Acts 5:32 NKJV
And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
Beloved,
When we receive divine encounter, it’s not for nought. It is critical that you know how to respond, and that you enjoy a sense of urgency in doing so. The man beside the pool of Bethesda is a prime of someone who totally wasted divine encounter. How? He was not prepared. As a result, he was passed up each time. It was the mercy of God alone that allowed Jesus to reach out to Him. Even then, rather than responding affirmatively, he answered with excuses, and hopelessness. To God be the glory, Jesus had a greater plan:
John 5:9-15 NKJV
And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.” He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’ ” Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
The man who needed healing did not know how to respond initially. He didn’t even know who Jesus was. But, immediately he received divine instruction, he was obedient. Beloved, the right way to respond when God speaks to you is with obedience. Do what God tells you to do and without delay. We see in the word above how the man who needed healing did exactly what Jesus told him to do, when Jesus told him to do it. It allowed Jesus to trust him with yet another instruction: “Go, and sin no more”.
What has God instructed you to do? Don’t waste divine instruction. Receive it. Keep it in your heart. Obey it. And trust God to change your life for the better, forever.
I commend you to God and to the word of His grace.
I call you blessed. I call you NATIONS.
