Numbers 22:21-23:30; Luke 1:57-80; Psalm 58:1-11; Proverbs 11:12-13
“Then the angel of the Lord moved farther down the road and stood in a place too narrow for the donkey to get by at all. This time when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the animal again with his staff. Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. ‘What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?’ it asked Balaam. ‘You have made me look like a fool!’ Balaam shouted. ‘If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!’”
“You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins.
Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
My heart goes out to Balaam’s donkey; that animal stood where my spiritual life has been many times. My piety is routinely tormented, beaten and berated by my worldly self, which never seems able to perceive the dangers ahead but is ever ready to challenge and denounce any act or vision of faith. I, like Balaam, think too much about others’ perceptions. More to the point, I tend to decide what I think God wants and proceed in that direction regardless (often, in spite) of the guidance He would give me. I end up looking far more the fool than I ever could have had I followed my spiritual side from the start. So, then guilt sets in, and I beat myself up some more. And feel foolish and guilty about that…. And so on….
Here’s what I know, without doubt: Christ wants us all to quit beating ourselves up! That’s no way for a victorious Christian to live. I could probably stop there for today, but I won’t, because just saying “don’t do that” has never been a cure for anything. I know what’s wrong, and what I should not do. Knowledge is not the fix. I need to focus a LOT more on what’s right and good, and what the Spirit calls me to do. If I get good enough at that, my bet is the “Thou shalt nots,” self-imposed limitations and goals and the guilt all will take care of themselves.
We know the Morning Light! Jesus will take us from the futile darkness of sin, self-reliance, intellectualism and will power into the dawn of grace, if we claim it. We know how to find salvation through forgiveness of our sins. We just don’t do it, at least, not near often enough. I have been a professing Christian for over 35 years, yet it was only last month I finally recognized a major, spiritual problem: I was praying only half a prayer. I’m actually pretty good about recognizing my sin, and even confessing it. What I was missing was the forgiveness part.
It does no one any good to say, “Lord, I’m a sinner,” without adding the tax collector’s, “Have mercy on me” to the prayer. Acknowledging sin is no more than stating the obvious, and only the truly pathologic don’t get that. But it is also no more than spiritual self-flagellation, and most all of us engage in that to one degree or another. It’s time to give that ol’ donkey a break, and learn to see as he saw. The Holy Spirit is right there, just waiting for us to recognize and call on Him.
3 comments:
Thanks Bibleblogger for alerting me to my most eggregious error...not asking for God's mercy. I think I want God to lead me yet as soon as the water starts to boil I fail to immerse myself in it and let God take over. Instead I move to the cooler area where I am more comfortable and probably even worse to the area where I perceive I don't need God and can do it all myself. On another side of the coin I am unlike you. If I understand your point on 11 Nov “ just let God be God, and try to stay out of His way….” We need to immerse ourselves in his world and watch Him work. As usual I probably have not grasped your point but for sake of argument lets say I have…”stay out of His way”. God seems to work through me in a different way. (And I know this because if I don’t follow his prodding I become uncomfortable and agitated and can’t sleep…I assume because I am not doing His will) He forces me to find answers, He makes me get involved, He leads me to people who will help and He makes me work for my answers. Ask my family because it is true, I am a knuckehead and can even be called a closed minded bullhead when I am forced to make quick decisions or I feel like I need to take charge. On the other hand when I listen to my own internal frustration and see a lack of comfort in my life I am able to look for answers…and although it is a very slow process usually end up with a usable, Godly answer. I am sure that by slowing down I am allowing God to do His thing and lead me where I need to go. But I have to work to get to this place. I am not able to sit back and watch Him (or stay out of His way) and I am convinced that without my seeking and without me putting in the work He doesn’t want to give me answers. I need to “get IN His way” so to speak…then He can lead me. Thanks again for your help. I enjoy the reading and your personal insights. It’s nice to know that even The Bibleblogger has ungodly moments too! Later, Thom
Thom, thanks so much for your steadfastness and insights. I am not so sure we are that different. We may just be looking at different parts of the elephant. It's important to follow God's prodding and ACT according to His Will. That's being the hands and feet of Christ, and is called obedience. As you note, it takes effort and spiritual discipline.
When I speak of getting out of God's way, I mean keeping the worldly part of me from interfering with the spiritual side of me. Don't misunderstand that I think it a passive process. It is the highest, most intimate and personal form of spiritual warfare. Ideally, the spiritual side eventually takes over, and the work I do then is purely the Spirit working through me. Which is pretty cool on the rare occasions it actually happens! As you suggest, it, too, is quite an active process and could be exhausting without the Spirit's power behind it.
I'd say - and think you'd agree - the internal frustration that motivates you is the Spirit working through you. You get out of His way when you stop obstructing His urges and go with Him. The work you do is to hold yourself accountable to His call, despite your own reluctance, stubbornness or whatever, which allows Him to work through you more perfectly on everything else.
All that said, I gotta admit, in context, I really like the image of getting IN God's way, too! Good thought! I probably won't be able to resist the temptation to blog on that in the future, so I hope you'll forgive me in advance for stealing your idea!
Blessings,
Tom
Great points and I do agree...the internal frustration/anxiety must be Him calling as I eventually do something and the resultant internal relief I experience is the Spirit taking over. Thanks, and you can use "getting IN His way" any time you want. gIHw Thom
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