Friday, December 28, 2012
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If you asked me to choose between a fast-food hamburger or let's say a home cooked pot roast dinner with all the trimmings, it wouldn't take me much time to decide. It probably wouldn't take you much time either. But having lived in metropolitan areas most of my life, it was great to rush into McDonald's or Burger King and grab something. See, often the choice has been between dinner on the run and no dinner at all. So, that was an easy choice.
But there was a time, believe it or not, when there weren't many fast-food places. (And yes, I can remember those.) We had to drive almost an hour where we lived at one point to get to a McDonalds. Oh, there were diners or expensive restaurants, but nothing really that fast.
Now it is always, of course my preference to have carefully prepared, full course meals. But sometimes, hey, you need what you need fast.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Wisdom To Go."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Nehemiah 2, and Nehemiah is the cup bearer to the King of Persia. He's had his heart broken when he's heard about the destroyed condition of his home city of Jerusalem, and he has been praying about this now for several months. And he goes before the king, and this particular conversation will turn out to change the course of history.
"I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me, 'Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This could be nothing more than sadness of heart.' I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, 'May the king live forever!'" Which, by the way, if you speak to a king that's a really good thing to say. "'Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?' The king said to me, 'What is it you want?'" Now, you can almost hear Nehemiah's knees shaking here as he says, "Then I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the king."
Well, he proceeds from here to tell all about his burden for the city. And the king responds and equips Nehemiah to go there, and miraculously that city is rebuilt in 52 days. Now, this turns out to be a decisive conversation. Nehemiah is really on the spot. Everything is riding on his answer.
Now, it's nice to be able to pray for a week isn't it when you have a moment when you really need some wisdom, and be able to study your Bible, and maybe go get some advice? But there are those moments when there is no chance for you to do all those things. You have to get it fast. So, what does Nehemiah do? He taps into one of God's most practical gifts - wisdom to go.
You're faced with those kinds of crunches on many occasions. Whenever it's possible, of course, it's best to take some time to decide your next step. It's like taking time to prepare and eat a great dinner. But in some situations you barely have time to drive up to the window and say, "Wisdom to go please...with everything on it." But God will give it to you in those pressure moments, maybe like the ones you're in right now.
He promises in James 1:5, "If ask for wisdom, when we lack it, He will give it to us liberally." Notice the kind of lifestyle, though, that gets that instant insight. Nehemiah gets it because he is already a prayed up person. He's been praying for four months about this situation. He's bathed it in prayer. He has surrendered the situation to the Lord. Back to Nehemiah 1:11 he says, "I am your servant (talking to the Lord). Give your servant success today. Lord, it's all up to you." Now comes that sudden moment of truth when the king says, "What is it you want?" Nehemiah fires off a "Help!" to heaven.
Now, your wisdom crunch may come in a moment of needing to know how to handle a situation with your child, or a situation at work, or how to respond to fast-breaking developments, or to an unexpected call. The good news is you can get the discernment you need to answer in God's will. Now, pray through the major arenas, the major relationships of your day. Bathe your life in prayer, and then pause before you answer to be sure that your line to heaven is open.
And then, fire off that prayer in your heart, and then pick up your wisdom to go.