LADY AT DUKE

     
Rev. Gordon Sebastian told the true story about the lady in his church.  The local doctors in Wilson, NC, tried to diagnose and treat her but were unsuccessful.  So they sent her to Duke Diagnostic Clinic where the nation's most brilliant minds conferred that day on her case.

Gordon recounted, "Early that morning she was placed on a table in a back examining room while blood was drawn and tests were run.  More tests, more doctors.  Intrigued, the physicians met several times.  They discussed her case and worked together until late afternoon, pouring over X-rays, analyzing test results.  Still alone on the table, she waited but no one came.  Finally a janitor found her there and told her everyone had gone home."

Everyone was so busy working on her case but they forgot about HER and left her there.  How can professionals do that?  Probably the same way we Christians get so busy in the Lord's work that we forget about time with Him.  We leave Him in a back corner of our lives, intending to go see Him but working FOR God replaces being WITH God.

I've done it.  More than once.

Some things are easy for me:

• busyness
• checklists
• being on-the-go
• talking
• organizing
• activity

Other things are difficult for me:

• stillness
• silence
• solitude
• rest
• listening
• doing nothing

Yet when I do the hard things, I can "Be STILL. . .and KNOW GOD" and I find that "PERFECT PEACE" when my mind is STAYED on God.  The old hymn is familiar to sing but harder to live:  "STAYED upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed, finding as He promised perfect peace and rest."

"Be not WEARY in WELL DOING. . ."

Schedule time with God

• often
• alone
• long

A recent devotion indicates I'm not the only one to leave God strapped to the back table of my life at times.

So Dry and Thirsty

"If you knew . . . who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

John 4:10, NIV

While the woman of Samaria and I have many differences, we have one thing in common. I, too, find myself from time to time running on empty.  In the busyness of ministry, the weariness of activity, the excitement of opportunity, I sometimes wake up and realize, "I am so dry and thirsty." Invariably, when I examine myself, the reason for the dryness of spirit can be traced to one thing. I'm not drinking freely of the Water of Life. I'm neglecting my Bible study. I'm rushing through my prayer time. I'm not listening to the voice of the Lord because I'm just too busy to be still. At those times I carve out quiet interludes to confess my sins and read and meditate and pray and listen and just drink Him in.

Aren't you glad that well of Living Water never runs dry, even when we do?

Blessings!

Kathy