Eyes to See, Ears to Hear But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of G.o.d once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by G.o.d . . . None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] G.o.d has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed]. Yet to us G.o.d has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit.

-1 CORINTHIANS 2:7-10 One thing used to puzzle me very much about the children of Israel. They saw the miracles Moses performed. They witnessed the ten plagues that destroyed crops, animals, and firstborn sons and yet never touched any of them in the land of Goshen. They stood at the Red Sea and watched the waters part, and later looked back to see the Egyptians drown. They experienced miracle after miracle for forty years.

I used to ask: Why didn't they believe? They personally watched signs and miracles take place, but they remained unbelievers. Except for Joshua and Caleb, every adult who watched G.o.d at work in Egypt died before the waters parted at the River Jordan.

One day as I read this pa.s.sage, the answer became obvious. We don't understand G.o.d through natural eyes or human reasoning. We understand G.o.d only when we're aided by the Holy Spirit. Those Israelites in the wilderness saw miracles, but they never experienced G.o.d. They saw the miracles at work, but they never grasped G.o.d Himself.

That's the message Paul presents to us. He says G.o.d has prepared us-those who believe and obey-and He "unveiled and revealed" (v. 10) spiritual realities through the Holy Spirit. Another way to say this is that as long as we look only at events and facts but see nothing behind them, we don't have eyes to see and ears to hear.

That's where Satan works best. He tries to keep us blind and deaf so that we don't recognize the Spirit of G.o.d at work. For example, in a wors.h.i.+p service, someone prays for a woman who is in great pain and she's healed. Those with eyes to see and ears to hear, immediately praise the Lord. Those who are still held by the devil's cunning lies say, "Oh, it was all psychosomatic. There was nothing really wrong with her."

I learned long ago that it did no good to argue with the spiritually blind and try to convince them to see G.o.d at work. Until the Holy Spirit enlightens them, they can never grasp the power of G.o.d at work in human lives. Only those who have been enlightened by the power of the Holy Spirit can truly grasp spiritual realities. To those who love Him and believe, G.o.d reveals spiritual truths. He a.s.sures those who have understanding that the Holy Spirit is at work. As the Spirit works in us, we gain power over every trick of the devil to blind us again.

G.o.d, enlighten me in every way. Enable me to see You in every area of my life and to rejoice in Your loving a.s.surance and presence. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

94.

What's the Problem?

All the Israelites grumbled and deplored their situation, accusing Moses and Aaron, to whom the whole congregation said, Would that we had died in Egypt! Or that we had died in this wilderness! Why does the Lord bring us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and little ones will be a prey. Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?

-NUMBERS 14:2-3 "What is your problem?" That's the question I would have liked to ask the Israelites! Their chief occupation seemed to be to grumble. As the verses above tell us, they not only lamented and groaned about their situation, but they also accused Moses of bringing them into the wilderness so they could die. In other scripture pa.s.sages, we read that they complained about the food. G.o.d provided manna for them, and all they had to do was pick it up fresh every morning-but they didn't like the heavenly diet.

In short, it wouldn't have mattered what G.o.d did for them or what Moses and Aaron told them. They were committed to complaining. They had formed the grumbling habit. And much of it is a habit! If you grumble about one thing, it's not long before there is something else to complain about.

When two moaners come together, the situation gets worse. What about the million or more people who came out of Egypt? Once the disease of disgruntlement struck, it became like a virus and infected them all. They were negative about everything. When the slightest problem arose, they were ready to return to Egypt. They preferred bondage as slaves rather than pressing on into the Promised Land.

One time Moses sent twelve spies into the land, and they came back and reported what wonderful, fertile land they had seen. (Read the story in Numbers 13 and 14.) The complainers joined with ten of the spies (again, all but Joshua and Caleb). "Yes, it's a great place," they agreed. But grumblers never stop with positive statements. They added, "But the people who dwell there are strong . . . and we were in our own sight as gra.s.shoppers" (13:28, 33).

Had they forgotten all the miracles G.o.d had done for them? Yes, they had. That's where Satan trips up many people. They whine-and often it's about a small thing. They find fault with something. If they don't realize what they're doing by allowing such thinking to continue, they don't need to ask, "What is the problem?" What they need to learn to say is, "I don't have a problem; I am the problem."

That was exactly the situation in Moses' day. The enemy in Canaan wasn't any worse, bigger, or more powerful than what the people constantly faced. But what if their problems really were more serious? If G.o.d could destroy the Egyptians at the Red Sea, why wouldn't He give them another miracle? They were His people, and He loved them.

They themselves were the problem, and they never accepted that fact. Forty years of wandering, and they never got the message. How dense could they be? I've wondered many times. Of course, it's easy to say that-because I wasn't there and I can see the situation with hindsight. It's harder to examine our own lives and see why we gripe and moan.

"But my situation is different," people often say to me.

That's true, but the spirit in which you operate is the same as those in ancient Israel. You're so caught up in grumbling, complaining, and seeing what's wrong that you have no energy or time to appreciate what's good.

"What is good about your life?" I once challenged a woman who complained about almost everything.

She stared at me and realized I was serious. "Well, I have a good husband. I have two children whom I love, and they love me."

I smiled and said, "Go on."

She caught on, and her face lost its down-at-the-mouth look. Although she didn't say it in those words, she admitted, "I guess I don't have a problem. I've been the problem."

Exactly!

Spirit of G.o.d, please forgive me for seeing others or my surroundings or the situation I'm in as the problem. I've been unhappy because I haven't faced that I am my biggest hindrance to deliverance and victory. Forgive me and set me free, I pray in the name of the Savior. Amen.

95.

Bad Input Produces Bad Results Now there was no water for the congregation, and they a.s.sembled together against Moses and Aaron. And the people contended with Moses, and said, Would that we had died when our brethren died [in the plague] before the Lord! And why have you brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, we and our livestock?

-NUMBERS 20:2-4 After I wrote out the verses above, I paused and read them three times. I find it difficult to believe what those people said: "Would that we had died when our brethren died [in the plague] before the Lord!" How could they have said such a terrible thing? Were they actually saying that they would rather suffer, be in torment, and die in slavery than to live freely and with G.o.d?

G.o.d's Word doesn't lie, so we must accept that those are the things they said. This pa.s.sage tells me how bad their situation had become. They hadn't changed, and they wouldn't change. They wanted everything to work out for them-that is, to work out in the way they wanted it to-but they were willing to do nothing but gripe and groan.

It's the old idea that people do bad things and expect good results. They grumble at G.o.d and expect divine blessings. How can that be? How can they be so confused and twisted in their thinking? But then, I know people like that today.

Rose married an alcoholic named John, and when he got into his drunken rages, he beat her. She left, took their children, and divorced him. Two years later, Rose married again. She married John again-oh, not that John. The second husband's name was Ralph. He was a drunkard, and she repeated the same sad and abusive story. Her third John was named Ken. Although their names were different, it was as if she had married the same man (the same kind of man) three times.

When I met Rose, she grumbled and asked, "Are there any good men out there?" Of course, she later admitted that she had never attended any Christian gatherings, so she had never met a good Christian man. She only met men at parties, and she had always been attracted to man that liked to party.

My point is that it's easy to condemn the Israelites because the Bible lays out their story so clearly. Paul wrote about the wilderness wanderings and urged his readers not to ". . . discontentedly complain as some of them did-and were put out of the way entirely by the destroyer (death). Now these things befell them by way of a figure [as an example and warning to us]; they were written to admonish and fit us for right action by good instruction, we in whose days the ages have reached their climax (their consummation and concluding period)" (1 Corinthians 10:10-11).

Those stories were written to "admonish and fit us for right action by good instruction," Paul wrote. As long as you continue to act as the Israelites did in their grumbling, you'll get the same results. As long as you live like Rose, you'll have the same disastrous effect. Although I gave the example of Rose, such repet.i.tive situations abound in any area of life. Perhaps you're someone who has your paycheck spent before you cash it. Do you dishonor G.o.d by your bad eating habits? Regardless of your situation, as long as you continue with bad inputs, you will end up with bad outcomes.

When you're tired of getting the same negative results-when you're tired of Satan buffeting you and tormenting you-then you're ready to make changes. Those people in the wilderness died outside the Promised Land because they never learned. You have an advantage: You know about them, and you also know that the Holy Spirit wants to change you.

You can change. You can begin by asking G.o.d to help you think positive thoughts, because positive thinking produces positive att.i.tudes. Once your att.i.tude changes, your life changes. It's not easy, but it is simple.

Loving Holy Spirit, please help me to think healthy, positive, and G.o.dly thoughts. Enable me to produce a good att.i.tude that will please You and lead me into a full and lasting victory. I ask this through Jesus Christ. Amen.

96.

Responsibility?

What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He came to the first and said, Son, go and work today in the vineyard. And he answered, I will not; but afterward he changed his mind and went. Then the man came to the second and said the same [thing]. And he replied, I will [go], sir; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of the father? They replied, The first one. Jesus said to them, Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the harlots will get into the kingdom of heaven before you.

-MATTHEW 21:28-31 The story is simple. A father asks his two sons to work in his vineyard. One said no, but later changed his mind and went to work; the other said yes, but never did go into the vineyard. Jesus asked his listeners, "Which one did the will of the father?" The answer is obvious.

This story has several lessons, but one of them is about responsibility. The Father asked both sons to do the same thing. One said yes but did not fulfill what he promised. I see that kind of activity today. G.o.d constantly calls people to service, but not everyone goes. The second son is like those who get excited and tell everyone about the great call of G.o.d on their lives. But troubles come along, finances hang them up, and health problems drag them down-in short, they find many ways to avoid their responsibility to respond to G.o.d's call.

Some of us are like the son who initially refused: We resist at first, because we feel unworthy, uneducated, or unequal to the task. But eventually we surrender and do exactly what G.o.d wants.

"Which of the two did the will of the father?" Jesus asked, and everyone could see it was the reluctant one. Perhaps he counted the cost, or perhaps he wanted to be sure he could be faithful. But whatever the reason for his initial refusal, he finally said yes. He was responsible.

Let's look at the son who quickly said yes but failed to do what his father asked. I've met many people like this. When they answer the call, they're enthusiastic. They're positive this is G.o.d prompting them (and that is not for me to judge). But then G.o.d doesn't send them out immediately or things don't happen as they expect, so they encounter delays. They wait. After a while, they become impatient.

That's the crucial period where responsibility counts most: Being true to G.o.d's will when nothing seems to be happening. This is once again where you will find yourself when you fight the battle for the mind. Satan steps aside during the excitement and the glory of the call. He waits until you've started to question, Did I hear G.o.d right? Does G.o.d really want me to do that?

Unlike the son who held back, struggled first, and then said yes, you've already said yes and now you're fighting to finish what you've committed yourself to do.

Responsibility is our response to G.o.d's ability. If you are going to be responsible, you must respond to the opportunities that G.o.d places in front of you. And being responsible means staying at it. It often means waiting patiently. Be like Abraham-even though he had to wait a quarter of a century for the fulfillment, G.o.d did exactly what He promised.

Young Joseph, in the Bible, had dreams that his father and brothers would bow down to him. Instead of their bowing, they threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery. But he remained faithful. He was seventeen when they sold him into slavery; he was thirty when he sold them grain. Joseph faced his responsibility-he refused to honor the negative circ.u.mstances, and he refused to listen to the devil's doubts. He held to his commitment to G.o.d.

Thirteen years may seem like a long time . . . or even thirteen days! But it's not the length of time that G.o.d counts: It's your response to His guidance. If G.o.d speaks, your responsibility is to shut your ears to doubts and open them only to G.o.d.

Heavenly Father, please forgive me for not always being responsive to You and to Your ability. Help me to focus not on circ.u.mstances and hindrances but on Your love and abundant resources. I ask this through the name of Your totally obedient Son. Amen.

97.

Timing Is Everything He who observes the wind [and waits for all conditions to be favorable] will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

-ECCLESIASTES 11:4 Timing truly is everything. In 1984, I began Joyce Meyer Ministries. I labored faithfully and did what I believed G.o.d wanted me to do. I had a sense that G.o.d had bigger things for me, but for nine years, nothing happened to move me into those "bigger things."

In 1993, the opportunity came for Dave and me to take Joyce Meyer Ministries onto television. That was exciting, but it was also frightening. If I had given in to my old way of thinking-the negative voices that once filled my mind-I would never have moved forward. I sensed that it was a now-or-never time with G.o.d.

As Dave and I prayed, G.o.d spoke to me and said He was the One who was opening the door for me. If you don't take the opportunity now, it will never pa.s.s your way again. That same day Dave and I said yes.

Did the hindrances disappear? They did not. In fact, only after we said yes did we realize what a great responsibility we had taken on. For several days, every kind of problem hit my mind as if to taunt me and say, You're going to fall flat on your face.

I didn't listen to those voices-as powerful as they were. I knew G.o.d's will. I was going to do what the Lord told me to do-regardless of the results.

I share this story with you for two reasons. First, the writer of Ecclesiastes made the same point in a different way. He wrote that if we wait for perfect conditions, we'll never do anything. We can always find reasons not to obey G.o.d.

In fact, sometimes when we say yes to G.o.d, the enemy attacks with power to make us change our minds, to arouse doubt and confusion, and to make us wonder, Did G.o.d really call me?

The second reason involves timing. When G.o.d says "Now!" that's exactly what G.o.d means. There's a powerful story in the Old Testament that ill.u.s.trates this. Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan. Ten of the spies saw only obstacles, and the people didn't want to go into the land. G.o.d became angry, and Moses pleaded for Him to forgive the people. He did, but He still said that none of them would go into the land. Instead, all would die in the wilderness. "Moses told [the Lord's] words to all the Israelites, and [they] mourned greatly" (Numbers 14:39).

That's not the end of the incident. Early the next morning, the Israelites " . . . went up to the top of the mountain, saying, Behold, we are here, and we intend to go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned" (v. 40).

It was too late. The Lord had given them a chance, and they had turned Him down. It was no longer the right time.

Moses asked, ". . . Why now do you transgress the command of the Lord . . . ? Go not up, for the Lord is not among you . . . For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned away from following after the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you" (vs. 41-43).

That still wasn't enough for them. They went anyway, intending to take over the land-the very land G.o.d had urged them to take in His time, but not in theirs. Here's how the story ends: "Then the Amalekites came down and the Canaanites who dwelt in that hill country and smote the Israelites and beat them back, even as far as Hormah" (v. 45).

It's all in G.o.d's timing. G.o.d never says to you or to me, Here's what I want. Do it when you're ready. Part of listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit is hearing the call to act when G.o.d wants you to act. The timing is everything, because it's G.o.d's timing that matters-not yours.

G.o.d, it's so easy to miss Your will by not saying yes at the right time. Through Jesus Christ, I ask You to help me so that I'll be quick to hear Your voice and just as quick to obey. Amen.

98.

Instant Gratification So be patient, brethren, [as you wait] till the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land. [See how] he keeps up his patient [vigil] over it until it receives the early and late rains.

-JAMES 5:7 "Instant gratification takes too long," my friend said and laughed. She was standing in front of the microwave. She had set the timer for ninety seconds to heat her coffee. Her toe tapped as she impatiently waited.

I smiled as I watched, but then I realized that we've been spoiled by the word instant in our lives today. We have instant credit approval, instant oatmeal, and instant love. We've tried to trap G.o.d into the same way of thinking. "G.o.d, give it to me now," we pray. Or if we don't use those words, that's what we mean.

One of the things I've learned from my years of Bible study is that we can't hurry the Lord. He does things in His time. In earlier meditations, I've already pointed out the long waits Abraham and Joseph completed. Moses fled into the wilderness after killing a man, and waited forty years for G.o.d to tap him on the shoulder. Rachel prayed for years to have a child, and so did Hannah, before G.o.d answered them.

When G.o.d sent Ananias to pray for the blinded Saul (later called Paul), the Lord said, ". . . Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of Mine to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the descendants of Israel" (Acts 9:15). After being healed, did Paul immediately rush out and preach to royalty? Years pa.s.sed before G.o.d fulfilled that promise. No instant gratification there.

Many people grow impatient in waiting, and of course, the devil uses that to sneer and say, "G.o.d isn't going to do what He promised. If He were going to do it, He would have done it by now."

As I've thought about the matter of human impatience, I've realized that impatience is the fruit of pride. The proud can't seem to wait for anything with a proper att.i.tude. It's as if they cry out, "I deserve it-and I deserve it right now."

I want to point out two things from the words of James 5:7. First, G.o.d doesn't say, "Be patient if you wait," but "Be patient as you wait." He uses the beautiful example of farmers. They prepare the soil and plant the crops, and then comes the waiting. They know that in G.o.d's time, the crops will produce, and they also realize that it's a different growing season for tomatoes than it is for wheat.

Second, we need to enjoy our lives now-right now while we wait. So many people complain about wasting time (which is how they talk about waiting). Instead of pacing and grumbling about how long we have to wait in line at the grocery store or the traffic congestion on the expressway, what if you said, "Thanks, G.o.d. I can slow down now. I can enjoy this moment. Every second of my life doesn't have to be productive or bring results."

The psalmist said it this way: "My times are in Your hands; deliver me from the hands of my foes and those who pursue me and persecute me" (Psalm 31:15). This was the prayer by a man in a desperate situation. His enemies were out to kill him. Still, he didn't panic, but said, "My times are in Your hands."

Isn't that how G.o.d wants you to live? Your life and your times are in G.o.d's hands. Doesn't it follow then, that if you're facing delays and have to wait, G.o.d knows? He's the One who controls the clock of life. "My times are in Your hands." That's the way G.o.d wants you to live-and to enjoy the waiting time. Don't focus just on receiving or moving on. Focus on relis.h.i.+ng the moments that G.o.d has given you to relax, and enjoy them as a gift from G.o.d Himself.

G.o.d, I get impatient, and I want instant answers to prayers and solutions to my problems. But that's not Your way. My times are in Your hands. In the name of Jesus Christ, help me to enjoy the waiting time and remind myself that I'm waiting for You-and the wait is always worth it. Amen.

99.