Thankful for this morning. Thankful to be able to write and spend time with the Lord and so thankful that He speaks to me so clearly. Yesterday He just kind of kept drilling the same message into me all day long. Through songs, through facebook statuses, through conversations, through church... and this morning. I maintain that God is a loving, soverign, holy God who is also a comedian. I think I love that God is funny.
So remember back in 1Samuel I used this verse--->
I Samuel 2:30 Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: 'I promised that your house and your father's house would minister before me forever.' But now the LORD declares: 'Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.
If you haven't been reading for that long don't worry. It's to make the point that if we Honor God He will honor us, if we despise us we will be disdained (refused or rejected).
Alright note that He doesn't mean in one situation. He doesn't mean --> tuesday at 1 pm you dishonored me so therefore I will reject you. He is talking about your life as a whole. Your running after Him or you aren't.
Alright brief overview of David dishonoring God in 2nd Samuel 11--> there was a married woman named Bathsheba who He saw bathing, and He coveted her, slept with her and then plots her husbands death to cover it up AFTER tricking him into believing that it was his kid that she got pregnant with didn't work. --(sidenote: doesn't this sound like somethign that would be on Maurry? haha. and people think the bible is outdated)
Alright so murder, adultry, coveting, sounds pretty much like David wasn't honoring God right? It says in the text that the Lord was displeased (11:27)
So He's going to be rejected right? Well ---> NO. The difference is that this verse in 1 Samuel leaves out that we are called to Honor God, but when we don't IF we repent than we can be redeemed. Important point I'd say as we are all sinners and we are all going to dishonor him at some point each day but we are redeemed with the blood of Christ.
HOWEVER.
It takes Nathan -- David's good friend rebuking Him to make Him see that something is wrong. He has a revelation in verse 13:
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.
Then we see that though He realizes his fault, that his actions do have consequences. God uses them to do bigger things in His life (ultimately to bring him to repentance and to write some of the beautiful Psalms like Psalm 51)
" But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the LORD, the son born to you will die.”
Now we would love to the story to stop there right? He sinned, He was punished greatly, the end. But God is way cooler than that and despite all that God gave him a son Solomon who ends up later being King and honoring God, having great wisdom and though He slips up too is a blessing to the name of the Lord and David.
My point? Yes we mess up, Yes if you repent you can be redeemed, and yes God will use your mess-ups to teach you other things.
Alright so here's where I tell you what God taught me....and is teaching me.
I would love to say that I have always lived for Christ, but I haven't. While there were times I served in the church, or went even, the GENERAL PATTERN of my life up until my sophomore year or so of college was a path of self satisfaction. I did my will and not God's will and though He is gracious and has chosen to redeem me and use those experiences for His good because He is THAT awesome, they weren't without consequences. I think that God gives us gifts and abilities and personality traits that shape us. One that He has given me is this desire to care. I've spoken before about doing everything as though you are working for the Lord wholeheartedly and though I didn't know that verse always it was something I've always believe in. You get out of things what you put into them and so I put everything into everything I did --- even if that meant everything into not honoring God. As such, that gave me my own sets of consequences from my sin --> NOTE: God doesn't punish those who are saved, but He does use sin to work together for His glory.
One of my consequences is learning that the world can be hurtful. It's given me this wall that I've kind of written a bout before that I kind of put between myself and other people which in some cases is good for a purpose. The consequence is not being a wall and being strong, but rather having one to divide you from the world. This can look several different ways-- some people (Christians) use this as an excuse to separate themselves from anyone who isn't a believe. Others- like myself-- simply draw a line at some point and say that we will be open and caring up until that line. Once you hit that line however we are guarded. All of this most likely is out of fear. Fear of consequences of letting people cross that line as we have before.
Difference though: God uses everything to work together FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE HIM. (Romans 8:28). Why am I bringing that up? Because it's something that separates David's fall to sin from those of the world--> when you have love and favor from the Lord then as you honor Him He does as promised and honors you. If you haven't always honored the Lord you will remember those times and the times where you didn't have a line or a wall or wisdom and you will remember the consequences to them but you may forget--> and by you I mean myself. --> is that despite the fact you remember the times where you have hurt you forget that they were before you LOVED HIM and so of course those situations ended in brokenness. Not holy brokenness for a purpose but brokenness. (Not suffering well but simply suffering).
So I, and you if you do this too, have to remember that God will honor you as you honor Him and as such it's not that you won't have trials but those trials will still ultimately be for the glory of the Lord and when you delight in the Lord then bringing Him glory is WONDERFUL. There's nothing I want more than to serve and know the Lord and as such when trials come my way as a christian I can rejoice in the fact I have been redeemed and I can "suffer well."
Thus lesson of the day yesterday--> STOP BUILDING THIS STUPID WALL BECAUSE YOU FORGET THAT YOUR GOD IS A REDEEMER AND THAT YOU NOW LOVE HIM AND HE WILL WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THAT. STOP BEING AFRAID.
1 John 4:18 " There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love."
Verse that showed up in one form or another EVERYWHERE! As I have been praying that God make me more open, I think He needed to show me why I'm not open--> fear --> and needed to show me that He can and will perfect that if only I will let Him.
So that's what I'm praying for. That that perfect love just overwhelm me as his spirit continues to show up in my life and that give the trust and confidence that He will help me discern where it's safe to not have a wall. i'm not saying be a door, i'm not saying not be wise i'm just saying at some point let people cross the line. Don't be afraid of that because people can't see the true love of God from you if you never love them. Be confident that He is ALWAYS working on you and making you more like Him so any consequences that come from doing His will be to bring Him glory and thus even if they are not happy they are still AWESOME because you get another way to Honor Him.
I'd like to say that since I understand that I'm now completely fearless (short of my irrational fear of spiders) but I'd be lying. What I can say is that I'm work in progress and I know He wouldn't be beating me up with this lesson if He didn't have a purpose. So His will His plan His purpose I surrender to that. THAT is what I want and whatever comes with it.
Of course I wouldn't end this post without a song of some sort.
Sanctus Real has a song-- Something Heavely. Which says this
No comments:
Post a Comment