Immediately...Means Now

"Begin reading God’s Word and don’t stop until something leaps off the page and begins to settle into and challenge your thinking."

This idea is not new, but after reading some articles in my In Touch Magazine, Charles Stanley challenged me to take whatever time necessary to hear from God through His Word. So, I sat down with my Bible this afternoon and began to read the Gospel of Mark. Right away, the word ‘immediately’ repeated over and over, along with the words, ‘follow me’.

Honestly, there are very few things I do immediately. So, seeing the repetition I knew this was something I wanted to explore.  I underlined as I read and began a list of things mentioned:

The heavens opened immediately after Jesus was baptized, and God’s voice was heard

The Spirit immediately impelled Jesus to enter the wilderness

Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed Jesus

Jesus called James and John and they immediately followed Him

Jesus entered Capernaum, immediately entered the synagogue and began to teach on the Sabbath

Immediately news about Jesus went out everywhere into the surrounding districts

Immediately after leaving the synagogue they went to Simon’s house

The disciples immediately told Jesus about Simon’s mother in law who was sick

A leper is immediately cleansed of leprosy

…And, this is just the first chapter.

I wonder what God is asking me to do immediately. And, I wonder whether I am as focused on my mission to be obedient and follow wherever He leads. As I continued to read, a prayer formed in my mind:

 Lord, help me be intentional and immediate when You ask me to follow You. And help me to notice the way You are calling me each day in my journey.

I want to be purposeful in my relationship with God and how I pass it along. How about you? And, how has His Word prompted you to dig deeper?

Jeanne