January 24, 2023

Exactly how He said it would be

_{So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover. Luke 22:13}

I know it is not always easy to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit when you sense them.  Sometimes, it can be downright scary.  Maybe you have in the past sensed that He was nudging you to invite someone to a small group or church service, but you had all the reasons why they would not want to come or maybe you had an unction to pray with someone but felt like you would offend them if you did.  The doubts and arguments of why it won’t be successful always come.  In fact, we can make a plan ahead of time to combat those reasonings by determining that when you sense those urgings you will ignore or have a scripture ready to cast down the imagination that tries to discourage you.

Imagine being one of Jesus disciples when Jesus told them to go into the city and a man will meet you with a pitcher of water.  Follow him home and ask the owner where their guest room is because you and your small group are going to use it for a ministry meeting.  I don’t know about you, but I would be a little bit uneasy about following these directions. Yet, when the disciples did go, they found things to be just the way Jesus said they would be.  However, I’m sure they followed each instruction slowly and deliberately making sure each step of the way was working out.  I can see them walking into a town and a man with a water pitcher walks up so they begin to follow him, a way back to try to be inconspicuous.  The man probably noticed them and wondered what they were up to.  Then when they told him they were going to follow him home to talk to his master, most likely more questions came up.  However, the point is that when Jesus gave them direction, they followed because they knew He had been right in the past.  They had been following Him step by step for three years now, so they were getting used to seemingly unusual instructions by this time.

It’s a clear example of what it means to be a disciple/follower of God.  Taking the steps that He leads and trusting when you get to the place, He points to that it will be set up the way He said it would be.  I have many examples of it happening in my life, but one particular time was when I wanted to have a small meeting at my house with others that I could encourage and connect with.  I didn’t have much support on the outside from family or friends, but I felt impressed that it was a step of faith that I needed to take.  There were only a couple of people that God put on my heart to invite and quite frankly, I didn’t know them well at all.  I was sure it was going to be an invitation only, with no positive response. However, those that I invited happily accepted the invitation and the friendships that were developed there have grown into relationships for a lifetime.  It was uncomfortable reaching out, but I am so thankful that I did.  Not only did it impact me, but it impacted those that really needed the connection at that time in their life.  A simple invitation that I reluctantly gave proved to be exactly the direction I was being led and all it took was a simple step of faith.  The risk was minimal.  If I was turned down, I might have felt a little embarrassed, but it certainly wasn’t going to hurt me beyond that.  God gives us simple steps to take so that when we see it all work out, we can remember next time how that prompting turned into a connection that He had been working on all along.

Today I want to encourage you to listen closely to the nudging and promptings you are feeling on the inside.  Recognize that it is the Holy Spirit within you leading you in the path of success.  Don’t pass up the opportunities He is leading you to.  When you follow, you will trust His directions more the next time and if you pass that urging up, you will become less sensitive to His voice inside the next time.  Don’t miss out on the many blessings and opportunities God is leading you to through His Spirit inside.  Decide today to take those faith steps when you sense them and walk out all the goodness in this life that your Father has planned for you.  Know that every prompting will lead you to the place exactly how He said it would be.

Today’s scripture reading: Luke 22:7-13

7 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. 

8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”

9 So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?”

10 And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. 

11 Then you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ 

12 Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.”

13 So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.