This morning I felt led to read from the Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 5. I do enjoy the treasure hunt, if you will, that often accompanies my time of prayer, reflection and meditation. I am engaged in a conversation with the Lord, and as I ask Him what He wants me to read, I will often hear chapter and verse, sometimes a them, sometimes a page number, but always there is a sense of anticipation as the Lord brings revelation, in the midst of our conversation.
Here are the verses that stood out to me - Hebrews 5:1-6 NIV:
[1] "Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. [2] He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. [3] This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. [4] And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.
[5] In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” [6] And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. ”
What caught my eye this morning was verse two, and the heart of the high priest. We know that in our present dispensation, that we are all priests (1 Peter 2:9), and we have only one High Priest, Jesus Christ. I love how verse 2 can be applied to Jesus, who become man like us (Phil 2:6-8), and embraced our weak human condition. He knows exactly what we are like, our frailties and struggles, and He does deal gently with us, at least that is always my experience.
Just recently I received some very clear direction from Him, and as I often do, I asked that He would provide me some confirmation (not that I don't trust Him, its that I don't trust myself to hear well). Anyway, I was thinking He might have one of my prophetic friends reach out to me to give me a confirmation, and instead the Lord gently reminded me of what I had heard previously, several different times.
Sometimes I miss the point of what He is saying, and this was one of those times. I serve the Body in a semi-prophetic way, and at times I will come to understand what the Lord is saying to our local congregations, and sometimes the larger church, and often times His word is just for me. Anyway, earlier the Lord had been speaking a particular word, and I was sure it was an encouragement for the Body, which I believe is accurate. However, as the Lord gently pointed out it was also for me, and very specific.
There was no berating me for not understanding, or any sense that I had missed the timing of the Lord, just Him gently pointing to what He had said before, which was exactly the confirmation I needed. He knows my weakness, He knows my thoughts, He knows my desire to do His will, and He will help me to understand, even if it takes me multiple times of hearing! I might be dense, but He is persistent and patient!
Thank You Lord for your gentleness in dealing with me!
Thank You for understanding my weakness and calling me forward anyway!
Thank You for for Your patience, Your persistence, Your compassion, love and mercy!
Amen and Amen!
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