Stop Stargazing! Get a Move On!
Easter has come and gone for another year. I am still basking in The Greatest Love Story ever told that altered the face of all humanity.
With a heart filled with gratitude for what Jesus did for me on the cross, there was a time in my life when the events that took place at The Ascension that got my attention and changed the way I viewed God’s purpose and call on my life forever.
It happened like this:
I jolted straight up in bed out of a sound sleep. I looked at the clock - 2 A.M. I sat on the side of the bed, trembling, as my thoughts started screaming out to the Lord. “I cannot teach the Bible study course with Carol next week. None of the promises You have made me have come to past; I have nothing to offer anyone!”
Several years ago Carol, my friend and neighbor, had asked me to co-teach a class with her in her home. Carol and I were “Sidekicks,” as we referred to one another, doting on the Word, and talking about the Lord for hours. We giggled like school girls with the thought, “We are going to have a New Testament Church in Carol’s living room.”
As much as I wanted to be a part of this adventure, there were circumstances going on at the time that the very thought of ministering to others seemed unrealistic.
And so, at 2 A.M., those thoughts came pounding down on me and woke me up from a sound sleep. I decided I had to get out of the house and get some things settled with the Lord.
I slipped out of bed quietly, so as to not wake up my husband, tip-toed to my car, and went for a ride in the night! Up and down the dark country roads I rode screaming out, “Where are you, Lord? What about your promises to me? None of them have come to pass! How do you expect me to help someone else when my prayers are not even being answered?”
As daylight approached, I slipped back into my house. Thankfully, my husband was still asleep. (Whew!) Once he left for work, I still felt the urge to get away, so I drove to a park where I had walked and prayed many times. I parked my car, walked out to a picnic table several feet into the woods, and sat down with my Bible. “Okay, Lord, we need to get come things straight before I help teach a class!”
All of a sudden, a man drove up in front of my car and started beckoning me to come to him. Fear gripped me. I couldn’t run to my car - he had it blocked, nor could I run deeper in the woods for fear he might chase after me. I looked around and there were no other people in the park.
And so, my talk with the Lord changed its tune: “He that dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord; He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in Him will I trust. He shall give His angels charge over me.”
Over and over I recited Psalm 91 while keeping one eye on the man. What seemed like eternity, he drove away.
Once back home, I finally came to my senses. I could have wrecked my car driving on the dark country roads, or gotten raped in the park if God had not dispatched a host of angels to protect me.
As I became quite, I begin to hear the Lord talk to me from Acts 1:7-11.
“When I was about to ascend into heaven, the disciples asked me: ‘When are you going to restore Israel?’” I replied to them: “Never mind when I am going to do what I have promised you I would do; it’s not for you to know the time.” (vs. 7)
He then pointed me to what the angels said to the disciples as they stargazed up into heaven after Him. “Stop stargazing. You are delaying the work God has called you to do! Get a move on!” (vs. 11 Paraphrased)
And so it was, several people testified of receiving healing from past hurts as my “Sidekick” and I taught the Word at our New Testament Church on Rosewood Drive, Orange, Texas. As I look back today, it also became the launching pad for me to begin teaching God’s Word in places I had never dreamed of.
And just for the record, I have never taken another ride in the night - one in a lifetime is enough!
*****
Is there anything delaying the work God has called you to do?
Are you waiting for God’s promises to you to be fulfilled?
Are you waiting on the approval of others?
Do you have feelings of inadequacies?
Are you afraid of facing persecution?
Have you discovered your passion and gifts?
Other?
I encourage you to stop stargazing and get a move on! Someone needs to be blessed by the gift God has given you.
