I am a firm believer that seconds are okay and sometimes even necessary! Thanksgiving was a day for seconds this year. Not turkey, (although I did have seconds there) but this year, I needed seconds from the Word. Have you ever had a day where the first time just didn’t seem to take? You read the word, you have time in prayer and no sooner have you said “Amen” then Satan is conspiring with your flesh to take your claims of being a Christian and leave the whole world wondering...
AND on the one day of the year when we are supposed to be grateful! It’s as if gratefulness should be a switch that is turned on as soon as the last bit of Halloween candy is gone and turkey goes on sale. And the culmination of that thankfulness should appear, on cue, somewhere between the stuffing and pumpkin pie. But this year, my attitude was not going to cooperate. Yep, I was going down for the count which meant my family was coming with me! Because it is somewhere in the Bible (although I haven’t located it yet) that if Mama isn’t happy, ain’t nobody happy, or grateful or fill in the blank.
I can’t exactly put my finger on what happened but about the time I was pulling the turkey out of the oven I could feel it rising up in me. And the truth is, I had no idea why I was feeling this way. I had a quiet time with the Lord that morning, all was right with the world and my turkey was just beautiful. But inside there was civil war going on and the army of the Spirit was losing the battle. So, I quickly grabbed my sword and determined that I had to have seconds before Thanksgiving dinner went down in flames and there were more than a few casualties.
For a second time that day, really in a matter of hours, I opened the Word and prayed once again asking the Lord to “create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me.” I knew once I got up the second time that the victory was sure and Thanksgiving 2016 was saved from my attitude. Praise God!
The truth is this, there are many days when seconds are necessary in my life. I believe when Robert Lowry wrote the hymn, “I Need Thee Every Hour”, he must have been having a seconds kind of day. And that’s okay. Jesus knows we will have those days and that’s why we are told in 1John 2:1, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” And not just any Advocate, but an eternal High Priest that LIVES to make intercession for us.
Listen to the author of Hebrews, “This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Heb. 7:22-25)
Ladies, when we are justified we are saved from our sins, but as long as we inhabit a body comprised of sinful flesh, we will continue to sin. It is not until we are glorified that we will no longer know sin. Until that day, we will groan and struggle within ourselves as the flesh and the renewed Spirit are at enmity with one another. It is because of that very struggle that we have an Advocate who lives to make intercession for us. All day, every day.
And so on Thanksgiving Day I was very grateful that Jesus was not taking a holiday and that I could come back for seconds. I was grateful for the One who sits at the right hand of the Father and never leaves so that in my desperate need for Him I knew with confidence I could boldly approach His throne of grace once again. And again. And again. So, if today is a seconds kind of day for you then go! Don’t be embarassed and don’t put it off. He is there and He lives to make intercession for you.
I need thee ev'ry hour;
Stay thou nearby.
Temptations lose their pow'r
When thou art nigh.
I need thee, oh, I need thee;
Ev'ry hour I need thee!
Oh, bless me now, my Savior;
I come to thee!
