God Goes to Great Lengths to Deliver His Message

"And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us." Acts 16:13-15 NKJV

As I surveyed the forecasted weekend weather earlier last week (that called for record highs), I knew I had a choice to make. Not having had the time to acclimate (it takes three weeks) for high heat and humidity this early in the season (after all, it was the first week of spring), I knew that completing 110 miles at the first annual American Bottoms 100 race I had signed up for months ago would probably not be possible, so I dropped down to the 55 mile distance and wondered what God had planned.

As someone who's been walking with the Lord for quite a while, I've come to learn that nearly every "redirect" in a believer's life has a purpose--hence the reason I was anxious to see what God had planned for this "redirect." Thankfully it didn't take long to find out.

Not wanting to waste all the training I had put in, I was first prompted to find another race (100 miles) for the following weekend where the Race Director would allow my husband, aka sweet Larry, to preach a short message before the start of the event. And I found one! That meant we would have another opportunity to share the Gospel, one we had not planned for. Yay, right?

But the best part was yet to come. When I messaged the Race Director at American Bottoms to drop down in distance, he confirmed that Larry would still be preaching a message at the start line but offered me the option of also sharing a message before the race at the 55-mile start, since they were at different times and at different locations. And of course I said "Yes!"

And then I prayed and began preparing a message I became confident was meant for someone at the race---a message that God was going to great lengths to deliver. But isn't that just like our God?

Speaking of great lengths, Acts 16 gives us the story of a time when God, through a series of events, "redirected” Paul, Timothy, and Silas to Troas. It was there that Paul had a vision that prompted them to go to Macedonia "concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them." After they had been there for a few days, their mission became apparent. God had gone to great lengths to lead them to a fellow believer named Lydia "She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us." Do you just love that or what? 

But the story gets better! The chapter goes on to tell us that this "redirection" eventually led to Silas and Paul's imprisonment for healing a certain slave girl "who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling." And that imprisonment then led to the conversion and baptism of the jailer and his family! Does God go to great lengths for us or what?

So, if you're experiencing a "redirect" of your own today, rejoice and look around my friend! God goes to great lengths to deliver His messages and you don't want to miss out on the blessing of being the person to deliver it if God is calling you to do it. So be ready!

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that Your ways are not our ways and that Your ways are ALWAYS better than ours. Lord, when our plans don't go as expected, help us to be filled with anticipation rather than anxiety so that we would, like Paul, be ready and willing to go wherever You call us, when You call us, and to do whatever it is You have called us to do. Lord, help us to always trust You that we might never miss out on the blessings of serving You. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.

Happy Running!

And in case you're wondering what the Holy Spirit prompted me to share on Saturday, here it is. I learned later that day that it was indeed a message that at least one of the runners said they needed to hear, and it might be one for you today as well. 

Ok… show of hands… whose day is not going as expected? I mean could anyone have expected this 3-day heat wave in the first few days of spring?

I will tell you this was certainly not the day I was “expecting,” hoping and praying for several months ago when I signed up for this race. In fact, when I began packing last week (before looking at the extended forecast) I packed cold weather gear and wind pants, because that’s what we need in March right?

And that’s another thing that didn’t go “as planned” or “expected.” My plan was to complete the 110 mile race but, although ultrarunners are considered crazy and maybe even stupid to the outside world who don’t understand them, I made the wise decision to drop down. I know, crazy right? I mean, what could go wrong by attempting to run 110 miles with no time to acclimate? When the temperature of my last long run included a wind chill factor and today’s temperatures include a heat index.

Which puts me here this morning talking about the hope we have in Jesus if our lives didn’t turn out the way we expected or planned. Or if we are living with shame or sorrow over something we did or didn’t do.

If we're honest though, I would bet that each and every one of us here would admit to having at least one regret or feeling of sadness or disappointment, caused by something that has happened in our lives… whether it was something we did or something that was done to us. I mean it’s no secret that many people, including myself, use running to cope with trauma, addiction, abuse, or depression.

Which means, the majority of us here have a whole list of regrets; something that can cause deep heartache. I know I do… Or shall I say I DID… I “lost” a lot of years running away from God and a lot of years living in a way that didn’t honor Him or even myself.

BUT…. this is where it gets good and the message I want to leave with you today…

Joel 2:25 tells us that God can restore "the years that the swarming locust has eaten."

Now if you know anything about locusts, you know that they cause complete devastation. In fact, a single locust consumes its own body weight in fresh vegetation each day. That amount may seem small for a single insect, but the impact becomes enormous when they form massive swarms…. A single swarm can consume tens of thousands of tons of vegetation in a day and can strip landscapes bare within minutes, resulting in severe agricultural losses that cause famine and economic damage.

Obviously this devastation would have lasting effects on the land and on the people it affected, leaving behind broken homes, broken lives, and broken dreams.

But this is the deal, if you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ, there is hope if your life didn’t turn out as expected. There is hope if you’re looking back and seeing nothing but a landscape of your life that has been stripped bare and looks seemingly void of any goodness.

There is restoration with God…. and only with God….

What does that mean exactly?

Well Charles Spurgeon explains it like this, "You cannot have back your time; but there is a strange and wonderful way in which God can give back to you the wasted blessings, the unripened fruits of years over which you mourned. The fruits of wasted years may yet be yours."

That means that no matter how you might have messed up or wasted your beginning years, that's not the end of your story! It wasn’t the end of mine!!!

I didn’t get back the years I wasted but when I fully surrendered to Jesus Christ, I got back more! In a way that I can’t fully explain, God has blessed me beyond measure, given me a new purpose, filled my heart with joy, and set me on a path that I could never have dreamed of.

And if He did it for me, He can do it for You!!

In fact, in Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” This rest includes restoration!!!

To end then… you and I can’t get back the years we lost but, with God, we can make our remaining years count! With God, there can be a bounty of fruit and blessings beyond what can be measured.

Now let’s go run!!