The Amazing Invitation

I've been chatting, via email, with a dear brother called Hensey, who has experienced a lot of hardship and pain, due to a chronic physical condition. He is a wonderful example of one who has maintained a positive attitude of faith in God, despite trying circumstances. He shared with me a couple of verses - Jeremiah 33:3 and Philippians 4:6 - and I want to share them with you also.

Jeremiah 33:3 is a remarkable verse. It says:

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

In the highly-descriptive phrasing of The Message, Jeremiah 33:2-3 says this:

"This is God's Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: 'Call to me and I will answer you. I'll tell you marvellous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.'"

This is an invitation from "the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God" directly to you. "Call to me," says the Lord, "and I will answer you." But look at the form of that answer: "I'll tell you marvellous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own."

What an amazing invitation. We don't need to apologise when we approach God. This God who created everything has personally extended an "anytime/anywhere" audience with him. There may be angels requiring his attention, but we can boldly "jump the queue", march up to "throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). But what happens is more than just the receiving of "mercy and...grace to help us in our time of need." According to Jeremiah 33:3, God takes us into his confidence. He shares with us things that are on his heart, things that are "marvellous and wondrous" and that "you could never figure out on your own." In other words, God initiates a conversation with us in which He opens our hearts and minds to what He himself sees and understands.

According to Ephesians 3:8, the preaching of God's Word involves the opening up of "the unsearchable riches of Christ." God's judgments, in Romans 11:33, are also described as "unsearchable." Yet this is precisely what God has promised to share with us on a one-on-one basis.

In John 15:15, Jesus told his disciples:

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."

I'm still amazed by the nature of my relationship with the Lord, exemplified in the invitation given in Jeremiah 33:3. Abraham was called "the friend of God" (Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23), and now God has honoured me with an invitation based on exactly the same kind of intimate friendship.

God calls himself my friend (John 15:13-15), but am I his? In other words, does God enjoy spending time with me, sharing his heart and thoughts? Does God wish to confide things with me, as He did with Abraham? (Genesis 18:17).

The second verse that my friend, Hensey, shared with me was Philippians 4:6:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

No need to be anxious "about anything", says the Lord, because when we approach the throne of God, we can "present" personal requests to God. Once again, this is a very personal presentation that we make. We don't email God (like portrayed in the movie "Bruce Almighty"), and hope that He gets through all the emails in time to read mine (or maybe gets one of his clerical angels to read them on his behalf, or maybe sends out stock replies). No, this is a personal audience. One-on-one. No wonder we don't need to be anxious, when we have a God who cares that much for us!

I'm taking up God's invitation tonight (after all, my sleeping times are all askew, so I might as well put the early morning hours to good use!). I wonder what "marvellous and wondrous things" He will share with me tonight?