Ready and Willing?

     My "Message From God" on facebook this morning was this, "On this day of your life, we believe God wants you to know that humans learn only by trial and error, and that includes you. You’ve got to live life, not think about it. Step into the midst of things, try and fail and learn and stand up again. The question is not whether you will or will not make mistakes - you will. The question is do you want to learn and grow, or do you want to shrink back and be stuck? Take that step you’ve been avoiding. You can succeed, or you can get feedback that it didn’t work, but in either case you are sure to feel alive."     
     That reminded me of a devotion I heard the other day that has really had me thinking. I’m not sure what the speaker was trying to relay to the congregation, but I know what I received out of it. How often do I sit and wait for God to give me something to do before I go to work for Him? The Bible tells me I am to "prepare [my] heart" and "be ready always." That was me, ready and willing should the time come. I find myself waiting on some big sign or some big thing He all but forces me to do before I am willing to do anything.
     Take this blog for instance. I really felt like God had something for me to say. He always seemed to be giving me these messages that I felt like I just had to write down, whether that writing was seen by anybody or not. My computer was filled with little "devotionettes." (That computer has since crashed and those are no longer with us.) The problem was that those messages usually came while I was in the shower or putting on my makeup or driving down the road. Not the easiest places to simply take out pen and paper and start writing. But instead of doing that very thing, just stop what I was doing and start writing, I became aggravated. "Lord why can’t you give me these things when I’m in a position to take it down?" "Not now Lord, let me get to the computer." "Lord you know I can’t write that fast, my hand will cramp up, and my home computer is broken. Wait till tomorrow when I’m back at work so I can type it."
     But do you know what happened? Every time I was in front of the computer and had a few minutes to spare, I was either working, or checking my personal email, or seeing how my friends on facebook are doing. I had no notion of listening for anything God might be saying to me. I figured if He had something He wanted me to put in writing, He’d give it to me. Surely I would have a feeling so profound it would be a "do or die" situation. It didn’t occur to me that maybe He was waiting for me to make myself available. Maybe I need to make the first step and show Him that I am willing to be used, and have the faith that He would provide the opportunity and the means for me to carry out what He has for me to do.
     So this morning, I decided to try. One of two things will happen. Either God will come on the scene and this attempt will be successful, or I will type this and it be meant for nobody but me. A lesson in faith. Now, in between answering the phone and checking my email (which I have to do quite frequently as part of my work), while I drink my coffee and prioritize my day, I am sitting at my computer, fingers poised and ready to type. I am making myself available and open to receive what God has to say to me. I’m thinking that should be my top priority today. After all, His messages usually come quickly and I am able to create a writing in only a matter of minutes. Hopefully when I pass it on to you it will be in a way you can understand. (Sometimes He still talks faster than I can type.)