Nearly every time as I walk down the stairs to pick up my pen and paper, this thought comes into my mind, “What am I doing down here?”
The majority of the time I do not have a clue as to what I am supposed to write, and each time I have been shown that my fears were baseless, that long preparation time and contemplation of the subject matter of each letter is not only useless but could be a deterrent to what the Holy Spirit would have me to write. In other words, I would write what I thought sounded good, not what He wants me to write.
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matt. 6:34)
“For we walk by faith, not by sight:” (2nd Cor. 5:7)
We study the Word of God, we contemplate it at length, we ask Him to reveal the truths of it to us, and then we act upon it.
I cannot recall who said the following words, but they are worth repeating here. “Come to the Word of God empty, read until you are full, write until you understand.”
We always have our shoes on, as it were, ready to serve at a moments notice, willing to serve always. It matters not if it is with pen and paper or on the computer, whether you are alone or in a crowd, no matter where we are we are listening for the Holy Spirit and His direction in our lives, and when we are positive it is Him, after we have tested the Spirits, we act, we do not hesitate.
Each time I pick up this pen I know two things, one is that, more than likely, one of our cats is going to come and sit beside me, and two, the Holy Spirit will direct my hand in what He wants not only me to learn, but those that read these letters as well.
I trust in His leadership, for He has proven Himself trustworthy over thousands of these letters to you now. But we must be willing, I must be willing in faith to walk down those stairs, my lovely wife must be willing to give up much of her time to type them up for me and put them online, and both of us must in faith believe the truth of 1st Corinthians 15:58,
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
We look for no rewards either here or in the life to come, we are called to do this and so we obey that calling, in faith that He will continue to lead us in what He would have us to do. It really is that simple my friends, all it requires is ears to hear and a willingness to obey.
I cannot recall ever starting a letter and not finishing it, or better yet, watching it be finished, I have rarely modified my words in them after they have been completed, and I have rarely questioned anything that has been written, but I often ask myself that question as I walk down those stairs, and many times I question His choice of using me to write them. I am no scholar, I am not a learned man, I speak only one language and that not very well, but I am available.
I have chosen to empty myself and then pray for Him to fill me with what I need to accomplish what He has set before me.
And that is all He asks of you.
You do not need to wonder how He will use you; He qualifies the chosen for the tasks that He would have you to do, all you need to do is study His Word and pray to be used. The sincere heart is always available for His glory.
And there you see it, the end of the letter has arrived, once again my fears have been assuaged, the walk down these steps has proven profitable for His glory.
Empty vessels do not just wait to be filled, they ask to be filled.
