There He Is

So, today I settle down to see where God will lead me in a devotion time.  He has been pulling me to 1 or 2 Corinthians lately.  I naturally started in 1 Corinthians.  But today, just had a tug that I should be in 2 Corinthians and so I started in chapter 4, but then that wasn’t where I should be so I moved to chapter 2 and that was where I was supposed to be today.  It is a difficult thing to sense where God leads sometimes, but when you get there, you usually know that’s where you were supposed to be going.

¹ So I decided that I would not bring you grief with another painful visit. ² For if I cause you grief, who will make me glad? Certainly not someone I have grieved. ³ That is why I wrote to you as I did, so that when I do come, I won’t be grieved by the very ones who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you all know that my joy comes from your being joyful. ⁴ I wrote that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears. I didn’t want to grieve you, but I wanted to let you know how much love I have for you. – 2 Corinthians 2:1-4

This is exactly where I am in my relation to my family today.  This text is worded perfectly to describe how I feel with regards to my own brother.  I wrote to him so he could share my joy in a shared faith in Jesus Christ, especially after great failures.  I wrote from a distressed and anguished heart that did not want to see him pained by walking in ways away from God but in obedience to God’s authority.  It has been grievous to me and my wife for almost a year and soon it will affect my children.  It already affects my mother and sister.  Now, I have made up mind not to visit because it is painful and who should I visit but those who are grieved by my effort to hope for you to seek God with your whole heart.  Should I visit and add to your burden?

I praise God for leading me to a passage this morning that describes such a thing as this.  It is so very comforting to learn how someone else had the same feelings and intentions and people were offended by them also.  I pray that I will follow Him more closely so He doesn’t have to call but once and I will respond immediately.  Please God, help me to be right behind You or even alongside of You and nowhere else.