Word Count: 765

Contact Jerry Ousley

Are You Doing What You Have to Do?

by Jerry Ousley  
3/25/2016 / Christian Living

There was an explorer by the name of Gilford (this is a fictitious name by the way). He had been in the Sahara Desert in Northern Africa and managed to get lost from the rest of his party. Now alone out in the hot, burning down sun with nothing around him for what seemed hundreds of miles but sand, he wondered what he was going to do. Gilford was a Christian and believed in the power of prayer. So he prayed, "Lord, You're going to have to help me get out of this mess. I believe that You will deliver me as a testimony to others." Confident that God wouldn't let him down, Gilford began walking once again.

After an hour he heard something behind him and up rode a man on the back of a camel. He took one look at the sweat soaked clothing of Gilford and asked if he'd like a ride to the nearest oasis. Gilford smiled the biggest smile he could for the condition he was in and said, "Thank you kind sir, but I've asked God to get me out of this mess and I firmly believe that He will do it and all I've got to do is have faith in Him." So Gilford sent the bewildered looking man on the back of the camel on his way and continued his painful trek to nowhere.

In about another hour he heard a noise that sounded like an engine and looking back saw two men in a jeep flying across the sand. They spotted Gilford and stopped asking him if he was lost and needed a ride. Once again, Gilford smiled through a sand covered face and told the two men, "Thank you very much but I've asked the Lord to get me out of this mess and I firmly believe that He will do it if I have enough faith in Him." Again, Gilford sent them on their way and the two men just shook their heads as they drove off leaving him all alone in the desert.

Another hour passed and Gilford heard the sound of blades cutting through the sky, and looked up to see a helicopter circle overhead then land on the sand in front of him. "Need a ride buddy?" Gilford's smile was now a bit hard to see through all the sweat soaked sand that was smeared all over his face and even though very weak and barely able to walk he told the pilot, "Sir, I deeply appreciate you stopping for me but I have asked God to get me out of this predicament and I firmly believe that He will do it." So again, he sent a badly needed ride on his way.

By now Gilford was crawling through the sand and it looked as if he wasn't going to make it. He stopped, looked to the sky squinting his eyes in the sun and spoke through a heat-cracked face, "God, I have put my life in Your hands and have had faith in You. Why are you letting me down?" A voice spoke out of the sky, "Gilford, I've sent you a camel, a jeep, and a helicopter; man, what are you waiting for?"

Gilford was satisfied with who he wanted to be, and he was going where he wanted to go but he failed to recognize what he had to do to get there. We've been talking about being a success in life. We've also established that in order to do that we must put Christ first and above all else in order to really experience that success. We can do all of that but if we don't recognize what we have to do to get there we may just find ourselves crawling through the sand with Gilford.

None of us just "luck" into what will make us successful in life. Some may happen to be at the right place at the right time when it comes to other things, but that just don't happen in a Christian experience. We don't "luck" into finding God and we don't just fall into doing what we have to do to get to Heaven. We have to make a conscientious decision and we have to be watching so that we recognize God's provision when He sends it. Having faith is great. Believing that God will take care of us and get us through life is commendable. But unless we see the ways God has made for us we may find ourselves stuck in the middle of the desert of life.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by Jerry Ousley

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:

Not readable? Change text.

The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer