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This morning, I sat down to seek the Lord this morning about the same thing. Again.?For some?reason…,?I just hadn’t received the direction needed. Why, I wasn’t quite sure.?He, the Living Word?tells us in the book of James that we are to ask for wisdom in faith, without any doubting and He’ll liberally give us His wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says that Jesus IS our wisdom from God. And, here I was again.

This time, however, I could tell that I was about to hear the answer. There was that “pregnant pause”, that alertness and awareness in?the spirit that I?was about to receive?a download. And I did.

So, what was the difference this time when I hadn’t gotten the answer previously? I’ve come to realize that the Lord doesn’t want to just give us commands, “Do this”, or “Do that”, “Go there”, but He delights in?His children?understanding His ways. We learn, not only from what He tells us to do, but the process by which He communicates with us.

I’ve also come to realize that our hearts have?to be?properly prepared to hear the Lord.?Too often we still wait for His orders as obedient servants waiting to carry them out. What’s wrong with that? Plenty, once you realize that we are to serve the Lord as heirs and ambassadors, not merely purchased slaves. We’re family, not staff. To carry these responsibilities properly, we’re being “renewed to a true knowledge” in the very core of our being, learning in experience the very heart and nature of our Father.

So, when we seek the Lord’s will, despite our admirable intentions to please the Lord, there is often still?much self-reliance?lurking within us, with self-condemnation waiting in the wings to point out any imperfection in our efforts. Self-reliance is a?breach within our being, an undesirable disconnect?from God’s presence and power.?In this disposition of heart, any answer?received from him, quickly becomes a command that we run?off with, trying to please the Lord by?becoming successful in the new endeavour.

Seeking the Lord for direction is to be?with the?awareness of what we need from Him, but not in neediness. Neediness, that sense of anxious clamoring within us, produces begging, pleading in our seeking, and is usually full of confusion. Neediness is evidence that some performance-based fear still lurks within: surely God has some high expectations that we had better meet if we are to receive the “Well done”. What a misunderstanding of His character! Seeking the Lord is to be done with?complete trust in His being everything we need and His grace that gives it all to us.?

The answers and direction we seek from the Lord are closer than our breath or a million miles away, depending on?our just being able to peacefully, expectantly receive from Him. Wisdom is in the presence of the one who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. (Prov. 17:24) ?Again,?self-reliance creates distance between?ourselves and the Lord, dragging the weight of a sin-consciousness that should no longer exist.

What I have experienced?from the Lord is the suspension of the answers I seek until my heart is properly prepared to hear Him. The arena He communicates?in is the clear communion of faith, devoid of condemnation and performance-orientation. He does not scold or upbraid for our not being all that we think we should have?been thus far. In any direction He gives us, He wants us to?embark on His plans?together. ?Him working through us. ?Adventures in God. Enjoying life in the perfect law of liberty.

That answer I?was looking?to the Lord for??He pointed to one of the items in my hand, the “staff of Moses” if you will. It was so simple, but I wouldn’t have?known which stick to?choose without His direction. As usual, the answer was there all the time, waiting to be accessed by simple faith.