Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. (Psalm 107:10-12)
A definite theme ran through my day yesterday. First it was my husband's sermon on the third Commandment and then it was our evening Community Life Group and talking about how do we know if we are hearing God's voice as opposed to Satan or ourselves.
It's been a while since I got up at 5:30 a.m. and sat down with a cup of coffee and God's Word. I haven't touched my devotionals in a long time. I've been skimming by on the surface of my religion like a dragonfly on a still pond. I woke up this morning and opened up my Whispers of Hope prayer journal by Beth Moore. I was embarrassed to see that I had only made it to day four before I gave up and moved on to something else. Consistency is a big issue for me.
The topic of the day is basically about rebellion against God. I'm thinking to myself, rather smugly, that I do not rebel against God. I do a lot of thing but I DO NOT REBEL! Certainly this day's devotion did not apply to me and I contemplated moving on to something else when I read this sentence and I was instantly stopped in my tracks:
The biblical definition of rebelling against God is simply refusing God's counsel.
Rebellion is drawing back from God's Word.
And suddenly this smug little dragonfly was snatched into the mouth of a large bass! A light bulb went on over my head and I could almost feel the Holy Spirit rolling His eyes over my shoulder and saying, "Well duh!" I'm fairly certain that the Holy Spirit does have a sense of humor you know.
Back to my epiphany. Not only was I rebelling, I was carrying a flag and marching down the street with my rebellion! I was the poster child for it. Slap me down in a metal chair in the nearest "RA" (Rebellion Anonymous) meeting and I'd be leading it before too long. I am a rebel.
I go to church Sunday after Sunday. I show up for my Wednesday "Refueling in Flight" religiously, pun completely intended. The thing I haven't been doing in a long while is seeking His counsel first above all else. I've skimmed my precious Bible for passages that I am familiar with and found myself, well let's be honest here, bored with the rest. Yep I said it. My transparency might be shocking but I found it B O R I N G!
How can a child of the Most High God have found His word boring and of no real use?
How can I not have seen the dire situation of my spiritual life?
Where were the warning whistles and bells? The submarine siren blaring in my head and making me cringe?
I had to stop my train of thought immediately because I found myself wanting to question the Holy Spirit about where He was during all this. How dare He leave me to my own devices doesn't He know how frail and pathetic I am without His counsel? The nerve!!
The great Counselor quickly let me know that He's been here the whole time. He never left my side and in fact has been whispering in my ear, yelling at the top of His lungs while I chose to ignore Him and move about my life of my own accord.
"Healing is found in God's Word--not just in seeking healing--but in seeking Him. We can be children of the living God and still sit "in darkness and the deepest gloom" as "prisoners suffering in iron chains" because we refuse His counsel." {Beth Moore}
Thank you Beth, now would you kindly stop stepping all over my tender toes? I get it. I got it. It's all good. A change of direction has occurred and I'm optimistic about the outcome.
Psalm 119:2 testifies to the healing power of God's Word: "If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction."
Ain't that the truth! Had I not read my devotional this morning I would have kept on a very slippery path. My holy Life Coach decided I needed to be up at 5:30 a.m. before even the sun began to rise in the eastern sky.
Wake up from your slumber! Open up your eyes!
God's Word is His primary healing agent. I'm pumped up at this point and I go into Proverbs 4. I have to admit that I snickered because I just love when I experience God's sense of humor. What is the title of Proverbs 4 in my Bible you might ask dear reader?
A FATHER'S WISE INSTRUCTION Ha! The entire proverb is about the importance of wisdom and God's Word. You cannot make this stuff up! If that's not supernatural forces at work in my life then I'm Donald Duck. I don't have feathers and I don't quack!
The fourth sentence into the proverb says this: "do not forsake my teaching."
Umm, ok Jesus I'm listening. Continue on reading and I get these morsels of spiritual food that are nourishment to my starving soul.
Proverbs 4
(v2) do not forsake my teaching
(v5) Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
(v13) Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.
It goes on and on in that proverb. Obviously the Holy Spirit had a plan for me this morning and I listened. I took it to heart. I want to grab on to what He's saying to me with both hands and never let go. I want a fire not a flame. I want a tsunami of Jesus to flood through me, over me and into my life.
I'm listening Lord. I promise I'm listening.
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