September 26th – The Great Consultant

Taking It to Work:

When I was a young engineer, I was assigned a problem. It was an intermittent issue with a bare wire that sometimes shorted against a metal cover of a torpedo. The design was such that we could not put an insulator in between the cover, and for RF reasons, we could not change the position of the wire.

This short, stout wire was part of an intricate antenna system, and when it shorted, the torpedo would veer off course and would have to be destroyed, and they were not cheap. And if that were to happen in war time, the cost could be much, much higher. Without going into some rather dry detail, I was working with two other senior engineers, and we were stumped. The product was very mature, and changes were very expensive. Every solution we came up with would have been a big redesign, and we were already behind in delivery.

So, out of ideas, and without announcing it to others, I bowed my head in my little cubicle. Remembering I had a Magnificent Creator God, I asked Him what He would do. And as sure as I’m standing here, a picture instantly appeared in my mind. A flattened wire.

It’s hard to explain, I didn’t think of it, I didn’t develop it. It was just there. That was all it took. We had to make a fancy little tool, but with one careful squeeze that stiff round wire flattened and allowed the bend radius to reduce, and we got the 20 thousandths of an inch we needed to fix a very tricky problem.

How often do you go to God for the issues like that? Do you even think of God when your weaving your way through the workday? Is He a last resort, or the first Counselor you go to?

Jesus requested a Helper for us. He knew life would be rough at times, and our conventional wisdom was not always going to be enough. But does that apply to small issues at issues at work? Why not? When Jesus talks of us in Luke 16, He said those of us that can be trusted with little things, can be trusted with much, and I think a similar logic follows with God. If we feel He is capable of great miracles, surely He can easily help us with the everyday challenges of work and home.

We forget, God is as interested in walking with us at work as He is at church. It may be strange to some to consult the Holy Spirit on the job, but as Christians we have a Wonderful Counselor who is with us 24/7 and has wisdom we don’t have.

Challenging designs, difficult schedules, leadership, finances, workplace politics . . . What are you facing today that He can help you with? He is with you. The God of the universe is with you. Let His Word, and wisdom, work in you today.

Jer 3:33 (ESV) – Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Phil 4:6 (ESV) – …but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

1Cor2:6-7 (ESV) – Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.  But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 

John 14:16-18 (ESV) – And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Luke 16:10a (ESV) – One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much…

Listening to the Holy Spirit (Rhema):

To whom will you go? There are many who claim expertise, many who falsely guide with little knowledge. I Am the Great Counselor, given to man that they might receive what is not available from men. You profess homage to an all-knowing God, and walk with assurance of His presence within you, but then look to man for answers to those things not given to man’s understanding. My voice speaks to My children. Even in the workplace, I give what is needed to accomplish. Bring to Me the difficulties of the day; in the bringing there will be receiving. As the tree stretches its roots, I will bring to you what is needed. Your work is not your own, given each day by My will. My Spirit dwells to help, to lift to you ideas for your difficulties, strength of mind for the challenges placed before you. Know and remember you walk not alone, but with the Paraclete to support all things you must bear. Forget not the Great Helper of those who call Me Lord. Their journey is no longer alone or confined to the limited thoughts of man. They, and you, have aid in each day, each issue, each circumstance. Once in the body, I walked as One; now I walk with each of My own. Seek My voice, and My light will give your feet guidance as no other voice can.