Invincible

Here's a crazy (and true!) story.

Yesterday when I was driving home from work the manifest presence of the Lord entered the car. It was thick and unmistakable. He said only one thing "What do you want?"

God has asked me this one time before. Two years ago I was sitting in my cubicle at work, listening to the bible when the story of blind Bartemaeus began to be read. In the story Bart, as we will call him, hears that Jesus is walking by and begins crying out desperately. "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" He gets so loud and obnoxious that the crowd tries to quiet him down. But Bart will have none of it. "Jesus, Son of David, have MERCY on me." Finally, realizing that Bart will never quite down, the crowd brings him to Jesus. And what does Jesus say? Only one thing.

"What do you want?"

At that moment a cry deep in my soul began to raise itself towards heaven. As Bart in the bible replied "I want to see!", I in my cube replied "I want a real job! I want a REAL JOB!" For five minutes this cry, this desperate prayer, echoed in my soul. Thirty minutes later, literally, a phone call came with a dream job offer at the exact salary level that I needed at a company that I thought had passed me by.

So, now, here I am again. I have a job. And God is in my car asking me "What do you want?" I don't want for anything material. I have learned to be content. Is my life 'perfect'? Hardly. Are there days when I desire possessions? Certainly. But I have learned, in every situation, to be content. (Or at least I am learning.)

"What do you want?"

The question echoed through me. This is not a light question. Do you ask for wisdom? Maybe. That didn't seem to turn out so well for Solomon. Yeah he was smart and rich, but he doesn't seem to have ended very well. Do you ask for money? Do you ask for world peace? Seriously.

"What do you want?"

I have pondered the question for about 24 hours now. I went for a walk tonight and the question was still there, though the echo was fading. I knew I needed to answer before the night was over or the offer would be withdrawn. I prayed. "Lord, what should I ask for?"

Silence.

It seems like a good thing to pray, but was truely my choice and He would not influence my decision. He would respect my free will.

Suddenly, my dull, aching spirit knew. My over-stimulated nerves calmed. I knew the answer. I knew what I wanted.

"I want a heart that is alive. I want a heart that burns with passion for Jesus."

I suddenly knew that if I had this one thing, nothing else would be able to sway me. Not knowledge. Not money. Not power. Nothing. I would be unshakable. I would be invincible.

"I want a heart that is alive. I want a heart that burns with passion for Jesus."

"What do you want?"