Divine Restraint
To look around at the folks I know intimately is to see their attributes as well as their shortcomings. And often, to look at folks I don't know at all is to see only their acting-out behavior, as this world becomes more obviously selfish all the time. I wonder when it will come to a head...
On a rabbit trail for a moment: I have been shopping twice over the past week for Christmas gifts, and I am keenly aware of a sense of robotic compliance that we all seem to have in response to the American cultural pressure to shop. It's been rather surreal, watching folks move through their paces, seemingly unaware of others around them, looking in anxiety for that toy their child wants, or that perfect item for their spouse, etc. Living in a city that could modestly be called "large", it is interesting to see that with the exception of the Salvation Army bell-ringer, we are all moving through the stores with no regard for each other, only pushing ahead to get through the chore of making sure we've gotten something for everyone on our ever-growing, unaffordable list. You hear someone on their soapbox every Christmas these days, shouting out about the commercialism of Christmas and how it is eroding any chance of remembering the Christ. Rather than being a clanging gong about that, my thoughts center around the "God Calling" devotional for December 2. (I think the reason that devotional has endured through the years of time is because it so encourages us to depart from conventional thinking and see what's really happening in the Spirit--it is a centering tool for "resetting" your perspective about what is real--thanks to my dear demosthenes for being led to give it to me)
Okay back to the original impressions: as we look at ourselves and our fellow humanity, it is easy to fixate on the many ways in which we disappoint ourselves and each other. It is too easy to see that. December 2 in God calling talks about the capacity for God to fulfill our relational needs and more, rather than having lofty, unrealistic expectations of others, encouraging us above all else, to draw near to Him all the time. To make ourselves available for intimacy. It speaks to how we constantly judge other's behavior falling short of what they are capable of being in Christ. I won't go as far as Paul to say I'm the chiefest of sinners here--because I don't know. But I am certain I am, in the very least, running neck and neck with anyone else in my disappointments and criticisms of others, commiserating with friends about the flaws they see in others. God points out through this devotional that if we are disappointed in our fellow man about not being ideally what they were created to be, imagine his own disappointment and frustration in waiting for us to trust him enough to allow him to heal us so we evolve us into those very creatures, created for a display of His splendor. And yet, he also encourages us to judge Him, not the person, if they're not living up to their potential, since He's responsible for the outcome of their lives. Now, when I begin to evaluate what God is and isn't doing in someone else, it's difficult to go there because the immediate conclusion is, who am I to judge God? Imagine His Divine Restraint in gently ever-wooing us toward Him, going at our pace, selectively granting our prayers that are of limited scope, sometimes giving us what we ask for so we can learn from our poor motives, because we can't (or even refuse to) see it any other way? Or, immediately rushing in to answer prayers that are truly in His Name and His Spirit to prove Himself and reinforce the paths He wants us to take... And all along we fumble through, most of the time not getting it, because our selfish flesh is always clamoring for attention. The lure of instant gratification from the enemy is always vying for 1st place in our neediness. The Father is so patient. How can we possibly judge Him? They enemy would have us marching to the beat of his drum at all times, and our flesh makes it way too easy to go there. God acts in the opposite Spirit all the time, waiting patiently for us as the Gentleman He is. In our frustration we cry out and say, "Hurry up Lord, and fix me so I don't have to hurt any more," and then when he quickly grants our prayer and amputates our sin without any anesthetic...we whine and complain that it hurts too much, and fuss at Him for being mean and play the victim. Lord, I don't know how you love us all...we are so infantile most of the time. That we would ever actually please you is a testament to your miraculous power.
Lord, you are so faithful to be patient with me. Give me grace and mercy not to thwart your purposes, even though you would take me to places that are scary and so opposite the world, that I could be despised and not attractive to mankind. Lord, give me grace, that I would seek you first, and not fear man's view of me. Lord, give me a fuller measure of compassion, that I would walk in an attitude of forgiveness. Give me ears to hear Your voice and Your will, rather than the drone of the enemy's cadence that would keep me mindlessly marching to his agenda. Give me empowering to walk in your ways, Lord. Lord, is it possible for you to be gentle and quick at the same time? If so, I ask it and all these things in Your name.
On a rabbit trail for a moment: I have been shopping twice over the past week for Christmas gifts, and I am keenly aware of a sense of robotic compliance that we all seem to have in response to the American cultural pressure to shop. It's been rather surreal, watching folks move through their paces, seemingly unaware of others around them, looking in anxiety for that toy their child wants, or that perfect item for their spouse, etc. Living in a city that could modestly be called "large", it is interesting to see that with the exception of the Salvation Army bell-ringer, we are all moving through the stores with no regard for each other, only pushing ahead to get through the chore of making sure we've gotten something for everyone on our ever-growing, unaffordable list. You hear someone on their soapbox every Christmas these days, shouting out about the commercialism of Christmas and how it is eroding any chance of remembering the Christ. Rather than being a clanging gong about that, my thoughts center around the "God Calling" devotional for December 2. (I think the reason that devotional has endured through the years of time is because it so encourages us to depart from conventional thinking and see what's really happening in the Spirit--it is a centering tool for "resetting" your perspective about what is real--thanks to my dear demosthenes for being led to give it to me)
Okay back to the original impressions: as we look at ourselves and our fellow humanity, it is easy to fixate on the many ways in which we disappoint ourselves and each other. It is too easy to see that. December 2 in God calling talks about the capacity for God to fulfill our relational needs and more, rather than having lofty, unrealistic expectations of others, encouraging us above all else, to draw near to Him all the time. To make ourselves available for intimacy. It speaks to how we constantly judge other's behavior falling short of what they are capable of being in Christ. I won't go as far as Paul to say I'm the chiefest of sinners here--because I don't know. But I am certain I am, in the very least, running neck and neck with anyone else in my disappointments and criticisms of others, commiserating with friends about the flaws they see in others. God points out through this devotional that if we are disappointed in our fellow man about not being ideally what they were created to be, imagine his own disappointment and frustration in waiting for us to trust him enough to allow him to heal us so we evolve us into those very creatures, created for a display of His splendor. And yet, he also encourages us to judge Him, not the person, if they're not living up to their potential, since He's responsible for the outcome of their lives. Now, when I begin to evaluate what God is and isn't doing in someone else, it's difficult to go there because the immediate conclusion is, who am I to judge God? Imagine His Divine Restraint in gently ever-wooing us toward Him, going at our pace, selectively granting our prayers that are of limited scope, sometimes giving us what we ask for so we can learn from our poor motives, because we can't (or even refuse to) see it any other way? Or, immediately rushing in to answer prayers that are truly in His Name and His Spirit to prove Himself and reinforce the paths He wants us to take... And all along we fumble through, most of the time not getting it, because our selfish flesh is always clamoring for attention. The lure of instant gratification from the enemy is always vying for 1st place in our neediness. The Father is so patient. How can we possibly judge Him? They enemy would have us marching to the beat of his drum at all times, and our flesh makes it way too easy to go there. God acts in the opposite Spirit all the time, waiting patiently for us as the Gentleman He is. In our frustration we cry out and say, "Hurry up Lord, and fix me so I don't have to hurt any more," and then when he quickly grants our prayer and amputates our sin without any anesthetic...we whine and complain that it hurts too much, and fuss at Him for being mean and play the victim. Lord, I don't know how you love us all...we are so infantile most of the time. That we would ever actually please you is a testament to your miraculous power.
Lord, you are so faithful to be patient with me. Give me grace and mercy not to thwart your purposes, even though you would take me to places that are scary and so opposite the world, that I could be despised and not attractive to mankind. Lord, give me grace, that I would seek you first, and not fear man's view of me. Lord, give me a fuller measure of compassion, that I would walk in an attitude of forgiveness. Give me ears to hear Your voice and Your will, rather than the drone of the enemy's cadence that would keep me mindlessly marching to his agenda. Give me empowering to walk in your ways, Lord. Lord, is it possible for you to be gentle and quick at the same time? If so, I ask it and all these things in Your name.
posted by butterflyisfree at 9:49 AM
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