Don't shush me, shushy

"To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too easily satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart." A.W. Tozer – The Pursuit of God

He goes on to talk of Moses, who already had a friendship with God, asking God to show him His glory. Of David, whose soul longs, even pants, for the living God. Of Paul, who laid aside everything, counting it rubbish, to KNOW God. Then goes on to say this:

"How tragic that we, in this dark day, have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of ‘accepting’ Christ and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of spurious logic, which insists that ‘if we have found Him, we need no more seek Him.’ This is set before us as the last word in orthodoxy, and it is taken for granted that no Bible-taught Christian ever believed otherwise. Thus the whole testimony of the worshiping, seeking, singing church on that subject is crisply set aside. The experiential heart-theology of a grand army of fragrant saints is rejected in favor of a smug interpretation of Scripture which would certainly have sounded strange to an Augustine, a Rutherford or a Brainerd."

"In the midst of this great chill there are some, I rejoice to acknowledge, who will not be content with shallow logic. They will admit the force of the argument, and then turn away with tears to hunt some lonely place and pray, ‘O God, show me Thy glory.’ They want to taste, to touch with their hearts, to see with their inner eyes the wonder that is God."

I want more than I already have. And, to be perfectly honest, I am starting to feel shushed. I am starting to hear phrases like ‘we don’t have to ask for the presence of God, because he is everywhere, he’s already here.’ Which, of course, is true. He is already here. However, these words are not spoken with an overwhelming, awe inspired sense of reverence (which would be the result of him actually being ‘here’). Rather, they are said with a ‘smug-ish’, theoligical-ish, non-seeking, shushing kind of voice that leaves one feeling the ungrateful fool for longing for more, for thinking that if this is this all there is, then it’s not enough. I’m sure I’ll be told that I’ve lost the big picture, Jesus died and rose again, for me, do I really think I can ask for more? I’ll be told that I already have everything I need for life and godliness. Again, not with the awe and the wonder that statement should inspire, but with the ‘that settles it, now quiet down and quit asking for more’ tone. I’ll be told I’m trying to get into a room I’m already in, which is, again, true! It’s been a few years since I’ve heard these shushers. It makes me sad to hear them again.

Thing is, I am not at all satisfied with good theology. I can hear it, agree with it, be thankful for it, and still at the end of the day say ‘Well, that was nice, but … I’m hungry, where’s the food?" Maybe it’s like looking at a menu, and reading a menu, and touring the kitchen, and talking to the chef. Maybe I’m in the restaurant, but really, when can I eat? (But I’m not allowed to ask that question… it’s not polite…)
Because I have found Him, I will seek Him. Nothing else satisfies. Is good theology good at all if it doesn’t invite us into a constant quest for more?

There is a difference between God being everywhere, and God BEING HERE. I know. Because He’s BEEN HERE! I’ve been overwhelmed. I’ve been weak in the knees. I’ve trembled in the presence. I’ve tasted. I’ve seen. The Lord, He IS good. But it’s been too long since I’ve let him in. It’s been my fault. I’ve been asking with my mouth, but holding off with my heart. … too busy, too lazy, too easily shushed (I’ve tried to blame it on the shushers), too shy, that’s probably it, too shy…. He’s very intimate…

This ol' world...

OK, so back to the question is it true?? Does God give you more than you can bear? The answer to this is a resounding NO!!!
What did Jesus say? "Come to me you who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
This world most definitely gives us more than we can bear. If I was able to bear my sorrows, then why would Jesus have had to bear them for me? If I was able to bear my weaknesses then, again, why would Jesus have had to bear them for me? Again it comes to the question of the will of God, and the finished work of Jesus Christ. Does most of what happens in this ol’ world reflect the will of God? I should certainly hope not. The kingdom of this world and the kingdom of heaven are absolutely not the same. This world is under the rule of someone other than God. If I wasn’t so lazy I’d look up where in the Bible it says this, but, until the return of Christ, the Prince of this world is Satan. Satan’s mission is to steal, kill, and destroy.
I think we have a confusion between the sovereignty of God and the Prince of this world. At least, certainly, I have a confusion about it. Can we say, honestly, that most of what happens in this world is not the will of God? Probably, most of us can. Look at poverty, war, crime, abuse, disease, hopelessness, …. Can we say, honestly, that most of what happens to us, individually, is or is not the will of God? Can we look at our own poverty, our own personal conflicts, the crimes and abuse (and offences) against us, our own diseases, our own depression, and say it is NOT GOD’s WILL? Not if we have a theology that says ‘everything happens for a reason’. It gets a bit tricky here. We want to believe that God is sovereign, that he won’t give us more than we can bear. We don’t want to believe that anything can happen to us that is not God’s will. We want to feel safe. We don’t want to believe that the Prince of this world, the devil, can have any influence, or any power, or any ability to steal, kill, or destroy us. But then, what would be the point of all the warnings? Be on your guard, be alert, watch out for false teachers, put on the armor.
I think we are double minded in our beliefs about Satan. For instance, do we, as Christians, believe in demons? If I asked this question straight out to a cross section of people in our church, I’m sure I would get an entire range of different, and ambiguous, and indecisive answers. There would be a lot of "Well,… (long pause) yes, I suppose…., but…….." "It’s clear from the Bible that demons exist and that Jesus, the disciples, Paul, etc. all cast them out, and we’re pretty sure that in some of those "heathen countries in Africa" there are demons, BUT, here in North America, here in Linden…..?? They don’t exist here…….no, I’m sure they don’t exist here…., well, except maybe to tempt me to sin,…. But that’s all…. , I’m pretty sure that’s all…, isn’t it?" And then quick before we get spotted, quick before our fear gets a hold of us, we bury our heads in the sand.
In the Bible, it seemed that everyone knew who was demon possessed (we hate that word, we try to find ways around that word, we use words like oppressed, afflicted, influenced, attacked…). They brought their sick and their demon possessed to Jesus to be healed (actually to be SOZO’ed, remember that word?) Also to the disciples, and to Paul, etc. Now, it seems, we have no idea who they are, or even IF they are… do we have any demon possessed? We know who the sick are, but we have doctors for that…..
I remember the time I read in Corinthians (again, too lazy to look it up) that "we are not unaware of the devil’s schemes" and I said in my mind "I am absolutely unaware of the devil’s schemes!!" To be unaware is to be vulnerable. I think one of the schemes is to keep us unaware. One of the schemes is to give new, scientific names to his work, or to disguise it as someone else’s work, or to say it’s just ‘part of life, part of living in a fallen world!’ That way he doesn’t really get the blame for it. It’s ambiguous, it’s hopeless, it’s defenseless.
One of the reasons we remain unaware is because we are also unaware of the authority we have to overcome, defend against, and defeat the works of the devil. We don’t want to learn or know about the authority because, in order to learn about it, we first need to acknowledge our need for it, and to acknowledge it - is scary. I’d rather pretend the big scary lion isn’t there, than look it in the face and tell it to leave, because, whatif… it doesn’t. Now I’ve stood up, it’s seen me, it knows I’m here (which it knew perfectly well all along) and I’ve provoked it (even though I’m not entirely sure it even exists, cause I sure wish it didn’t exist, and I hope that my wishing would make it not exist). What I do not see and recognize, because I am unaware, is that right behind me, actually right IN me, is Jesus Christ, with all the authority of heaven, seated at the right hand of God, far above all power, and rule, and authority. HE is IN me! He has GIVEN me authority. The devil, of course, knows this, and therefore conceals his identity behind much less sinister labels. When be begin to think of accusing him of being behind something, he flat out denies it, and because is the author of truth (NOT!!!) we believe him!! He is the author of lies; OF COURSE he denies it!
One day I was praying for a person who lives (or has lived) in the "Dark tunnel" of depression. I believe in my Spirit that the depression was demonic and I began praying in that respect. I prayed the scripture about Jesus being the light of the world, about being rescued out of the kingdom of darkness, about hope, about abundant life. In the name of Jesus I spoke to the demon on this persons behalf and commanded it to leave. Then I waited while someone else prayed. While I waited I could ‘hear’ (in a spiritual way) very loudly and very clearly, the devil yelling to the person being prayed for that this depression was absolutely NOT from him, that he was being falsely accused and how dare she (meaning me) suggest such a thing! This depression was all chemical, and he absolutely could not be blamed for it! Then, much more subtly, and soothingly, he began to whisper that she (meaning me) simply doesn’t understand you. She (meaning me) does not understand the complexities of this condition. You thought you were safe here, but, clearly, you are not. She (meaning me) is judging you…
As far as I know, this person was not set free that day. The father of lies won this battle, for now. I am stepping out in faith when I pray like that, and maybe I mis-stepped, maybe I jumped the gun, or maybe I just declared war. I don’t know. Maybe I planted seeds for this person to think about and chew over, about the possibility of depression being NOT God’s will, but entirely someone else’s will to steal joy and light and abundance of life.
Until the return of Christ, we are in hostile territory, but we are not defenseless. We have armor, we have weapons, we have authority. Jesus said "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." He also said his burden is light and his yoke is easy. He also said learn of me. Did you notice that? Maybe if it seems too hard, or too heavy, or too dark, maybe there is more to learn……. We have everything we need for abundant life and godliness through… our knowledge of him who called us… Maybe we need to learn for real what the will and the heart and the character of God is, so that when someone or some thing piles a burden on us, we do not call what is bad good and wrong right. Maybe we need to learn about the authority given us in Christ, so we don’t have to put up with, and fall for, or succumb to, the schemes of the devil.
We all know we are in a spiritual battlefield, we all know who the enemy is, but we don’t know what he looks like, or what he’s capable of. I’m not saying we should spend all our time studying the enemy, but we should know our God well enough to know when something IS or IS NOT of him. A banker knows a counterfeit not because he studies a counterfeit, but because he is so familiar with the real thing. A counterfeiter counts on the banker not paying attention.

every good and perfect gift...

True or False? "God will not give you more than you can bear"
A woman said this to me the other day, prefaced by "I know the Bible says that…." And followed by, "but my shoulders are just not this big." One awful thing after another happens to this woman and her little family. It makes me tired just to think about what she and her family has all gone through. She is a fairly new believer and has, somewhere along the line, heard this statement that "God will not give you more than you can bear." The statement is meant to be an encouragement, but the question is, Is it true?
Another statement, meant to be an encouragement is this. "Everything happens for a reason." This statement is not written in the Bible, but is widely quoted among Christian circles. Again, same question. Is it true??
In fact, the first statement is also not recorded in the Bible. It is a misquote of 1Chorinthians 10:13 which says " No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
The first statement was said in response to yet another very scary health issue recently diagnosed by a doctor. The implication, then, is that God has given her this ‘disease’, and if she just bucks up, she’ll be able to bear it. "God will not give you…" The verse that was misquoted was actually referring to temptation to sin, not to diseases, to marriage issues, to financial difficulties, and we dare not say, especially in regard to temptation, that God gave it to us. Temptation comes, but not from God. Disease comes, but not from God. Marriage difficulties come, but not from God. You get the point.
If not from God, then, from where??
The second statement that "everything happens for a reason" also implies that God makes everything happen. At least that is what is implied by the people I hear it from. It is a take off of Romans 8:28 " And we know that in all things God works for good for those who love him, and are called according to his purpose." Another statement stemming from this verse is this; "God allows things he could prevent." These statements are true, but in my heart I believe that they are being misunderstood. The sense I get from people who are saying this is that they believe that God sends all things. There is a difference between God allowing things, and God sending things, but we are not discerning this difference. This causes a difficulty in knowing the will and the heart and the character of God. The Bible says that every good and perfect gift…. comes from God. It also says that the will of God is good and pleasing and perfect.
This goes back to my post called good is good and bad is….good?? How can something that we all agree is bad, be given to us by God? But in her statement that God will not give her more than she can bear, she is believing that God is giving her family member this disease and that he will just keep piling on the bad stuff until she’s on the very verge of cracking, and then, just make her hold it there. That is very much how it looks from her vantage point. He’s says she’s tough enough, now it’s up to her to prove it. How sad. How can she possibly hold the belief that God is good under these circumstances?
What has not entered her mind yet, is that there is an enemy, whose whole entire function is to steal, to kill, and to destroy. There are forces of evil. They are out, actively seeking those he (they) may devour.
I believe we tread very dangerously when we begin to call evil good, when we say that God gave us this disease. We are calling the work of the devil the will of God. (Of course, we’d never actually say it, but we would certainly imply it, both by what we say, and by what we don’t say.)
The devil is absolutely piling on more than she can bear. His intention is absolutely to break her. Part of his tactic is to take focus off of himself and blame the load on God, make her feel guilty for feeling so weak, and hopefully in so doing, cause her to lose her faith in the ‘so called God of love.’ We play right into his hand when we try to console her with words and implications that are not true. We think we can ignore the devil and he will go away. He won’t. Jesus response to the devil was never to ignore him. The disciples didn’t ignore him either. Nor Paul….

things too wonderful...

Job speaks to God… "I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans.
" You asked, "Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?"
"I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head."
I was reading through the last bit of Job this week. Job had gone through a series of devastating events in his life, things that would understandably undo just about everyone on the planet. Life’s tripping along pretty splendidly for Job when suddenly, in the span of a few weeks (?) he loses everyone in his family; murdered by marauding enemies, loses everything financially, and loses his own health, through no fault of his own. He is suddenly alone and destitute and sick. He has been faithful to God, generous, good to his neighbors, good to his family and now this….
The natural question, the one we would all ask, is why? He asks the question of God, but God remains silent. His friends however, do not. They say that things like this don’t ‘just happen’, there has to be a reason. God is just. You must have sinned. Job said he hadn’t sinned. The friends said that now he was just being arrogant, he had to have sinned or this wouldn’t be happening. They go on long explanations of who they perceive God to be. Job doesn’t budge. He gets quite personal with God, demanding an explanation. I respect that. He asks the hard questions and demands an answer. This offends the friends of Job. How dare you speak to God this way, don’t you know who he is?? You don’t demand answers from God!!! More long speeches about the sovereignty of God, the righteousness of God. Job is not swayed from his pursuit. What Job believes to be true about God, and what Job is experiencing, are not lining up and he wants to know why. Again he demands an answer from God.
Well, God does not disappoint. He answers! Boy, does he answer! He does not explain the ‘why’ of it, but he certainly explains the ‘who’ of it. If Job didn’t get how big God is before, he certainly did now! And the above is his response. "OK God, I get it. I get it that I didn’t get it before. I get it that I’ve been talking about things I can’t possibly understand, that are miles to big for me, that are too wonderful, too complex, too simple, too infinite for my tiny mind."
The thing that struck me this time through is right at the very end. God made it very clear that Jobs three friends had not spoken the truth about him (God), that they had misrepresented him (God), that they needed to repent of their wrong thinking. God did not say this about Job. Job had it right. But, even in having it right, he did not have it complete. God did not punish Job for asking the questions, or for demanding an answer. He didn’t strike him dead with a lightning bolt. In fact, he blessed him. The God of the universe, the one who is bigger than big, greater than great, stepped into Jobs world and answered him. How cool is that??!! Then he blessed him with more than he had before. Incredible!
I will continue to ask questions. I have been humbled again of late by how few answers I have. I feel I have stumbled on to a tiny glimpse of truth in regard to the God Who Heals. At the same time, I have seen where what I believe to be true, and what I experience, do not line up, and I want to know why. What I experience does not equal the Truth. This does not make the Truth not True. What it does tell me is that there is so much more that I don’t know and understand. I feel like I have my hands on a corner of a huge silk cloth that covers the universe. I have my hands on it. I can touch it, feel it, smell it, experience it, but I’ll never know the whole of it. I could fill my arms full of it, wrap myself round and round with it, but still only ever have just the tiniest part of it. The fact that I’ll never grasp the whole of it is OK with me, but I do still find myself wanting (and needing) more than I have.
I have lived at least part of my life with Jobs friends, telling me not to dare to ask questions, not to ask for more, not to demand an answer. I am learning again and again, that God is not afraid of my questions, He is not offended by them, and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him, who seek Him with all their hearts.