bible in a year reading plan then after you have finished your assigned reading choose a smaller portion of Scripture that you just read to review again more devotionally. You might want to try reading out loud as if the Lord were speaking to you personally.

Meditate
You can meditate on Scripture by reading the passage out loud a few times, asking questions, memorizing a verse, reading in a couple of different translations, paraphrasing it in your own words, and so forth. Talk with God about how this verse relates to your life and how He wants you to practically apply this truth.

Journal
Write down any thought God gives you, as well as any applications.

Close in Prayer
After God has spoken His Word to you; speak to Him. Include times of adoration, worship, thanksgiving, confession, intercession, and petition. Occasionally vary your physical positions in prayer (kneeling/standing). Tell God how you desire to respond to Him today.