Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
(Proverbs 1:23 NASB)
If we want to sail with the wind of God’s Spirit, there are times that we need to change direction. In her beautiful book, Openings: Glimpses of God’s Grace, my friend Jean McAllister illustrates this.
She offers us fifty-two inspiring meditations, combining truths of Scripture with her rich experiences. I’m reading her book slowly, as she suggests, taking one meditation for each week of the year.
In her meditation “A Delight to Turn”, she talks about an occasion in which she needed to make a U-turn. Receive and learn from correction. After initially rejecting an editor’s critique and justifying herself, she admitted to the problem that was pointed out and followed through with necessary changes.
I admire her honesty and humility. I’m being challenged in my own growth as I read her valuable insights. Here are a couple of her gems: “His [God’s] love for us in correcting us gives us strength, as no ego-booster ever could!” “I’ve learned a bit of how God shows love through correcting me. I can even find joy in his gracious showings of my shortcomings, because I know that he will also take them away. (p.13 Openings)
God has shown me I need to make some adjustments in my life. Not a complete U-turn in which I give up writing. Just some tweaking. Other areas of my life need more attention. That means I may not finish a sequel to my book, Emotional Freedom: The Choices We Must Make this year.
I feel embarrassed because it’s taking me so long to complete my promise to do so. But I need to adjust my sail. I can choose to do so and miss the wind of the Spirit, or I can correct my course and receive his blessing.
My word for this year is faithfulness. Faithfulness to Jesus means I obey him. “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones,” he says (Luke 16:10 NLT) When we are faithful with a few things, he will give us many more things. (Mathew 25:21 NIV)
Jesus sits beside me as I make my plan I listen to him and do the best I can I must make adjustments all the time Because his vision is better than mine He wants obedience, not perfection So I don’t throw out my selection Or shame myself when I need correction That never helps; it’s a distraction When he corrects me through other people I’ll accept it, not accuse them of evil I want something beyond survival A fresh experience of revival A gracious gift of the Holy Spirit Lord, inspect my heart and prepare it Let me sit beside you as you make your plan I will listen to you—do the best that I can Jane Ault 1/30/2020
Dear Jane, I love how you’ve taken my idea and brought it into your own life, in your unique way. I particularly like the “more than survival. . . revival” lines. God does want so much more for us, and through is, than we can ask or imagine. I also like the sailing metaphor, and course corrections idea. When sailing, it’s often necessary to tack back and forth, not seeming to make much headway, but eventually reaching one’s destination. May our loving Father continue to send his Spirit to guide us all into revival.
Dear Jean, Isn’t it wonderful how God’s Spirit interacts with our words. He takes what each one of us writes and extends the meaning and applications in an amazing way! Thank you for your comment. Your description of a sailboat needing to tack back and forth is a word of encouragement to me for today! May we clearly hear and submit to the Spirit as he guides us into revival.