Hosanna Restoration Church

How much do we desire the Lord’s guidance for our lives? Are we paying attention? Do we see a need to pay attention? These are just a few of the questions we must answer for ourselves. No one else can answer them, and we have no business trying to answer them concerning anyone else.

I awoke at 3:33 the other morning and had a very difficult time getting back to sleep. I prayed much in the Spirit and with understanding. My mind, of course, wandered much as well, but a couple hours later I did go back to sleep only to wake and still be thinking about 3:33. Often times when this happens I search my way from Genesis to Revelation looking for those scriptures. The first one that I ran into was Proverbs 3:33. “The Lord curses a wicked family, but He blesses the homes of those who live right.” Since we most recently spoke of the fact that judgment comes, I was certain that God had something to show me.

The next scripture was found in Lamentations 3:33. “He does not enjoy causing people pain. He does not like making anyone unhappy. I found this to be very reassuring after just reading about the cursing and blessing of wicked and those who do what is right. In Mark 3:33 we have Jesus pointing out who his family is and in John 3:33 we see that whoever accepts what Jesus says proves that God speaks the truth.

I of course read much on both sides of each of these scriptures and left the information to bounce around in my mind. This morning I was again pondering all of this when the Lord brought to my mind the pre-flight instruction when you prepare to take off with the air lines. At first I thought my mind was wandering, but then it began to fall into place like an auto fill on the computer.

The information that the flight attendant gives is full of what we need to do in case of an emergency. How closely to do most of us pay attention? The same is true of the Word of God. Proverbs 3 is full of instructions for life for 32 verses, and then points out the risk of not paying attention along with the promise of His goodness if we remember what He teaches and trust what He says above everything else.

On the occasions when I have paid attention on the plane, I often wondered about the direction to put on my own oxygen first, especially if someone near me needed help like a child or elder. Of course it really does make sense. You can’t help anyone if you tip over from lack of oxygen. Those instructions also cover the what-ifs, like what to do if you oxygen does not drop down, where your floatation cushion is, where the exits are and how to release the emergency slide and others. These things would suddenly become very important in the event of an emergency. The world is full of people in a state of emergency. If we will trust the Lord we can help ourselves and others. There is a great deal more that the Holy Spirit has to say about these things. Ask Him. It is important.