Understanding that God is especially interested in one’s self can be difficult. I find myself in denial, fear, and anxiousness all at the same time! Knowing that the target of someone’s word from God is you brings all the same fears immediately to the surface. In the first instance, I find myself holding the reality and intimacy of God’s presence at a distance. You cannot do that with a word from God, I know this because I keep trying.
If I am honest, I can tell you that holding God at a distance just does not work. You, I, anyone will fail in our attempt because God is and will be God. God has a master plan set in motion well before our time, in fact well before the world came into existence. God’s plan includes special acts of grace to cover all possible contingencies; you know the need – a failure here, a self-centered act there. Because God decided, the fact is that his offer, gift, and presence rest all around us, waiting for us to accept. You and I cannot do anything about God, he just is.
God decided that we are his special friends deserving only what heaven can offer. God made his decision knowing that we might fail (we did), understanding that we could turn away from him (we did), and with full knowledge that the cycle would repeat itself again and then yet again (still continues).
So where does that leave one receiving a word from God? I know you have received a word from God because His promises apply to you just as much as they do to me. This presents an awesome opportunity for each of us. Can we accept what already is? Will we respond to something defying description and belief? We make the decision alone.
The incredible part of the story one often does not hear is the next step. “Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade.” (Romans 3.28)
