We've all been there...minding our own business...when you begin to feel Him nudging you..."what me?" You look around and then you see him or her and your heart pounds harder...but then your hands start to sweat and your mind starts to race..."Oh, Father...now? Me? But, I'm on my way to work...You don't want me to be late...I work so I can tithe and give to others...what if he/she gets offended? What? You want me to offer them a ride? You know what my Mom would say if I did that...she would so freak out...if I die how can I continue to serve You?????? God? Is this really YOU???"
Okay, so now you're passing by the bus stop and the person you KNOW you're supposed to offer a ride to...looks directly in your eyes...as you drive by....the nudging from God gets so strong that you cannot resist so you drive around the block and when you get back there...the person's gone...
Is hesitation, disobedience? What if today is that person's last day on earth? What if that person is in a domestic violence relationship and they were praying to God for someone, anyone to care, to offer to help...and God nudged you...and you didn't respond?
WHY DO WE HESITATE WHEN GOD SAYS GO??
I call it trying to rationalize an irrational act. Our mind starts making up excuses not to act and they can be rational thoughts. "It isn't safe to pick up strangers in this day and age." "I could get sanctioned for being late to work." "My car is almost out of gas"...to the world this is responsible thinking.
What we need to think when we sense that undeniable nudge from Jesus...
Mark 2:13-14 - "Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to Him, and He began to teach them. As He walked along, He saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me." Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed Him.
Forget about being late to work...Matthew was AT work and he immediately - without hesitation - got up and followed Jesus. Wow!! Jesus had dinner at his house that night. We have the book of Matthew in the Bible and so much more because he didn't hesitate.
Just think what would have happened if Matthew gave into that "rational/irrational" thinking? He could have rationalized his way out of eternity...
Roy Kostner is a Valedictorian and was asked to give a speech at his South Carolina High School graduation. He took the time to write a speech but when he stepped up to the podium...he ripped up his speech...and he said he was so thankful that his parents led him to Christ at a young age...and then he recited the Lord's prayer!! You see prayer had recently been banned at school functions. He jumped out in faith and did what God nudged him to do...God doesn't call us to do easy things...He calls us to do the hard stuff, the take-your-breath-away stuff, the stuff that is crazy to the world but life transforming to the lost...
There are consequences to hesitation...
I was walking to the doctor's office with my Dad and I looked across the sidewalk and heard a senior calling out to someone. His right leg was shaking fiercely, he was using a rollator but there was no one by him. In my head I was running towards him, but in reality I was hesitating, "Surely, whoever is with him will grab him." Then it was like God nudged me with His foot and I ran over to the senior as he was going down. I grabbed him and held him as his leg continued to shake violently. He kept calling out a name...his daughter's...and I continued to hold him and calm him down. Eventually his daughter was there and about 3 other people. I turned him around and sat him down. His daughter finished parking the car and came back. She was very grateful that I held him but terrified of what would have happened if he fell on the concrete.
According to his hat he was a Veteran of World War II and his skin was thin, he was hard of hearing and his face was filled with fear. So, if he had fallen and broken a hip or hit his head...that would have been a life changer for this man. The beginning of the end for many seniors. Inaction has consequences...I'm just thankful he held on until I moved.
So many times we remain inactive because we think, "SURELY, someone else will go..." If I had moved immediately maybe the man would have calmed down faster. He wouldn't have had to call out in fear to his daughter, because he would have been safe sooner, if only I didn't hesitate.
For a little conviction read, The Cost of Following Jesus in Luke 9:57-62...hesitation can cost everything. "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" `Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself.' (Luke 10:27) Now read Luke 1-:25-37, the story of the Good Samaritan...so which one are you?
In Matthew 9: 18-26, Jesus was talking and a man comes up to Him and tells Him that his daughter just died. The man asks Jesus to come put a hand on his daughter so she might live again. Jesus did not hesitate, He immediately got up to go with the man. But, wait..."Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years came up behind Him and touched the edge of His cloak. She said to herself, "If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed." Jesus turned and saw her. `Take heart, daughter,' he said, `your faith has healed you.' And the woman was healed from that moment." Jesus then walked on to the man's house and took the dead girl's hand and she stood up!!
I think of this woman who has been bleeding for 12 years. Can you even imagine? She had no PCP to go to, no tests to be run, no diagnosis, possibly no hope. Until she heard about Jesus. She may have seen Jesus before and watched Him heal people. Maybe she was standing in the crowds listening to Him many times before. She may have been having rational/irrational thoughts, "What will I say to Him? Master? Rabbi? I've got this personal problem...I can't do this in front of so many people...this is humiliating and embarrassing. What if He tells me it's my fault? What if He won't heal me? I am nobody...why would He even care about me? I get all tongue tied when I try to talk about things that matter, I'll sound like a fool and He'll just walk by...I just can't do this." Maybe she embraced this negative thinking because she was terrified of being rejected AGAIN. Maybe her family has disowned her. Maybe she really liked a man but couldn't consider the possibilities because of her horrible, gross, disgusting, ugly condition. There were no tampons back then, no Kotex. How many times had she gone to the marketplace with blood stains on her clothes? How many nights had she cried herself to sleep? How many prayers had she prayed begging God for help?
What if she had been close to talking to Jesus many times, but each time her thoughts got in the way of her taking action...oh how she hesitated so many times before.
But, in her heart she knew Jesus could heal her. "If only I touch the hem of His garment...He is almighty, I don't have to talk to Him...I just have to get close enough to touch..."
She was ready to move...her hands were sweating, she was crying - from fear, from the belief she really could be healed, from hope - she weaved in and out and pushed people aside, "Excuse me, excuse me." He got up to go to the man's house and His disciples flanked Him, "Oh no, I've got to get around them before they tell me to leave Him alone..." Her heart was about to beat out of her chest as she reached out to touch Him, He took a step to the right but it didn't phase her, she was committed, nothing would stop her now, she was about ready to call out His name she was so charged...she saw absolutely nothing but the hope of a transformed life and she reached out...her fingers covered with dirt, broken nails, tears blurred her vision, she was about to scream at Him to stop when she did it!!! She went to touch His sleeve, but she lost her balance and in front of her was the hem of His cloak...wrapped in her hand.
IMMEDIATELY she changed. Jesus felt her. She didn't touch Him...she had only His clothes in her grasp but He knew she was there!!!
He stopped. He knew everything about her. He knew her shame, embarrassment, brokenness, pain. He knew how many times she couldn't bring herself to approach Him. He knew how many times she hesitated. He knew just how hard this was for her to do.
He smiled because she found the courage to act.
He was so proud of her! He looked her in the eyes and He spoke directly to her, "Take heart, daughter." She would never forget the sound of His voice, the words He spoke. He healed her. He made her whole. He gave her hope and a future. He gave her eternal life. She was indeed a changed woman! Hallelujah!!
If you are a Christ follower and are praying for less of you and more of Christ then it's gonna happen again. He's gonna nudge you to action.
Don't hesitate...trust Him.
"Take heart, daughter/son..."
In His service, deni
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