Recently a sister in Canada included this passage in her post to me, “Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, who before was preached unto you:” (Act 3:19-20 KJ2000 – emphasis added).
As I read it I was taken with these words, “times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord… and He shall send Jesus Christ…” Where do we as “typical Christians” seek our times of refreshing? Most of us seek the presence of other Christians. We run off to a “church service” or a Christian gathering with little thought about seeking the Lord’s personal presence. “Fellowship” with the saints is a good thing, but it can be a substitute for the best fellowship there is and rob us of that personal touch that only the Lord can give if we don’t understand that our “times of refreshing” are to be found in “the presence of the Lord.” HE is our total sufficiency in all things.Too many of us rely on special Christian gatherings to take us into God’s presence. What will we do when we get cut off from all that in days ahead?
Paul wrote, “And such trust have we through Christ toward God: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;” (2Co 3:4-5 KJ2000). It is evident that very hard times are coming upon us in the near future. In America and in much of the developed world we are looking at the impending collapse of our economies. We look to bankers and politicians for help and they demand more power to “fix the problem” and what happens? It only get worse. The answer is not to be found by seeking help from men, but rather in our individually seeking our help from Jesus. If we learn to know Him as our help in time of need, now, when the waters are only starting to rise, we will be ready when the enemy comes in like a flood. When the dam breaks and the waters are rushing down upon you, it is no time to be shopping for a boat.
“For we have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our weaknesses; but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:15-16 KJ2000)
Now is the time to learn to come boldly into the throne of grace. We are in great need of faith in Christ as our High Priest… faith that will carry us through the days ahead.
A Wilderness Voice 
I consider myself blessed that the individual who pointed me in Jesus’ direction taught me to abide within this relationship. Nothing is more important, nothing can replace what amounts to our dependence upon Him for everything.
In the years since, God has often stripped me of many other things I’ve relied upon for both peace and security. That has rarely been other people, though it has been “their books” and the like. Even that reliance is now almost non-existent.
Today, few can tolerate or accept the outside of the box message many of us proclaim. It’s not merely our refusal to support institutions and their hierarchies, it’s our bent in proclaiming each mans need for Jesus Himself. It’s not as if we cannot learn of Him through others or see Him manifested through them, rather, it’s our own individual pursuit of Him that makes us useful for Him and unto others. Jesus only shines and relays His glory through those who walk closely with Him. So it was with Moses, so it is with us.
I agree, tough times are near Michael. This is somewhat troubling and yet opportunistic as well. Provided we stand fast, others will notice and hopefully a few more called unto our Fathers glory.
Beautiful picture. Kinda reminds me of my life right now.
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Dear Forgotten,
Another lesson I have learned from this story of the storm on the lake was that Jesus must have heard the Father say, “Get in the boat with the disciples and go to the other side of the lake.” So, he got in the boat and told the disciples to sail to the other side of the lake. God’s will was that they reach the other side, not sail out half way and drown in a storm. He had so much faith in His ability to hear the Father and to do only His will that He was able to sleep through the commotion knowing that they would reach their destination. Now THAT is faith and obedience! Yes, Jesus was awoken by the panicky disciples and He did rebuke the storm, but even that was doing only what the Father told Him to do.
Thanks for your comments and shared insight. I have found that God will often cut us off from all that distracts us from knowing and trusting in Him as our Father and Jesus as our brother. Part of that process is to kick our religious props out from under us, or as in this case, raise up a large enough storm around our boat that we despair of all our individual and even team efforts among the saints to fix the problem and finally call out to Him alone for help. As we each learn to yield to the leadership of His Spirit and bow to His will alone, we learn what it means to be the sons of God. The storm around my boat started when I started to pray in earnest that the Father would make me like His Son — only speaking what I hear Him saying and only doing what I see Him doing.
I wish I could say that it was a magic wand answer that I got, but it has been more like what Jesus said about Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not: and when you have returned, strengthen your brethren.” Or as Isaiah put it, “In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength…”
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