The icy conditions held the response to a crawl. Clay donned his fire gear, straining his ears, but only hearing gargled mutterings from the radio under the constant wail of the sirens. He finally reached for the tethered earphones and caught the tail end of more radio traffic. "...multiple calls, reports of smoke and fire visible." They arrived the second engine on scene and heard the initial pumper assume command, assigning them to the interior fire attack. Clay turned to his senior hoseman and cautioned, "Watch your step, man. Looks pretty slick." "Yeah, yeah. You forget, danger is my maiden name!", he laughed.Clay jumped off the truck and hurried toward the house. In a flash he was reminded he still had the earphones on, the coiled wire stretched to its maximum. Too late. Like a rubber band, it pulled, snapping his head back towards the truck, lifting just enough weight off his feet to reduce the friction of his grip on the ice. His shoulder slammed the ground first and he felt the air leave his lungs like a punctured inner tube. He remembered thinking, "All of this air out here and I can't get any of it into my lungs." On his back, he looked up to a cloudless sky, "Okay, God, you got my attention."Looking to God is our response of trust and submission as we recognize He is always at work around us. "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." (Psalm 20: 7) Looking to God is also the desired result of a daily crisis of belief. This crisis manifests itself in a joust between a self-centered life and a God-centered life. Which will we choose? One day we go with self, one day we go with God. That's just the way we are. But know this: self is the cause of sin; self is why we fail; self is our excuse why we don't find time for God; self is why we fear, without faith; self is who Satan wishes to build up; self is what keeps us from participating in the divine experiences God has planned for us. So it makes sense to come to the resolution of looking to God, denying yourself, and depending on Him alone to expose His will through a God-centered life.Throughout the Bible, we find that God was continually active, always about to do something when He called an individual to help. He never gave mysterious clues to leave people wondering and dreaming up what they can do for God. He was already at work; people simply sold out and joined Him in His work. The most important factor was understanding where He was working The same thing happens today.There is nothing quite like seeing God working around you, but rest assured, an invitation for us to join in that work follows. This same God that works around us still speaks to us through the Holy Spirit in reading the Bible, praying, circumstances, and the church. When we participate in these activities, we are participating in the love relationship that God intends for us. (more next week on that subject)One thing is clear: when we know God is speaking to us through one of these four mediums, He wants us to respond immediately. We have to remember that He is God and His timing is perfect. He wants to fulfill His purposes through us, but first we must allow Him to develop our characters through these experiences. It is exciting to know He gives us little assignments to grow in faith and character, with the hope of receiving larger assignments in the future. We can know that the Living God calls us to do His work, that He molds our characters in His hand, that we might come to know Him in a real and personal way, and that He loves us enough to extend an invitation to join Him in an intimate relationship built on trust. Trust in Him alone. To God be the glory.Next week: Unit 3: God Pursues A Love Relationship.
