The 5 o’clock Worker

I want to say thank you to all those who are encouraging and supporting me in this journey through prayer, calls, words of affirmation. It is such a gift! If you have known me for a long time or this is your first time taking at peek at what is happening with 5 o’clock Worker, I invite you to join me in the vineyard today.

Last year, I wrote and published my first work, along with my daughter, Erin, entitled “Let Heaven and Nature Sing.” It is a Christmas meditation based on all of nature recognizing and submitting itself to the glory of the new born King. I had put off submitting any of my writings with the usual excuses that could be summed up with one word. Procrastination. I could say it was fear, but I spent little time in scripture and prayer addressing this fear and just pushed it to the back of my mind. After all, I was busy teaching a life group and assisting at the local college in a physical therapy program, so this was scratching some of my writing and teaching itch. I let my feelings continue to steer my ambition. However, sometime after submitting the book, God began to disturb my thoughts and redirect periods of my concentration when I was working on other projects. Sometimes to the point, where I would have to jot things down to clear my mind to continue the task at hand.

Through the years, I have been asked by many, “How does God speak to  you?” or how do you know it’s God who is speaking?”

First, we are promised in scripture that we will know His voice, second, we must spend time in prayer in both what I refer to as dialogue then mature to monologue. Perhaps, if you have let your feelings steer your prayer life, your monologue is where you do all the talking. I tried that but became easily frustrated feeling I wasn’t achieving the level of intimacy with the Father. I won’t lie and say that it wasn’t hard for me to practice stillness. I would start out praying and end up making my grocery list.

Distraction is the tool Satan uses to interrupt. He is the ultimate telemarketer (no Offense). Most of us don’t answer our phones or hang up as soon as we discover this is dreaded  encounter is upon us. I had to learn to not answer the call of the distractions of my attention or respond to the pull of my feelings. I had to commit to the “faith place” in prayer. I had a spiritual mentor, Ann Clark who instructed me to use the Alphabet prayer as a tool to improve my prayer time. I started out with praise, thanking God for ” A for Angels, B for His Benevolence, C for His creation” and so on. If I got distracted I could easily return to my conversation and told God I was sorry and could He help me not to be distracted. It worked. Then I used the alphabet to confess, intercede and then finally used this practice  to ask God  to speak to me. I found it quieted me enough to linger my Thoughts on what the bible says in Phillipians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true. whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, pure, whatever things are lovely whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and anything praiseworthy, THINK on these things!”

One day while participating in this process, it stopped working. I felt disappointed and frustrated. I became distracted to the point that i turned to writing things down. Out of this came the seed bed of my first work. I knew then God had met me where I was in my broken weak ineffective prayer life and taken me to the next place He had for me.

Once again, reminding me of the 5 o”clock worker in the parable, despite coming to work late was paid the same wages. This parable is such a picture of the Mercy of God, it still overwhelms me. Even if I don’t learn fast, even if my work quality is poor, as long as I show up, God works with me. And he is not comparing me to any other worker in the vineyard. He is only directing me and encouraging me in the task He has given me. Having said that, few of us would make an adequate living if we worked only when we felt like it. If we only cared for others when we felt like it. I had to learn that my “mustard seed of faithfulness” is honored by God. I had to learn acts of faith are not based on feeling alone. This is contradictory to the culture that unforunately has more influence on us than we are willing to admit. If you don’t think folks are not led or ruled by their feelings just visit a preschool. And some of us both inside the faith and outside the faith never grow out of this self satisfying behavior.

I wanted to write. I felt led to expand my writing ministry, but the apathetic feelings of inadequacy still haunted me. Then my thoughts had to be addressed. My mind set of
‘I’m too old to do this, it doesnt make sense. I am not a media person. I have no technical training.’ Logical reasoning! But I had no peace. God reminded me that as His child I had been granted the peace that defies logic. God brought me to the place where I finally understood obeying him would be a faith based decision. Sometimes my emotions would be in tune with this and sometimes not. Sometimes His direction and will would be logical and sometimes it would not. Think of the ark..not logical. God can use these qualities that He has given us  to speak to us but is not limited by them either.

Chuck Yeager, an air force pilot from World War II made history in 1947 when he broke the sound barrier. Which means, he exceeded the speed of sound in level flight, producing what is called the sonic boom. If you have ever been fortunate enough to experience this, you can relate. That means as the airplane goes speeding above our heads, he is well past us when we experience the boom. The pilot is ahead of the sound. This how faith works in conjunction with our feelings. Our faith is the airplane, our feelings the boom. When God calls us to something, Our feelings will catch up with our faith. Perhaps not in the time frame we would like, but if we surrender our thoughts and our feelings to Him and follow Him, He will bring us out on the other side with a peaceful mind and a contented heart. The peace is available in the process but we forfeit it out of lack of trust in Christ.

Most times we are not convinced that His plan for us will be a good one. There have been many times my heart and mind were not in rhythm with Gods call, but I can truthfully say I have never been sorry I obeyed Him. My feelings have always caught up with faith and the joy has been enormous! Maybe unlike me, you showed up early to work in Gods vineyard. God bless you!  thank you for being an example ! Perhaps you came in the middle of the “day” or even at the end of the day like this 5 o’clock worker. Be encouraged!. Its never too late.! Gods Love mercy, forgiveness and comfort is available to all who ask for it.

In these viral days we are living in, don’t give in to your feelings of despair and hopelessness.Meditate on His Power. Remember, He can make something out of nothing. Don’t let the professor called logic rule your perspective either. It is there to consult with, pursue His higher thoughts and concentrate on the mind of Christ through His scriptures. Re-learn your ABC’s and when you least expect it, you will hear the sonic boom of faith explode across your sky, reminding you the will of God will take you to a place and future He has for you to bless you.