Written in Heaven

Recently, I have seen my time with God really be ratcheted up a notch or two. I’ve seen this happening across the board in the lives of the staff here, as well as ministry leaders. It’s awesome to be part of a church where intentional personal growth is emphasized and where people jump in and see the fruit.

In recent days, I’ve also been reminded of how difficult leadership can be. Fortunately it hasn’t been through personal experience, but watching other leaders go through it from a distance. It’s during those times that you see a leader’s true colors and what they’re about.

This has always been the case, even with Old Testament leaders from literally thousands of years ago. In 2 Chronicles 33, the author is detailing the life of Manasseh King of Judah. Most kings fall into one of two categories when it comes to biblical description: good or evil. Manasseh unfortunately fell into the category of evil. This was as unfortunate for him as it was for the people he was leading.

One verse in chapter 33 that jumped out at me was verse 10: “The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.” Wow, what an indictment! You can probably guess the rest of the story; it wasn’t pretty. Ultimately because of his evil, Manasseh led his people down some terrible roads. In those terrible times Manasseh remembered God and turned back to him, but not before he went through some terrible pain.

When I read verse 10, I thought, “I wonder how many times God has been speaking to me and I paid no attention?” It’s really scary to think about, but even scarier to think how easily we can miss it. Paying attention requires time, effort, and intentionality. We have to be intentional to hear the voice of God. We have to spend time listening for God to speak. The really good news is that through that effort we will hear him!

Maybe today you really need a word from God. Maybe you feel like you’re hanging by a thread and if you don’t hear from God today you don’t know what you’re going to do. Keep paying attention; keep listening. God will give you exactly what you need when you need it.