The other night, I was in the shower, when I received a startling revelation. I can’t be the only one who gets great ideas in the shower.
Maybe because it’s one of the few times, and the few places I can go and be totally alone. And, it is in the shower that I have gotten not only great ideas, but Jesus has spoken to me in profound ways. Allow me to also say that some of the most intense, sincere prayers I’ve ever prayed … was while I was in the shower.
I have pleaded with God, as the water washed my outside, to clean me from the inside. Once, when I was in a quandary over where we were going to find a new supplier, or suppliers, Jesus’ Word came as clearly to me as the words on this page. As I was voicing one of those “I don’t know what to do, what am I going to do” prayers about how or where were we going to find suppliers, His Word came forth, and I remember it as clearly today as when I stepped out of the shower that day:
Jesus simply said, “I’m your supplier.”
I’ve never worried about “suppliers” since that day.
Often, His spoken Word comes to me “from out of nowhere.” I hope that you can say the say thing. God has spoken to me while I was driving (Isn’t that a favorite place to commune with God?), while I was watching a movie, or in the middle of a ballgame. And, of course, often, when I am reading His Word. There is a simple reason for this, Jesus speaking to me in “odd” places … it’s because I have a relationship with Him, and He is with me all the time, and He is on my mind all the time. How many times do you need to hear that you can’t talk with someone whom you don’t have a relationship with? Especially an intimate relationship with. You can’t really speak, and I mean really speak, with someone you don’t know. Jesus said His sheep will hear, will recognize His voice. And, I can honestly say that Jesus is not particular about where He speaks to us at … He will use any means necessary to reach us.
Anyway, back to the beginning (interesting play on words if you think about it) … I was talking to Jesus, in the shower, and I received a startling revelation. I always say that one of the great prayers ever prayed was Jehoshaphat, when he was surrounded by the enemy, and he prayed that He did not know what to do, “but our eyes are on you.”
So, that was what I was doing, and I stopped short in the middle of a sentence: I said, “I don’t know, Jesus … ” Of course, it was because I was being honest, and I really did not know what to do.
Then, it hit me: I can say “I don’t know, Jesus,” and it can be one of the greatest prayers of all time, the greatest confessions of all time, to be honest enough to bare your heart and admit that you don’t know. That you don’t know what to do. That, in the middle of a conversation (which is what real prayer is), you find yourself saying, “I don’t know, Jesus.” And, let’s face it, how often have we said this after we’ve gotten a clear instruction. We answer, “I don’t know, Jesus.” In other words, we are saying that, even though Jesus has given us the answer, we still question it. What we are doing is questioning our ability … but, really, deep down, we are questioning His ability …
Anyway, back to the profound revelation, which, spiritually brought me to my knees. Here I was praying, in all honestly and sincerity, that I did not really know what to do about this problem I was facing, that “I don’t know, Jesus.”
That’s when it hit me, in mid-stride, if you will: The saddest revelation of all … I thought about those who did not know Jesus … how important that comma was. Maybe, just maybe, in our lives, in the lives of those we know, in the lives of those we don’t know, this is the most important comma of all. Think about the comma:
I know Jesus, and He knows me. Therefore, I can pray, honestly, “I don’t know, Jesus.”
But, what about those who don’t have the comma. Think about it. All they can say is:
“I don’t know Jesus.”
It’s because they “don’t know Jesus.” Think about how important that comma is. I mean, all of eternity rests, depends upon it.
I thank God that I have the comma, and I can use it.
What about those without that comma?
It strikes me how often I’ve heard that “Jesus came for the common man.”
Let’s add that Jesus also came “for the comma, man.”
It all goes back to the five-word phrase that is the real, true reason for success:
“Know Him. Make Him known.”
I think we need to get out of a spiritual coma, and pray that God will lead us, use us, embolden us, to get that comma added to as many lives as possible.
There are just so many people who need that comma. They need us, they are the ones searching for us, to lead them to knowledge of that comma.
They need the comma. They need to know Jesus. And, we need to know Him more.
We need the comma in the middle of life’s greatest sentence.
Blessings,
Ted
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