Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - Reality Check

      Daniel stood courageously for what was godly while a slave in ungodly enemy territory. Jonathan, selfless and noble, should have inherited Israel's throne from his father Saul, but instead died an early death defending a lost cause (Saul). Joseph went against social guidelines to marry a woman pregnant with Someone Else's child and found himself escaping across the border with his new family in order to protect them. These three men represent the fraction of biblical heroes whose failures and sins remain unrecorded. We only see them as obedient and taking the high road of God's Will over their own. These three men and the Proverbs 31 gal leave me feeling weak and sinful. 

     But then, thank God, there's Moses of the stuttering tongue who still managed to emit excuses for not doing what God chose him to do. Moses also displayed a temper problem and obedience issue that kept him out of the Promised Land.  Noah drank himself into a near coma after hitting dry land. Abraham, as a rich man with a beautiful wife, feared conflict more than God. He lied to a king and caved in to Sarah's nagging to keep from rocking the boat instead of trusting God. Elijah suffered with depression after the victory on Mt. Carmel. And, David - David, David, David - he broke half the Commandments in a single domino-effect sin spree. Yet, God had said of him, 

'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; 

he will do everything I want him to do.'" 

Acts 13:22

     If you want to compare sins as a way to feel better about yourself, David's your man. He outdid us all. If you want to compare virtues to confirm your own unworthiness, David's still your man. He swung the pendulum in both directions: from whole-hearted passion in serving God fully to fulfilling his self-serving lust and causing a world of problems for his family and his kingdom. Whatever he did, good or bad, he did with all his heart. He seems to have recognized his weakness because he prayed:  

"Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your truth; 

give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your Name." 

Psalm 86:11

Reality check while re-enacting
 the "I'm king of  the world" scene
from the movie "Titanic."

     David needed constant guidance to keep his emotions and senses from leading him into trouble. As long as he stayed in God's classroom and prayed honestly and proactively he did fine. His problems came when he stopped running from danger and no longer felt a need for God (See 2 Samuel 11:1-2). First, he stayed home instead of leading his army. Second, he slept all day, foregoing his usual devotion to time with God so he missed God's message of unfailing Love that day. He had become too lazy and smug to put on his military or spiritual armor for battle. He thought he deserved a break from his usual routine and ended up losing the costliest battle of his life when he spotted Bathsheba while strutting on the roof as king of all he surveyed. 

     Some days I think, "I have too much to do to listen to God speak to me or to write today."  Other days I just want to sleep, feeling somehow I "deserve" a morning to do what I please. The worst days happen when I've already decided what I'm going to do and I really don't want God interfering with my plans so I skip class and miss out on God's unfailing Love and Guidance. Maybe the reason God called David "a man after My own Heart" was because David, for most of his life, spent time with God expressing himself to God and getting to know God. David held nothing back when he gave himself to the Lord: it was with all his heart. Only briefly, when he thought he was king of the world and no longer needed God, did he fall hard and fast back into reality.

"Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, 

for I have put my trust in You. 

Show me the way I should go,

for to You I lift up my soul." 

Psalm 143:8

Lord, God, we need Thee every hour. When we think we've got things under control, we need You even more because we don't know what we'll spy with our little eyes around the next corner.  We're in Your Hands and want to love, trust and serve You devotedly not just for the rest of our lives but for each moment in each hour of each day in each year for the rest of our lives.  Like a car crash, our lives can tumble from the heights in seconds if we look away from You. May we humble ourselves before You each morning, through the day and every night as we close our eyes. May Your Will transcend ours in every detail. Show us the way we should go to be people after Your own Heart,

In the Name of Jesus in Whom You were and are well-pleased!

Inspired by Live Loved, by Max Lucado

photo from Google images