The Inner Circle

I was running some cross references yesterday, looking for scriptures that talked about the “hidden” or “secret” things of God.  One in particular hit home with me as it really spoke to my heart.

Jeremiah 23:18 asks the question: “Who is in the LORD'S inner circle and sees and hears his word? Who pays attention and listens to his word?” (God’s Word ©)  The thought of God’s “inner circle” or “secret counsel” as the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions puts it, brought back quite a few memories for me.

I first recalled a time in the mid-1990’s after I had returned to work at Hewlett Packard as a temporary employee, with the task of assembling high frequency connectors on an assembly line.  I had left the company three years previous to this time to pursue some ministry dreams that ended up not going quite as I had intended them to.  So, I went back to the company I had worked at for eleven years and started at the bottom… again!

At first, I thought that this was so much better than the management positions I had held before.  I could just do my job without a lot of added responsibilities and then walk out the door carefree at the end of each day.  But after a month or two I found out that I was totally bored and needed additional challenges.  I discovered that I didn’t like being on the sidelines at work… that I liked to be "in the know!”  I enjoyed being in all those meetings during the day where we discussed company business like financial plans, daily production goals or was involved in mediating employee problems and or giving out employee incentives.  I liked being in the “inner circle” where decisions were made!

The same could be said for the ministry.  I have always enjoyed being involved in the inner-workings of a church.  I love planning activities that will enhance people’s lives, ministering to them through both the good times and the bad, and watching the face of a young person (or adult) as they personally embrace the realities of the kingdom of God.

But with my enjoyment in leadership comes a certain privilege and an even greater amount of responsibility.  I’ve always taken it as a great privilege to lead individuals in life, to have the honor of being accepted into a part of their lives that they’ve opened up to me.  But with that honor I have also taken seriously the responsibility of respecting them and striving to give to them the very best of what I believe that God is releasing me to share with them… whether it be in the church or on a secular job.

In our verse above, I sense the same excitement as I hear Father God wanting you and me to become members of His “inner circle.”  I quickly discovered in both my church and worldly management positions, that my success depended on how well I heard from and obeyed His daily directions to me.  And in order to receive His wisdom, I had to become a faithful member of His “inner circle” of influence.  In other words, I had to spend some regular time each day in close communication with Him!

So, as I’ve written on many occasions, daily quiet time in His Word is just a part of what I do… and have for many, many years, at home, on vacation or just about anywhere.  I always make time alone with Him a priority.  So… don’t come to me with the excuse that “I just don’t have the time!”  Yes, you do!  It is all a matter of personal priorities.

For me, missing time with Him would be like missing out on being "in the know!"  I guess you could say that I’m kind nosey when it comes to finding out what is going on in God’s plan.  Especially when it concerns my life or that of my spouse, my family and the other ones in this life that I have some level of responsibility for.  And why not?  That information is all there… FREE… for the taking!

Once again, this verse talks about three actions that one must take to achieve what God wants us to learn from this discussion.  The King James version says, “For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? Who hath marked his word, and heard it?"  So first, we have to take the time to STAND in His presence in order to discover what God has to say.  Secondly, we have to PERCEIVE and HEAR what He is talking about.  This means we have to dig into His Word.  The word “perceive” is defined as “to inspect closely.” This entails taking the time to find out what John Gill describes as “to see what was in His (God’s) heart and what He purposed and designed to do.”

And the last step, as is the norm in following the things of God, is to MARK, heed or give attention to His Word.  In simple terms, that means to obey and DO whatever it is that He is telling us to do!  It all involves participation within His “inner circle!”

In looking back over my life, I can see that I have always been sort of an “inner circle” type of guy!  Like I’ve repeatedly said, Piper and I never really enjoyed being on the sidelines… we always preferred being in the middle of the action.  Back when we first met in high school and were part of a group of friends, it seemed like we were always the ones to make the plan for the weekend activities and then be right in the thick of the softball game at Howarth Park, beach football game at Portuguese Beach, volleyball, sandcastle building or chasing each other through the freezing waves on the northern California beaches near our hometown!  Maybe that’s what drew her to me… and definitely me to her!

What are your thoughts on being in God’s “inner circle?”  With God, the door to His secret conference room is always open to one more… maybe today is your day to walk on in!

Have a great rest of the week and as you do, say with me… “I am expecting to hear from the heart of God as I sit within His ‘inner circle’ today!”