Prepared to Meet Him
“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
“At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’ All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out. But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’
“But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’
“But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you! So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return” (Matthew 25:1-13 NLT).
I’m pretty sure we are all in agreement that we want to be like the wise virgins! So how can we live a life that is prepared to meet Jesus when he returns? How can we be sure that we have oil in our lamps?
What the Wise Prioritizes
It’s important to understand the difference between the wise and foolish virgins. The wise ones prioritized the size of their hearts over the size of their ministries.
The foolish ones did the reverse. They measured themselves with how much success they had, and neglected the most important thing, intimacy with God.
As wise ones, we spend time building our interior life in God and cultivating intimacy and communion…this is how we store up oil! The challenge is that the wise virgins may have appeared foolish from the standpoint of this world, because the growth of their hearts may have come at the expense of their external reputation, ministry and success. But even though their spheres of influence may have been smaller, they were developing their hearts in the secret place.
The foolish ones spent time developing and building their external circumstances. They possibly appeared more successful, but as they were busy managing their networking, reputations and popularity, they became bankrupt in their interior lives.
My prayer is that you will be deeply encouraged by this message. I pray that you will be delivered from the need for popularity, platforms and worldly success and be wholly fulfilled in ministering to an audience of ONE. There is nothing more satisfying or fulfilling than close friendship with God. Let us be the worshippers that we are my dear friends! Here is God’s word for you today, as you prioritize according to wisdom: “Therefore God will entrust his beloved ones with the fullness of His anointing, His power and His life”.
Today is my day to increase my capacity to contain the oil of the Holy Spirit. I want to be spared the pain of spiritual bankruptcy and brokenness. I will dedicate myself to enlarging the capacity of my heart and engaging the life of the spirit through worship, speaking in tongues and heart-to-heart conversations with God. Oh, how I anticipate the return of the bridegroom, He is coming for His bride, and I will be prepared to meet Him face to face!
Thanking God for You,
Audrey