Recognize

It is with sorrow and pain I confess my overwhelming, sometimes all encompassing need to be recognized.  Not on the local news or anything like that.  No, it is something so much more simplistic.  It's a need to have my ideas, opinions, thoughts, and feelings recognized by those around me.  To have what God is revealing to me be recognized.

What has happened is He has been bringing me repeatedly back to Paul's Damascus road experience and the aftermath.  No matter which direction I look, a conversation, a book I open, or an email.  All keep pointing me back to this divine encounter Paul had with Jesus.

He is saying that there are times when He will give assignments that no one else sees, hears, or mayhap even believes in.  That looking to man for confirmation or recognition of having heard from Him is wrong.  I must pray and look to His Word if I am to know for sure that what I am up to is truly His will.

Paul's traveling companions didn't see Jesus, they heard the voice and were speechless with terror because of it because they couldn't figure out where it was coming from.  Paul goes to Damascus and stays at a guy named Judas' house, of all people.  Now I don't know about you, but Ananias who was contacted by God in a vision, is told to go lay his hands on Saul and this is where he is staying.  The thought had to go through his mind, "is it a coincidence that this is the name of the same guy who betrayed Jesus our Lord and Savior?"  Granted it was a common name, but so was Joseph or Simon.  I'm sure you get my point.

So, Ananias does what he is told by God to do.  I'm sure if he had sought recognition for this prior, "supporters" would have talked him out of it.  Perhaps, that is why God many times does not let anyone else know about what He is up to.  Well meaning folks will try to reason us out of His will and into the world's rationale.

Another person who didn't get any immediate recognition was Daniel.  He had a vision in Chapter 8 of the book of Daniel.  He is told to keep the vision to himself, and that he wondered at the vision.  However, no one understood it and it could not be understood.  What an awkward and frustrating place to be in.  To have a message from the Lord, and no one understands where you are coming from, nobody can recognize what it is you're trying to impart.  The information was about something so far in the future that no one was capable of understanding it.  How could he be recognized for that, other than being a kook?  However, he wrote it down as instructed, because he knew it was important and was from God.

How about Zechariah, who was struck mute because he refused to believe Gabriel's message about Elizabeth's impending pregnancy?  To have had an amazing heavenly visitation such as that and literally being unable to tell anyone.  No recognition for this whatsoever because of one's own lack of faith.  I can skip that experience thanks, but how many time have I come close to this?  Refused to believe something God has imparted to me directly because it seemed "impossible" in the natural, forgetting that it was God Himself telling me what He was up to?

Back to Paul, you see he was a Pharisee.  A very strict sect of the Jewish religion.  He was well versed in Jewish law, the law of Moses.  Yet, he is accused of being insane by Festus, the Roman Governor of Judea at one point.  He makes the accusation that all Paul's learning has finally driven him over the edge.  Read Acts 26 for more on this.

You see it all comes down to wanting to have people put a rubber stamp of approval on whatever it is I am doing.  I want to be recognized for what I say, write, sing, do. Now, I know I'm not alone, but this is my confession and repentance.  I hate that I am so guilty of this, I have been so guilty of this.  I have had horrible dreams of people laughing at me for my gullibility.   My latest one was having all the people from church laughing at how naive I am for trusting God to restore my marriage, even though He told me He would.

I now recognize quite often people don't understand what I am doing when I am following God.  They don't recognize His hand at work in my life.  Today for the first time I understand, that's okay.  Moses had the same problem, so did Joseph to the extent his brother's sold him into slavery.  People stood around and laughed and pointed at Noah as he built the Ark.  Come to think of it....how many people really believed Mary's story of how she got pregnant?  I wonder?

Father, 


Help me to stay focused on Your will for my life.  Let me not worry about what others think or say, nor care whether or not they confirm to me that they recognize it is You at work.  What matters is that I test what I am given by Your word and once I am sure it is You, nothing else is of any concern.  Father, You placed me here for a reason, Your reason.  You love me and recognize me as Your own, and that is all I need to move forward and fulfill my destiny.


In Jesus name,


Amen