My thoughts....
*Why do I spend money on what is not bread? Why do I desire stuff and gadgets and cars for pleasure? Not always. As of the last little while, not usually actually. Yet, my flesh is still hanging on. My flesh is still there. All it takes is the possibility of a new thing (e.g. in this case, a fancy schmancy cell phone), and all of a sudden my idol factory of a heart has found what it's always desired. How does the saying go... all men have a cell phone-shaped vacuum in their heart? We even spend money on things and go through tremendous lengths to try to satisfy, yet it doesn't.
*What is the Lord's plan then? "Listen carefully, eat what is good, then delight yourself in abundance."
- LISTEN. Listen CAREFULLY. Wow. That's not so easy these days. I'm a believer in the fact that there is nothing new under the sun. However, peace and quiet seems much less plentiful than a century ago. Cars, trains and planes, not to mention a myriad of potential distractions to eat up the silence. Why is it so hard to sit in my car without any music or messages or any noise (other than the creaking and groaning of my near-geriatric car)? We are going upstream in this world and unless we work to have some silence in order to be able listen, we're going to get bombarded by a lack of silence.... Listen carefully. What does that mean? I don't know but it sounds like something active. We can't listen carefully without some intentionality.
- EAT what is GOOD. We encounter things throughout the day, or "eat". We have to consume things in this world, whether it's love, joy, peace, gentleness and self-control, or it's gossip, malice, anger, selfishness, lasciviousness, hate, and discord. We just have to consume what is good. The problem is that the gossip, malice and anger are not wrapped in an ugly, tattered box with a tag labelled "bad", and that the love, joy, and peace is not wrapped with beautiful wrapping paper and shiny bows with a "good" tag. We must actively be discerning and listening to the Spirit. I have not found that the Spirit typically shouts in my ear. God's way is often clothed in uncertainty and comfort, and it's not always clear. However, when we humble ourselves at the Lord's feet and sincerely desire His will and not our own, He makes us know one way or another. He's a good God and is not the author of confusion. Though the path may not be extremely well lit, when He wants us to do something, and we are humbled before Him, He lets us know.
- Then we are to "delight ourselves in abundance." Only after we listen carefully and only select the Lord's choices can we truly delight ourselves. Ironically, when we choose the Lord's will for our lives, no matter how uncertain or unpleasant it may appear, it always turns out for the best. Always, and always, and then usually always. How He does it, I have no idea. But somehow in this vast tapestry of the body of Christ, he makes ways to pour out His blessings and accomplish His will (check out my w's (wife's) blog on the "Bingel 500"). Then truly we can delight ourselves in abundance. Perhaps (actually, likely) not in material abundance. Not in the stuff of this world, but in Himself. We can delight ourselves in Him. And He is glad to give us Himself. He fills us up to the point of overflow, and we can just simply delight ourselves in Him.... As a side note, I woke up dead tired this morning. Would have loved to get some extra sleep but the Lord told me to get up and spend time with Him. The Lord made sure I knew and I was hesitantly obedient. But ahhhh, the refreshment of the Word. I dove in and soaked it up. The Lord just poured out Himself in graciousness. He corrected me, but gently. He told me I was wrong and showed me the right way, that only He can satisfy my heart. So I am now still tired, but I am wholly satisfied, for free. So I got less sleep but my spirit is awake and refreshed. I am more awake with less sleep! The Lord is good and gracious and compassionate. He is good. Thank You, Lord. Thank You for being so gentle.
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