When God chose David to be the King of Israel he called David "a man after My own heart." What was so special about David's life that God promised him that his dynasty would not end? Reading about David's life we see that in all his ways David followed God's law his entire life. He did not waver in his walk with the Lord. True he made many mistakes, as do we all, in that he committed adultery with Bathsheba, then when his tricks to deceive her husband and hide his sin failed, he had Uriah, her husband murdered during a battle. The Bible also suggested that he wasn't the best disciplinarian when it came to raising his sons. Still, God loved him. He also had many wives. This seemed to be a common thread in Biblical times, many wives and concubines. When you think about the trust factor with this one, well, just think about it. Just saying. Still he was God's man!
Recently we were discussing why David was considered a man after God's own heart and not others in his dynasty. Thinking about that it seemed so clear to me. Solomon, David's son, built the temple, was a man of special wisdom that was granted to him as a gift from God to rule his people with integrity, wisdom, and maintain his kingdom. Yet, like his father, he married many wives, but the difference is that Solomon married foreign wives who worshiped other gods leading him into the same practice. Following through the lineage of David you will see where most followed in the footsteps of David, yet they failed to break down the altars of idol worship that did not exist during David's reign.
Hezekiah, who is in the lineage of David was also a man whom God said followed followed the laws of the Lord as did His servant David. One day Hezekiah was given the news by God through His prophet Isaiah to get his affairs in order as he was going to die. Hezekiah was a man of prayer which served him well in his long life as king of Judah, as all his prayers were answered. So naturally when God told him he was going to die Hezekiah prayed, and he begged God to give him a longer life, so God gave him 15 more years. Towards the end of his 15 additional years, after a long life of service to God and destroying the worship of other gods, as King David had done, he fell to the sin of pride. While foreign envoys from Babylon were visiting Hezekiah, after learning he had recovered from his illness, he showed them all his treasuries throughout the kingdom which angered God and caused Him to send a message by Isaiah telling Hezekiah that because of his acts, the people would be led into exile by the same Babylonians but not during his lifetime. When Hezekiah died his 12 year old son Manasseh became King, and his reign was evil in the Lord's sight, following all the evil atrocities of former evil kings who worshiped pagan gods and committed abominable and detestable acts of worship and sacrifice. The irony of this situation is that had Hezekiah not asked for the additional 15 years, the dynasty of David would not have been cursed plus Manasseh never would have been born.
It seems that we have this irresistible impulse to help God and to do things our way. Personally I have learned on several occasions that God does not need my help, and I really prefer His ways over my own. Because of this tendency in my life to mess things up I have become more cautious in making decisions, as I do not want to be out of His timetable of how events in my life are to go. I admit that this can pose a problem when God also makes it quite clear that He wants us to be willing to take risks and not always do it the easy way. He gave us brains to use, fellow Christians and pastors to advise us, but advice and counsel should always line up with God's word. There have been times when I am so concerned with making yet another mistake that I refuse to take risks. I don't want to fail God again, so I delay decisions or stand still, when that can be viewed as a lack of faith as well. So where's the balance?
Well, we will always make mistakes, but unless we are willing to take the chance, what gets accomplished for the glory of God? After all in Revelations God says I wish that you were either hot or cold, but not lukewarm. So there you have it.
God does not want us to be controlled by fear, because perfect love (God's love) casts out fear (1 John 4:18). In The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning in the chapter entitled "Freedom from Fear" he uses a reference to Fyodor Dostoevsky's book The Brothers Karamazov regarding how the Church decided to take the place of Jesus in delivering people from their fears by relieving them of their freedom and becoming dependent on the Church for all decisions. And ironically, so it is with us today. Rather than seek God when something happens we decide to take it on ourselves to work things out, again helping God, yet wanting to take the place of Jesus and the work of the cross. When a situation arises where the church is threatened rather than humbling ourselves and asking God for advice, we seek the counsel of others. Granted we have other leaders for guidance as mentioned above; however, if we do not first seek God in prayer as the Body of Christ, we have missed the point of His sacrifice. This goes back to 2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." As Brennan so aptly puts it: "The question had become not '"What does Jesus say?"' but '"What does the church say?"' This question is still being asked today. Sad but true: some Christians want to be slaves. It is easier to let others make decisions or to rely upon the letter of the law."
I was recently posing a question to others within the church about the subject of unity among the churches. Jesus is coming back for a perfected, united Body of Christ that includes ALL churches, not one. But before all can be united, each church has to have its members walking in unity with each other as one. So what about church growth? How can the church grow if we are self-absorbed in the attitude of "no can do's." This again goes back to the discussion of freedom in Jesus, as the children of God. Grace has become a cliche and freedom lost in the paralyzing clutches of the father of all lies, the one who creates all fear. Brennan states: "While we profess our faith in God's unconditional love many of us still live in fear. Nouwen remarks: "Look at the many "if" questions we raise: What am I going to do if I do not find a spouse, a house, a job, a friend, a benefactor? What am I going to do if they fire me, if I get sick, if an accident happens, if I lose my friends, if my marriage does not work out, if a war breaks out? What if tomorrow the weather is bad, the buses are on strike, or an earthquake happens? What if someone steals my money, breaks into my house, rapes my daughter, or kills me?' Once these questions guide our lives, we take out a second mortgage in the house of fear."
Sound familiar? This is exactly how we are. Friday morning when I was getting ready to drive home from Albuquerque my back began to hurt. It happened out of the clear blue. I was meeting my friend for lunch prior to beginning the long ride home, and the pain was so crippling I could hardly walk across the floor much less drive home all those miles. I gathered my courage, sucked up the pain, as I have a huge tolerance for pain from years of living with it daily, and I met my friend for a wonderful time of fellowship and playing catch up on what God's doing in each of our lives. It was an encouragement to both of us, and I am certain that as time goes by our conversation will be included in one of my blogs. Point is, he never knew I was in pain, as I already have dark circles under my eyes, so the additional wasn't as obvious. Plus we had already laughed about how satan has tried to take me out by using my own body to kill me (to be explained in another blog). The effort was worth the discomfort, and Jesus was glorified. By the time I drove to Santa Fe and piddled a bit on must do chores, I had to head home for my Bible study in the evening. I was so relieved to be home I almost cried the pain had grown so in intensity. Gladly my right foot/leg was not affected, so driving was not as painful as walking. I endured the pain during the entire study, but by yesterday, Saturday, I was unable to walk very well, and at times, not at all. Resting was an even greater challenge. By this morning I was a bit better, but the pain indescribable. And here I am now, praying ...and trusting God for my deliverance, that tomorrow I will be pain free, as it is a field day with a full day of driving long distances. God is good, and nothing is impossible with Him, right?! So in the Name of Jesus, and by His stripes, I am healed! This is my stand.
In light of what I just shared, because I shared it for a reason, I cried to the Lord for answers. I was in a place of wondering "what if?" Thankfully, that time of crying out to God was short lived as I decided to "trust God" rather than "fear circumstances." It was my call, my decision, my free will making this choice. God is in control of my life, a life I purpose daily to be hidden in Him, so I trust Him with it. This is a continual day by day decision I am trying to make rather than become all bent outta shape over things beyond my control. Plus I recognize it for what it is...an attack of the enemy. If it is true that every good and perfect gift comes from above, then where do you think the bad stuff that happens originates?! Yep, you got it! Now, understand this, Christians will undergo things only because God allows it for the perfecting of His saints. Just like Job who was considered by God to be a righteous man, one who followed all His ways. Why does it have to be like that? Well, for His glory of course, besides which, we need to trust Him more and ask questions less. It's called a walk of faith. The more time you spend in His presence, the closer your walk, the closer You will know Him. I told someone recently that you will only get as much out of something as you are willing to put into it. Same applies. Spend time with Him. We're not perfect. I talk His ear off most days, but I still stumble, but guess what?! He picks me up again, and He never stops loving me or giving me chance after chance. It's a win win relationship if you ask me.
So once again I want to end this lengthy rendering by closing with another quotation from Brennan for you to consider:
"Disgruntled and disgusted, The Prince of Darkness slinks up to the chalet of bummed-out disciples who have made their home in Jesus and nails a legal document to the door:
EVICTION NOTICE!
You are hereby banished from
the House of Fear forever.
With malice aforethought, you have
flagrantly withheld the monthly rent
Of guilt, anxiety, fear, shame
and self-condemnation.
You have adamantly refused to
worry about your salvation.
Already I overheard one dismal tenant say,
'There goes the neighborhood!'
Your freedom from fear is not only
dangerous but contagious.
Real estate values have plummeted;
gullible investors are hard to find.
Why?
Your callous and carefree rejection
of slavery!
A pox on you and
all deluded lovers of liberty!
The Prince"
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