ARE YOU GOD’S PAPARAZZI?
Proverbs 8:34-36 NLT
“Happy are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home! For whoever finds me finds life and wins approval from the Lord. But those who miss me have injured themselves. All who hate me love death“
Are you God’s paparazzi?
I was having my morning breakfast at the hotel in Honduras where I was staying, during my preaching engagement at the annual Easter conference. As I drank my coffee, I was reading a section of the USA Today newspaper. There was a story on the front page of paparazzi who had been camping out in the bushes, by the front gates, outside of a famous celebrities house all night, waiting to catch a glimpse of them, in order to photograph them with their camera in the hopes of selling the photos to a newspaper or magazine for money. I was fascinated by this story as I asked myself, “Who does this kind of thing? I mean, is this insane or what? People, actually hiding in bushes, at times waiting all night long, just to catch a glimpse of a famous celebrity to get a photo! How desperate, I mused. How determined and tenacious these people are!”
At that moment God spoke to me, and said, “Mark, this is exactly the message I want you to give to my people. They must be my paparazzi!! They must wait for me in the bushes, outside the gates of my home, waiting for a glimpse of me, and for the sound of my voice. They must value me as much as the paparazzi pursue and value a celebrity sighting, to get their picture! My people must be this tenacious and this interested in me and what I have to say or they are in a world of trouble!”
My friends, this is the single greatest need among Christians today.
Most are not God’s paparazzi! Most are not desperately, tenaciously seeking God’s wisdom nor longing to hear his voice. Most Christian men and fathers are not crying out daily with an intense longing to hear, to know, to understand God’s wisdom. Here are the facts, given to us in the verse above. If you are not this person, if you do not become this person, you actually hate God’s wisdom and you love death. You are doing yourself a grave injury, and bringing great trouble upon yourself.
Remember the truth of Colossians, “In Him {Christ} are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge?” Remember Paul’s desperation to know Christ, and his declaration of commitment “For I consider all other things worthless in comparison to the supreme value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord!?”
You must become this person. You must become God’s paparazzi, and make it your primary mission in life to wait daily at his gates, seeking his wisdom, striving tenaciously to know the Lord, to gain His wisdom and insights, and to seek His face continually the rest of your life.
Please take a moment and read all of Proverbs Chapter 8 in the NLT and see for yourself what God promises to His paparazzi!
Looking back on my almost half a century of walking with God, this has been my greatest priority and pursuit, the most important practice of my faith, my greatest source of strength, my greatest source of knowledge and understanding, wisdom and insights, and the greatest blessing of my life. Being one of God’s watchful, prayerful, studied, desperate paparazzi.
Seek Him, Seek Him, Seek Him all the days of your life, with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength!
Helping you become a Strong Disciple,
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Mark Darling
