To Endure, or to Dance...

I've kept up with my reading...

but not with my writing.

We are just starting 1 Chronicles. 

But I also read a verse recently from Proverbs:
"The Spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but a broken spirit who can bear?"
Prov. 18:14

I also came across this verse,

"And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
Rom. 5:3-5

My body is weak.  I am not sure why.  It is harder to push through the pain these days.  I find myself looking more and more to HIM for help.

In the Romans verse, HE asks me to exult in my tribulation.

 I looked up the definition...at Merriam-Webster :  from Latin exsultare, literally, to leap up, from
 ex- + saltare.. to leap...: to be extremely joyful : rejoice

Looked up rejoice...and then glory...

a : praise, honor, or distinction extended by common consent : renown b : worshipful praise, honor, and thanksgiving <giving glory to God>

 

I should be thankful for the tribulation.  

It is His way to build within my heart and soul...proven character.

 

I am having a hard time expressing myself here.

 

For some reason in my mind it is clearer to me today.  I am not called to endure the suffering, I am called to exalt in the suffering.  To rejoice for it, to praise God in the midst of it, to thank Him for it...to glory in it!

 

To leap!  To leap..to jump up...to glory...to dance...

 

To dance for joy in my tribulations.

 

I love to dance.

 

When I dance, my body and soul feel alive.  Energy pulses through every inch of my being....

Energy....

 

Didn't I just say I felt...weak?

Too weak to push through the pain?

 

God is whispering to me. 

 

 He is telling me to... dance.

 

To give glory for the weakness and the pain and rejoice in my sufferings for He is at work and is able to do more than I could ever imagine...to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. Eph. 3:20.

 

Why am I so quiet about the suffering?

 

Let us worshipfully dance through the suffering...

 

"The Spirit of a man can endure his sickness..."

 

He may endure.  Or he may leap for joy...

 

 

 

 

A Good Reminder

Poor Guy.

No wonder his whole body aches!

The Spies!

So we are in Numbers now and there is a lot going on!

The sons of Israel were still grumbling.

Moses would go before the Lord and intercede on their behalf.

The spies went out, came back, and blew it.

The Lord decided they would die in the wilderness:

"Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice,
 shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it.
 But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it." Numbers 14:22-24

The Lord is not happy.  He decides to punish those who have experience HIS glory and HIS signs, and have not listened.  They will not enter the land.

Caleb, however, had a different spirit, and followed the Lord...FULLY!  The Lord blesses this spirit, and promises Caleb will enter the land!

Oh that the Lord would say that about our family some day.  That we have a different spirit, and follow the Lord fully!

After the Israelites hear this, they take matters into their own hands.

"When Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly.
 In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, Here we are; we have indeed sinned, but we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised."
 But Moses said, "Why then are you transgressing the commandment of the LORD, when it will not succeed?
 "Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies, for the LORD is not among you.
 "For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned back from following the LORD. And the LORD will not be with you."
 But they went up heedlessly to the ridge of the hill country; neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses left the camp.
 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down as far as Hormah. Numbers 14:39-45

The Israelites reacted to that sobering news, fumbled around and took matters into their own hands.  They didn't get it.  They did not really hear what the Lord had said.  They filtered out what they thought was the good news, and heedlessly took off to claim the promised land.

And were slaughtered.

Ya know, reading through the Old Testament can be very sobering.  God is really into the details, and really expected the Israelites to pay attention to them.  God gave them details, so that HE might dwell among them.  And when the Israelites ignored those details, they felt the consequences.  Going it alone did not work.  They ran off, without the Ark, without Moses, without God's presence, and were pummelled.

Going it alone does not work.  It did not work back then, and it does not work now.  But for some reason we keep trying it.

We need God's presence.  We need His protection.  And we cannot enjoy either if we chose to go it alone.

Check out Proverbs 10:29-30
The Way of the Lord is a stronghold for the upright, but ruin to workers of iniquity.
The righteous will never be shaken, but the wicked will not dwell in the land.

Serious "Stuff and Nonsense"

Know that term?

Stuff and nonsense.  If you love Anne of Green Gables...you probably remember Marilla using that phrase whenever Anne would get roped into some kind of  trouble.  Her red -haired temperament seemed to constantly get her into a jam.  Anne would come fretting to Marilla about it all, and Marilla would exclaim,
"Stuff and Nonsense!"

This past week of reading was filled with all kinds of stuff and nonsense. Stuff of a much more serious nature.    Isaac lies about his wife's identity.  Rebekah and their son Jacob pull a fast one over on Isaac and steal Esau's birthright.  Jacob runs away.  Laban deceives Jacob...and Jacob ends up married to Leah as well as Rachel..  The competition is on between the two women to see who can give Jacob the most children!

The Old Testament reads like a soap opera!

Jacob decides to reach out to Esau...offering gifts in hopes to gain favor.  Jacob is filled with fear.  Then the famous wrestling match happens and Jacob is told he will be called Israel.  He struggles with the Lord all night...and his meeting with Esau goes well.  They are reconciled.

But the nonsense is far from over.  Jacob's son's, in a rage over the wrong done to sister Dinah, talks Hamor, Schechem and all the men of their city to become "one of them.." They kill them all!  Jacob once again lives in fear, this time because of his sons' recklessness. 

This time God tells Jacob to journey up to Bethel and live there.  God tells him to clean up his act...and make an alter at Bethel. 

Jacob listens to God.  He gathers his family, tells them to get rid of their idols and purify themselves...
"...let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and has been with me wherever I have gone."
Gen. 35:5

God is at it again.  He not only has a chat with Jacob...but gives him a new name.

Jacob, by the way, means heal catcher, leg-puller, or supplanter.

Makes sense, right?  The guy did finagle his brother out of his birthright!

But Jacob changes.  After all the running away, he seems to have developed some muscle.  He has learned to hang in there when things get tough.  He recognizes God and will not let go.  And God blesses him.

God renames him Israel..."One who contends with God."

Or....

One Who Perseveres.


One who Perseveres.


Are you one who perseveres?

The girls and I were reading about idolatry.  Now, I tend to think about material "stuff" when the topic of idolatry pops up.   You know..the golden calf....graven images...all the junk that clutters up our life.

But we were reminded that idolatry can be about fear, too.  Your worries can consume you.  They can take the place of God in your heart.  If you are afraid, you are NOT trusting God.  Here is a list of stuff I have been worried about in the last few hours:

Violin lessons.
A science fair exhibit.
Blood work
Home school or kindergarten?
Aging pet.
Another foster child?
Cleaning out the basement.
Cleaning out my desk.
Barking dog.
Birthday gifts.
Web browser?
Does the 19 month old talk enough?
Latin.  Yes, Latin.  You heard me right...Latin.
Do we have enough toilet paper to get through the night?
When will we have time to go get some if we don't!

This is just a little part of it.  And not one whiff of God in that list, is there?

Now Jacob and his relations were fighting over birth rights and babies and bodily harm. They were not worried over science experiments and toilet paper.  But they handled their serious stuff the same way we handle our nonsense.  Trying to work it out ourselves,  instead of pursuing God and trusting Him to work it out for us.

I think the point of all this is summed up very nicely in the the Proverbs for today:

Keep sound wisdom and discretion, so they will be life to your soul, and adornment to your neck.  Then you will walk in your way securely, and your foot will not stumble.  When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.  Do not be afraid of sudden fear, nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.
Proverbs 3: 21-26

May your sleep be sweet, dear friends.

Father Abraham

Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him..

"I am God Almighty:
Walk before Me, and be blameless.
And I will establish My covenant between Me and you.
And I will multiply you exceedingly..."

And Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him....Gen. 17: 1-3

I just love that last verse.  Abram fell on his face...and God had a talk with him.

Do you know when this particular chat happened? 
Right after Ishmael was born.

You see, Ishmael...
... was the result of deviating from the plan.

Remember the plan? 

Abram and the Lord had a chat before Ishmael was born, remember?
Abram was concerned about who would be his heir, and the Lord promised,
"...one who shall come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir."

"Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them...
So shall your descendants be."
Then he believed in the Lord, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."  Gen 15: 4-6

Abram believed...

Funny what time, and circumstances, and desires will do.  

Sarai became impatient.  She wasn't all that happy that she had not yet born a son. 
She said to Abram, "Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children..." 
I imagine Abram was feeling the same way, because he "listened to the voice of Sarai."  Gen. 16:2
And Sarai gave her maid to Abram..so that they could bear a son.

Abram "listened...

 to the voice of Sarah."

Hagar conceived a child...a son for Abram!

Was there rejoicing?  Did Abram laugh?

"When she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight."  Gen 16:4

The household was filled with....

heartache,  
         envy,
              confusion.

Instead of rejoicing.

Deviating from God's plan does not work.

After Ishmael was born...

The Lord decided Abram needed a more detailed version of His plan.
And so they had a chat.  A chat about his name.  A chat about descendants.  A chat about a covenant.  About circumcision.

"As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you.
And you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
No longer shall your name be called Abram,
But your name shall be Abraham:
For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations." 
Gen. 17:4-5

And a chat about Sarah.

The Lord reassured Abraham that Sarah will give him a son.
"And I will bless her, and indeed, I will give you a son by her.  Then I will bless her, and she shall be the mother of nations..." Gen. 17:16"

And what does Abraham do?  He falls to his knees again...and laughs. 

Joy.  Sheer joy upon hearing the promises of God.  Sheer joy upon hearing...

God's voice.

Take comfort in God's voice.  Rest in His promises.
You may have deviated from the plan, but He is willing to talk with you.

Perfect reminders from today's reading in Proverbs 3.

My son, do not forget my teaching,
         But let your heart keep my commandments;
    For length of days and years of life
         And peace they will add to you.
    Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
         Bind them around your neck,
         Write them on the tablet of your heart.
    So you will find favor and good repute
         In the sight of God and man.
    Trust in the LORD with all your heart
         And do not lean on your own understanding
     In all your ways acknowledge Him,
         And He will make your paths straight.