God meets you in the whiles

Over the Christmas season we did many readings from the book of Luke. In the first chapter, we meet Zecharia and Elizabeth, an older couple who were never able to have children and were now too old to have children. While Zecharia was serving in the temple in an act of worship, an angel appeared to him to inform him that they would have a son, who would be John the Baptist, the one who would prepare the way for Jesus. I’ve read this passage thousands of times, but this time that little word “while” kept jumping out at me.

I started remembering the “whiles” in the Bible. There seems to be a pattern of God meeting and speaking to people in profound ways while they were serving God in whatever capacity they had been given. It seems that the best way to hear from God is to be in the process of serving him. This pattern emerges from scripture …

WORK — Kingdom focus. Make his Kingdom the focus of wherever he has placed you.

HEAR — Listen for God’s instructions. What are some instructions from his word, the Bible, that you could listen to right now?

IMPLEMENT — Obey what you hear without compromise. Zechariah obeyed what God told him, then more blessings came. If you want to hear more from God, do what he’s already told you to do, and he will tell you more.

LAY — Foundation and preparation for yourself and others. Remember that what you do for the Lord lays a foundation for those around you and those that come after you.

EXCLAIM — Praise Him for what He does and tell others. Zechariah and Elizabeth rejoiced over what God had done and told everyone about it, increasing the expectation and faith of those around them.

Zecharia and Elizabeth prepared the way for John to prepare the way for Jesus to be the Way for us to have a way so we can share the way so others may discover the way.

God meets you in powerful ways in the “whiles.”