The Scary Door

• Printable Version - Share on Facebook - Posted by Dion Todd April 3, 2017 - Filed in Devotional - 8,681 views
  All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. 1 Samuel 17:24 WEB
  
  When Goliath walked out onto the battlefield, all the men of Israel fled from before him. Not even King Saul would face this nine-foot tall giant. For forty days this taunting continued on until a young shepherd boy named David came to deliver some supplies to his brothers, and he heard Goliath insulting them.
  
  David had been spending time alone with God in the fields while tending sheep. It was a boring job. He learned to played a harp quite well and wrote psalms. He practiced with a sling, and when lions or bears came, he defended his flock from them. David came to know the Lord in a deeper way than the others did.
  
  When David heard Goliath speaking, the Holy Spirit urged him to go out there and face him, but David had to make that choice. In the same way, God's door of promotion is often behind that scary circumstance in your life. If you are strong enough to open it, you get the prize inside. David faced the giant and it was a turning point in his life. It began his journey to become the next king of Israel.
  
  In the late 80s / early 90s, I worked on computers after work as a hobby. One day an insurance company called me and they had twelve computers networked together running DOS. One of them had lost connection with the others and they wanted me to come look at it. A software company from out of state had originally come in and set up the network for them, but now they were unreachable.
  
  At the time, no one here had internet here, especially where I lived. There was no way to research anything, no books to be had, and no one to call for advice. I grew up on a farm and had never seen a computer network before, but they had gotten my number from someone else and called me out of desperation. I explained that I didn't work on computer networks, but they would not take no for an answer. I started to say: 'I can't help you with that' but I felt the Holy Spirit urging me quietly with, 'Go and I will go with you' so I said, 'I'll come look at it.'
  
  It was about a twenty-five minute drive and I prayed all the way there. 'Lord I can't do this without You, please help me!'. I thought, 'I am going to look like a fool. What am I doing! Turn around!' Then I quoted Moses: 'If Your presence does not go with me, don't send me up from here' (Exodus 33:15). All the while, He was quiet while I wrestled with the fear inside myself.
  
  Finally, I arrived at their office and met the owner. He showed me the computer that was broken and we walked around the office and stopped at a filing cabinet to talk. I was already out of ideas, my heart was racing, and I was ready to tell him, 'I can't help you', when a flashing box on top of the filing cabinet caught my attention. As the manager talked on, I rested my hand on top of the flashing box and another light came on. When I picked up my hand, the light went out.
  
  After closer inspection I found that a wire had worked itself loose on the back of the hub. That was the entire problem. I fixed the network cable, the computer came back online, and they thought that I was a genius. They became a regular client for the next seventeen years.
  
  That was a long time ago and today networks are everywhere. All of this is now common knowledge, but at that time I had never seen a network hub or network cable or even read about one in my life. Yet, I had the Holy Spirit with me and that is all that it took. 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' (Philippians 4:13).
  
  The Lord gently pushed me into my own computer business and it seemed that I could do no wrong. He carried me daily. Soon I had over fifty regular clients. The same type of story happened repeatedly in my life at accountant's offices, lawyer offices, doctor's offices, banks and more. What seemed to be an impossible task was trivial.
  
  The problems grew more and more complex and today I deal with load-balancing Linux mail servers on a daily basis, but through the Holy Spirit, I have always managed to fix the problem. Still today, someone can call me over the phone with a computer problem and while they are talking with me, it will often fix itself.
  
  God does not call the equipped. He equips the called and will provide all that they need. Like David, if you will step out when He calls you to do something, He will back you up and the giant will go down. The water became solid when Peter stepped out on it. When he was overcome with fear, he began to sink.
  
  Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for bringing me this far and I am excited at what you are doing on the earth. Make me a part of it! Use me Lord. Speak to me and through me. Put me where I need to be, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.
  
  Note: The highlighted group of the week is "Creation Photographers", a place to share your pics of God''s awesome creation, or just view what He shows others. All skill levels are welcome! It is not a place to critique anyone''s work. Even if you have never taken a picture, it is not too late to start :). The goal is for each of us to find a way to better appreciate what God has created! ALSO, for those who missed the RHM Live Sunday service, the message and transcript are available under the Watch page (click on Watch Previous Services on that page)! Your feedback and comments are much appreciated! FINALLY, the Creation Photographers theme of the week is "April Fools", based on 1 Corinthians 1:27. As always, you are free to post anything else that inspires you, too!