DUE DILIGENCE

I Was Just Thinking About – DUE DILIGENCE.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham is largely a Medical Training Facility. The doctors are also Professors and their students accompany them as they make rounds or visit with their patients. I was really caught off guard when during three different screening interviews I was asked: “Have you thought about suicide?” Most recently the phrase – “the past two weeks” – was added to the question. It impressed me that some people may easily become overwhelmed when they hear they have cancer – especially if they also hear that it is untreatable. A dear friend of ours just heard that and is in a Swing Bed Rehab due to at least two brain tumors. When my wife went to see her, she was exuberant that she will soon be in heaven and joined together with some of her loved ones who have preceded her. The word that would be most suitable for her is nor suicide but anticipation.

These type situations caused me to think about the reality of due diligence in one’s life. What is the ongoing focus and commitment on the part of the child of God? First and foremost, there has to be the presence of an unshakable faith. Hebrews 11:6 states: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly (diligently) seek Him.” There is this reminder in Proverbs 8:17, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.” To exercise diligence requires a great measure of commitment and discipline. The word means: “that which done or pursued with persevering attention.”

If persevering attention is a basic requirement, Jeremiah 29:13 indicates the result: “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with ALL YOUR HEART.” There is the prominence of “ALL” once again as we come to the Lord and seek Him. When one approaches the Lord with ALL of one’s heart, there will be the joy in the presence of the Good Shepherd who knows us and calls us by name. Our reality is to respond affirmatively to Him and to follow Him unconditionally. When we obediently do so, we will hear His whisper to us: “Peace Be Still.” It has caused one to recall the words of a Hymn: “O soul, are you weary and troubled?” If so, what should one do? The refrain states: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.”

Even though one can become burdened and/or overwhelmed by the unexpected, the reality of God’s Word is unshakable. If one diligently seeks Him with ALL of one’s heart, He will be found and be present with you during your times of uncertainty and distress. I trust that is your relationship with The Good Shepherd.

Prayerfully – consider these things with me.