He Hesitated

 He had been warned. Warned in a dramatic and unmistakable way that could not be missed. He understood the implications fully if he did not heed the warning. Certain doom. Still he hesitated. Stubbornly he refused to comply with the warning to the point he had to be forcibly removed along with his family. 

To reject the warning meant impending doom. Never the mind he hesitated. By every right he should have suffered the consequences. Mercifully he and his family were removed by force. They were dragged from their dwelling. Saved from destruction. 

Have we ever hesitated? Hesitated to comply with a request and to conform to a command. This has certainly happened with a parent, a boss, an authority figure. What if the command comes from God Himself? What if the warning comes from God's messengers?

In Genesis 19:1-29 God sent two angels to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. In Genesis 18, Abraham interceded for those cities because his nephew Lot and Lot's family resided there. The two angels warned Lot of their destructive plan and told him to get his family out before it was too late. Lot hesitated. 

Had he become so heavily invested in that wicked place that he reluctantly thought about not leaving, even if it meant the doom of his family? Lot wore compromise like a cloak on a cold day. To the point his sons in law thought he was jesting when he tried to warn them to get out of the city. If they thought he was making a joke, that does not bode well fort Lot's character that they would not take him seriously. 

Are we also cloaked in compromise so that our gospel witness has no power. Do we hesitate to heed God's warnings about sin and compromises in our lives? We can justify such actions by looking around at the majority of the people. We can compare our performance with others and hesitate to comply with God's commands. 

The angels had to seize Lot and his family by the hand and forcibly remove them. Why were they spared when others were not warned? It is purely the mercy and grace of God. And answered prayers from Abraham. That faithful uncle interceded fervently for God to spare his nephew. 

It makes me wonder about all the people who interceded for us pleading with God to breakthrough our hesitancy to listen and respond to the gospel. I know of three people in my life. One was my great aunt Nannie Sue. She prayed fervently for me all my life. Even after I got saved she prayed for my ministry. I am so grateful for her faithful intercessions for my salvation when I was hesitant to respond. She prayed for me over two decades before she died. The second, was my great Uncle Buddy. He served as a Nazarene preacher. He loved me. I have never met a more loving man in my life. He also loved Jesus. He prayed for my salvation. He also prayed for my ministry. He had a profound influence on my life. The third person to intercede for me is my pastor's wife, Doris Roberts. I used to play near their home as a youngster. When I reached my teenage years, I used to visit young ladies who lived across the street from them. She once looked out the window seeing me and told her husband, "I am praying God save that young man." 

She probably never fathomed that God would use someone from their church to present the gospel to me the night I trusted Jesus as my Savior. I wonder if it ever crossed her mind that her husband would baptize me and I would join their church. I know she never entertained the thought that God would call me to preach the gospel that so gloriously led me to salvation. I am so thankful for Doris Roberts. 

As I look back, I hesitated in getting saved until I was 17 years old. Truth be told, I did not know what it meant to be saved. Not until Eli Bernard shared the gospel with me in that football stadium in October of 1983. Maybe I would not have hesitated if I had understood. I believe God saved me right when He intended to do so. 

Two years later I hesitated when He first called me to preach. I hesitated for months. I pulled a Jonah fleeing in the opposite direction. I did not feel qualified or gifted enough to do so. I still feel that way. He relentlessly called me to preach. He wore me down on July 4, 1985 at youth camp. I surrendered trusting to help me. He has helped me for decades as a pastor and preacher. Whatever good I may accomplish is ALL GOD WORKING THROUGH ME! I take no credit. He gets all the glory. 

There have been other times I've hesitated. Hesitated to repent. Hesitated to reconcile broken relationships. Hesitant to forgive those who wronged me. Hesitant to take steps of faith. Hesitant to sacrifice when called to do so. Hesitant to obey. I am sure I am not the only one. 

We should all desire to be moldable and pliable in God's hands. We should not resist the pressure, the sculpting, the warnings, the guidance and counsel He offers. May we learn to listen attentively. May we wisely obey without hesitation. May we have the insight to thank God for those who prayed for us. Those who pleaded with God to breakthrough our hesitancy in multiple areas. I can never thank and praise God enough for them. Much like Lot should have thanked his uncle Abraham. May we no longer live hesitantly to respond to the LORD.