I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
- Philippians 1:3-6
And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
- Luke 18:7
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
- 2 Timothy 2:10
“A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere-‘Bibles laid open, millions of surprises,’ as Herbert says, ‘fine nets and stratagems.’ God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous.”
- C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy
Did you ever hear the one about the guy who went into a hotel room to end his life and he saw a Bible. He laughs. He will give God one chance to “speak” to him directly. He opens the Bible and points blindly, and the verse that he points to answers the questions he was seeking.
Does that happen every time? No. But God revealed Himself to that one. I have heard the story from several different angles, so I think it has happened more than once.
In another situation, a person was at their wit’s end, and they are forced to go to a retreat. They did not want to be there, but it sounded like the speaker was talking directly to them. Again, I have heard this story countless times, and once very close to home. Did the speaker know what to say? No, but the Holy Spirit set all the gears in motion. The Holy Spirit guided the topic of the speaker. The Holy Spirit guided the friends in not giving up on the one that was struggling. And the Holy Spirit was guiding the one that was struggling, letting him or her know that they needed God in their lives.
My Dad changed jobs and my mother wanted to go back to the farm. And in the meantime, while I was at a school in the neighboring county, my old school friends that I grew up with had almost all accepted Jesus as their Savior. I returned and everyone was different. They had Joy and I did not. All I had to do was to accept Jesus, and I started saying the salvation prayer every night before bed, and often throughout the day. I had read the Bible from cover to cover several times. I attended church every Sunday and most Wednesdays. But it was like God was not listening. Over a year later, I felt so depressed that I thought I was going crazy. That night, I refused to say the salvation prayer. I simply said that I give up. God could do with me as He pleased, but I could not take it anymore. And I still think I heard a voice say, “That is what I was waiting for.”
God is extremely patient. He can take a long time to set the stage for one of His own to stop rebelling and turn to Him. Unconditionally… That was my problem. I thought I could try Jesus out for a little while and experience the Joy. Nope, it was all or nothing.
There is probably a slightly different story with everyone that is saved.
But, God is sneaky. He loves you, and He does not give up.
Is God unscrupulous?
I don’t know. That seems like an all too human type trait.
God is faithful. If He wants you to be His servant, He is not going to give up.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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