Tracy Winkler
STORY TIME! Once upon a time I was throwing a dinner party. I am kind of a fancy girl and I thought it would be great to have my closest friends over and really treat them to a nice meal. It took a great deal of preparation in advance but I really wanted to make it special. I moved my furniture around to create just the right atmosphere. I ordered a nice filet from the butcher. I set the table with my best china. I even went to the florist and bought some lovely arrangements.
It was a lot of work but when the day of the event rolled around I really had everything in place. Now all I had to do was wait for the guests to arrive. And waited I did. And waited. And waited. And waited. Not one of the guests showed up! I was beside myself! What could have happened? I mean, I could see maybe one person not coming but ALL of them? What the heck?
Then I remembered. I remembered something very important. I remembered that I forgot. I forgot to send the invitations!!!! Do you know what happens when people don’t receive an invitation? They don’t know that they are invited. And when they don’t know they are invited, they won’t show up. It’s a pretty simple rule of party throwing. In fact it is the number one rule! How could I have forgotten the most important thing?
Can you imagine this? You would never throw a party and not invite the guests but I think that many of us do this very thing when we are dealing with God. We forget to issue an invitation to Him. As Pastor Ryan often tells us, God/The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He will not go where He is not invited.
This is why you will hear me often begin my prayers with “Holy Spirit come!” I am issuing an invitation to God! In scripture God clearly tells us to call out to Him as you can see in Psalms. Psalms 50:15 reads, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”
Do you remember to intentionally invite God into your life? I would just say, don’t be surprised if He doesn’t show up if you haven’t issued the invitation. When you are purposeful about wanting to meet with Him, HE WILL MEET WITH YOU! Don’t forget to send that invite. He is waiting to receive it.