Do you ever feel full of unrest? You're not even sure why, but you cannot find a place of peace. A psychologist once diagnosed my mom with 'free-floating anxiety,' the kind not related to any particular concern or worry. Sometimes I struggle with that, the nameless face of anxiousness.
I know sometimes it is related to moving from one location, situation, time zone/period, or season of life to another. However, that is not always so. There are times when my usual comfort in the presence of God eludes me for no apparent reason. I know He has not moved away; it is I who have somehow unintentionally distanced myself from Him. I have allowed something or someone to build a wall. That instant closeness in my prayer time seems to have evaporated, and I wonder where I took a wrong turn. I find myself pursuing every distraction, to avoid actually sitting down and seeking His Word and His face. Yet I know from experience that that is exactly where deep peace and rest will be found. How ironic.
Chaim Bentorah, in delving into the Hebrew word Yadiyad, translated Beloved, explains that the double yad presents the image of 'hand in hand.' In fact, he says, "many ancients believed the heart was in the palm of the right hand, so when people joined their right hands together, it was a symbol of sharing each other's hearts." He also tells a story from the Talmud "about a king who had a disagreement with his son. As a result of this falling out, the son left home to live in another kingdom. After some time, the father sent a messenger to his son, asking him to come home. The son replied, 'It is too far for me to come.' So the father sent a messenger back with this response: 'Then come as far as you can, and I will meet you.' "*
Sometimes it's not a matter of a deliberate departure related to a disagreement, but rather a case of taking a walk, with your mind occupied elsewhere, not paying attention to where you are going.. You turn around, looking for the way home, and see you have wandered quite far away. You can barely see the castle in the distance, and your father's face is a little hazy in your mind. You can't summon the strength or the means to make it home. Just remember, you are your Father's Yadidah, His Beloved. Come as far as you can towards Him, and He will come to meet you. His heart's desire is to walk hand in hand (heart to heart) with you. He will grip your small hand with His strong one and lead you home.
******************************************************
*Chaim Bentorah: Hebrew Word Study: Revealing the Heart of God
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Friday, July 21, 2017
Eleventh Hour
Remember in 1 Kings 17, where the widow and her son are starving, with only a tiny amount of grain left with which to make a final bit of bread, and Elijah asks her for food? She says she is just about to take two sticks, make their last meal, and die? I've always assumed she was building a fire with the sticks to bake the bread. But how could you make a fire with two sticks?
Chaim Bentorah, delving deeper into the wording of the Scripture, explains that in the northern kingdom, where they couldn't worship at the temple, they took two sticks, tied a cloth between them, and placed shewbread inside. The husband and wife (or in this case the mother and son, since the father had died) would each hold one stick and together present the bread before God, similar to what the priests would do with the shewbread in the temple. It was an offering of thanksgiving and worship.
This woman was offering to God all she had left and asking Him for provision, since without food, she and her son (like many others in this famine-stricken land) would surely die. Chaim says that the word translated die could better be translated 'receive' to not die. She hadn't even had the chance to carry out her plan, before God sent Elijah in answer to her prayer. He always knows what's in our hearts, doesn't He? But why would He wait until the 'eleventh hour' to send her help? Has that been the case for you, sometimes? Do you ever feel as if you're left hanging with a prayer on your lips and nothing but the breeze around you in answer?
Chaim comments on this: "Sometimes it seems that God waits until the eleventh hour--until you've exhausted all your resources, trying everything you could in the natural. And then one day, when your furniture has been loaded onto the truck to be repossessed, God says to the truck driver, 'Okay, you can put it back.' I mean, that's hard on your heart. But I will tell you one thing: you will know it was God who delivered you and not your own cleverness. " *
Then there are those times when you watch the truck drive away, saying "God, what just happened? Why didn't you deliver us?" And He says, "Ah, the story isn't over....Stay tuned. Sometimes he wants us to learn from Him how better to steward the resources with which He's blessed us. Sometimes He wants to rebuild our lives from the bottom up. Sometimes He wants to provide us with something better than we lost.
No matter what, He says, "Keep on trusting Me, despite what you see in front of your eyes. There's always more. More to be learned. More wisdom to be gained. More to be given. More fruit to be brought forth. I Am the Restorer, the Rebuilder, the Resurrector.
Whether He saves us in the morning, at noon, at the eleventh hour, in the middle of the night, or in the unseen future, He promises to never leave or forsake us. Take joy in that promise born of His love for you.
*Chaim Bentorah, Hebrew Word Study: Revealing the Heart of God, p. 135
Chaim Bentorah, delving deeper into the wording of the Scripture, explains that in the northern kingdom, where they couldn't worship at the temple, they took two sticks, tied a cloth between them, and placed shewbread inside. The husband and wife (or in this case the mother and son, since the father had died) would each hold one stick and together present the bread before God, similar to what the priests would do with the shewbread in the temple. It was an offering of thanksgiving and worship.
This woman was offering to God all she had left and asking Him for provision, since without food, she and her son (like many others in this famine-stricken land) would surely die. Chaim says that the word translated die could better be translated 'receive' to not die. She hadn't even had the chance to carry out her plan, before God sent Elijah in answer to her prayer. He always knows what's in our hearts, doesn't He? But why would He wait until the 'eleventh hour' to send her help? Has that been the case for you, sometimes? Do you ever feel as if you're left hanging with a prayer on your lips and nothing but the breeze around you in answer?
Chaim comments on this: "Sometimes it seems that God waits until the eleventh hour--until you've exhausted all your resources, trying everything you could in the natural. And then one day, when your furniture has been loaded onto the truck to be repossessed, God says to the truck driver, 'Okay, you can put it back.' I mean, that's hard on your heart. But I will tell you one thing: you will know it was God who delivered you and not your own cleverness. " *
Then there are those times when you watch the truck drive away, saying "God, what just happened? Why didn't you deliver us?" And He says, "Ah, the story isn't over....Stay tuned. Sometimes he wants us to learn from Him how better to steward the resources with which He's blessed us. Sometimes He wants to rebuild our lives from the bottom up. Sometimes He wants to provide us with something better than we lost.
No matter what, He says, "Keep on trusting Me, despite what you see in front of your eyes. There's always more. More to be learned. More wisdom to be gained. More to be given. More fruit to be brought forth. I Am the Restorer, the Rebuilder, the Resurrector.
Whether He saves us in the morning, at noon, at the eleventh hour, in the middle of the night, or in the unseen future, He promises to never leave or forsake us. Take joy in that promise born of His love for you.
*Chaim Bentorah, Hebrew Word Study: Revealing the Heart of God, p. 135
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Night Hours
I drape myself over the railing, basking in the combination of warm and cool which feather my skin. I am like the pansies currently thriving in baskets here on my deck. 'They do not toil or spin,' but their Creator takes tender care of them, as He does me.
In the night hours, worries and anxieties sometimes assail me, and that neverland between sleep and consciousness leaves me vulnerable to concerns which seem relatively insignificant in the day. I wish that I could turn a switch off as I say 'goodnight' to my mind and sleep the slumber of the lilies of the field. I know the Father desires it, just as I always want my own children to sleep in peace, safety, and contentment.
Knowing Scriptures by heart helps stem the tide of worries that can wash over my mind in waves. But my thoughts will often slip into the watery depths, taken by other currents or stuck in eddies which go round and round. I have to swim against the mental tide to return to the peace of His Word once again.
I know this happens to others, too, because they have shared similar experiences with me. How blessed we are to know that we are never alone in the night or the day. How my heart breaks for those who don't yet know the Author of Peace, the One Who says He will never leave or forsake us and that no one can snatch us from His hand, once we have chosen to entrust our lives to Him.
Sleep in peace, dear friends. May you rest in His love both in the day and in the wee night hours.
*************
"I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."
--Psalm 4:9
In the night hours, worries and anxieties sometimes assail me, and that neverland between sleep and consciousness leaves me vulnerable to concerns which seem relatively insignificant in the day. I wish that I could turn a switch off as I say 'goodnight' to my mind and sleep the slumber of the lilies of the field. I know the Father desires it, just as I always want my own children to sleep in peace, safety, and contentment.
Knowing Scriptures by heart helps stem the tide of worries that can wash over my mind in waves. But my thoughts will often slip into the watery depths, taken by other currents or stuck in eddies which go round and round. I have to swim against the mental tide to return to the peace of His Word once again.
I know this happens to others, too, because they have shared similar experiences with me. How blessed we are to know that we are never alone in the night or the day. How my heart breaks for those who don't yet know the Author of Peace, the One Who says He will never leave or forsake us and that no one can snatch us from His hand, once we have chosen to entrust our lives to Him.
Sleep in peace, dear friends. May you rest in His love both in the day and in the wee night hours.
*************
"I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."
--Psalm 4:9
Saturday, July 8, 2017
Two Dogs
Not long after I wrote the last post, Heart and Soul, I read Chaim's retelling of the story of a Native American who became a Christian and was then asked what it was like. "He answered, 'It is like having two dogs inside of me fighting, one good and one evil.' When asked which one would win, the old man said, 'Whichever I feed the most.'
Just like Elijah [in his fear of Jezebel] and that old Native American man, we have two 'dogs' fighting inside of us--a dog of fear and a dog of faith. For awhile, we let the 'arm of flesh' feed us and take care of us. But when that arm of flesh fails us, and we must turn to God to feed us, our faith falters because for too long we have been feeding the the dog of fear rather than the dog of faith."*
I believe the same analogy applies in another sense. Are we feeding, within us and others, the dog of today's culture, gradually becoming accustomed to its values and using the terminologies that reflect them? Do we talk about "karma," which is absolutely antithetical to the heart of Christianity? Do we refer to how 'lucky' we were in a particular situation? Do we tell someone for whom we should be praying that we will 'think positive thoughts' of them (which will provide them no help whatsoever)? Do we say we'll 'cross our fingers' or 'knock on wood' (a practice which dates back to idolatry of Gaia, whom many New Agers still believe dwells within the trees)? Do we place our hope in lotteries and other forms of gambling, rather than entrusting our provision to God? Have we become so accustomed to sexual immorality that we just accept it as part of our TV and movie entertainment? Do we listen to secular music (new or old) containing crude, foul, or even idolatrous lyrics because we like 'the beat' or enjoy the nostalgia of remembering the time from which they came?
If so, our frogish souls are in very hot water, and we don't even realize the temperature is increasing. (Sorry for the abrupt change in species.) If we are adapting to our culture, rather than influencing it toward God's Truth, then we are definitely feeding the wrong dog, who will eventually consume us from the inside out.
I say this to myself, as well, as I wrestle daily with how I will spend my time. I enjoy a good mystery, trying to figure out 'who done it,' like my mother before me. In her time, however, they would usually only intimate or imply a death, by showing just the feet on the floor, and then spend the show trying to solve the puzzle of the perpetrator. How much sexual immorality, violence, and perversion have I become accustomed to by watching today's mystery stories? How have I gradually become inured to them? Am I listening to the voice of God who reminds me where the power button is on my remote?
Let us not rationalize any more how often we feed the wrong dog, but rather ask God, Who understands every temptation we face, to help us withstand them. Let's ask His help in remaining sensitive to the direction of His Holy Spirit...in shaping our thoughts, in discerning His Truth, and in determining, day by day, what types of entertainment are acceptable to Him. Which things has He given us to enjoy and which are like eating from that other tree in the garden, which He forbids us to eat because He knows it will destroy us?
****************************************
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
*Chaim Bentorah, Hebrew Word Study: Revealing the Heart of God; p. 81-82
Just like Elijah [in his fear of Jezebel] and that old Native American man, we have two 'dogs' fighting inside of us--a dog of fear and a dog of faith. For awhile, we let the 'arm of flesh' feed us and take care of us. But when that arm of flesh fails us, and we must turn to God to feed us, our faith falters because for too long we have been feeding the the dog of fear rather than the dog of faith."*
I believe the same analogy applies in another sense. Are we feeding, within us and others, the dog of today's culture, gradually becoming accustomed to its values and using the terminologies that reflect them? Do we talk about "karma," which is absolutely antithetical to the heart of Christianity? Do we refer to how 'lucky' we were in a particular situation? Do we tell someone for whom we should be praying that we will 'think positive thoughts' of them (which will provide them no help whatsoever)? Do we say we'll 'cross our fingers' or 'knock on wood' (a practice which dates back to idolatry of Gaia, whom many New Agers still believe dwells within the trees)? Do we place our hope in lotteries and other forms of gambling, rather than entrusting our provision to God? Have we become so accustomed to sexual immorality that we just accept it as part of our TV and movie entertainment? Do we listen to secular music (new or old) containing crude, foul, or even idolatrous lyrics because we like 'the beat' or enjoy the nostalgia of remembering the time from which they came?
If so, our frogish souls are in very hot water, and we don't even realize the temperature is increasing. (Sorry for the abrupt change in species.) If we are adapting to our culture, rather than influencing it toward God's Truth, then we are definitely feeding the wrong dog, who will eventually consume us from the inside out.
I say this to myself, as well, as I wrestle daily with how I will spend my time. I enjoy a good mystery, trying to figure out 'who done it,' like my mother before me. In her time, however, they would usually only intimate or imply a death, by showing just the feet on the floor, and then spend the show trying to solve the puzzle of the perpetrator. How much sexual immorality, violence, and perversion have I become accustomed to by watching today's mystery stories? How have I gradually become inured to them? Am I listening to the voice of God who reminds me where the power button is on my remote?
Let us not rationalize any more how often we feed the wrong dog, but rather ask God, Who understands every temptation we face, to help us withstand them. Let's ask His help in remaining sensitive to the direction of His Holy Spirit...in shaping our thoughts, in discerning His Truth, and in determining, day by day, what types of entertainment are acceptable to Him. Which things has He given us to enjoy and which are like eating from that other tree in the garden, which He forbids us to eat because He knows it will destroy us?
****************************************
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Genesis 3:1-6:
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
**************************************************Chaim Bentorah, Hebrew Word Study: Revealing the Heart of God; p. 81-82
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)