TARRYING IN THE VALLEY OF DECISION

                               TARRYING IN THE VALLEY OF DECISION

              "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him, but if Baal, follow him." 1 Kings18:21

  There are times when all of us will and must enter into deep contemplation, but the consideration of answering the call to be reconciled to God our Creator is the most important one of all. And it must be taken and maintained with a 'LIFE AND DEATH seriousness.

"Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near." Isaiah 55:6 This is telling us that the door of opportunity is not always open!

  I have watched over time different individuals whom the Holy Spirit was drawing to Jesus, but they kept putting off the faith and reconciliation He was calling them to. Let's consider how serious this can be:

 WHAT IS THE HEART OF GOD FOR US?

 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE." John 3:16 God is not willing that any perish, but that we all come to repentance, and come to the knowledge of the Truth.  

  1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9

  God, our Maker and loving Heavenly Father, only wants the best for us, but it only comes through the cross of Christ. We are not referring to a religious symbol here, but the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us when He paid for our sins by shedding His blood on a criminal's cross, and then rose from the dead three days later. Through faith in Him, we are reconciled to God.

 WHAT IS OUR POSITION, AND WHAT IS AT STAKE?

 1- THE RESPONSIBILITY OF CHOICE IS OURS:  We must be mindful that the Lord will never force His will on us. It is up to us to choose our direction, although it is He Who has already provided SALVATION for us.  "...BUT AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD." Joshua 24:15 

2- Outside of Christ, we are lost in our sins and under the wrath of God. "He that believes on the Son has everlasting life, and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him." John 3:36 Our situation is desperate.

3- We, in ourselves, are unable to erase our sins before Him. God is Love, but He is also Holy, and no sin will abide in His presence, and we are all sinners. "For You are not a God that has pleasure in wickedness; neither shall evil dwell with You." Psalm 5:4 Our perspective about our attitudes and actions is not the Lord's. We have all broken His commandments. We are in desperate need of His loving mercy and salvation.

4- Of our own selves, we are unable to come to Him and repent. It is He who draws us to Himself and gives us the ability to repent. "When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, 'Then has God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."No man can come to Me except the Father, which has sent Me, draw him...and him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:44, 37 Therefore, toying with this gift of grace and the call to salvation is incredibly presumptuous and dangerous.  No one should ever assume, 'I will come to Him if and when I am good and ready.' When we feel drawn to Jesus Christ and the Gospel, that is the Spirit of God calling us. That does not come from ourselves.

5- We do not have endless time to answer His call. "I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years. Take your ease. Eat, drink, and be merry.' But God said unto him, 'You fool. This very night your soul shall be required of you...'" Luke 12:19-20 None of us knows the times that are allotted to us. Our eternal souls are at stake.

6- We have a ruthless enemy pursuing us. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly." John 10:10  God's Salvation (Jesus) is also our Defense against our not-so-visible foe. The longer that we are outside of Christ, the more vulnerable we are to the devil's deceptions and snares.

WE ARE NOT IN A NEGOTIATING POSITION BEFORE GOD!

- He has come to us with the uncompromising and priceless offer of forgiveness of sins and eternal life, paid in full by the blood of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ!

- Any procrastination and hesitation is still in the realm of rebellion, though He fully understands our blindness and weaknesses. He does give us all the time we need to make our decision, but understand this: He is the only One Who knows our hearts and thereby qualifies each of us with an appointed time. We must then beware of our motives. What is the real reason we are actually hesitating? "...because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12

  There may be untold stumbling blocks and offenses that we allow to hold us back from turning to Jesus, but in reality, they were all nailed to the cross of Christ if you are willing to part with them. There is a point where our excuses become completely invalid, and if we insist on holding on to them, we can expect a disastrous end. PLEASE, with all your heart, turn your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, take up your cross without condition, and follow Him! He loves you so much!

(If you know someone struggling in the Valley of Decision, please keep them earnestly in your prayers.)