Day 123
Scripture focus: When the wicked die, their hopes die with them, for they rely on their own feeble strength. Proverbs 11:7 NLT
One of my children loved his naps. He embraced his limits. After a hearty lunch or a busy morning on the play ground, he'd reach up for a hug and say plaintively, "Meme pug." Translation: I want my blankie and my pacifier. The kid knew his limits - and he didn't push against them. He didn't rely on his own feeble strength. Little did I know what wisdom was expressed in those two little words, "Meme pug."
"There is a fundamental spiritual struggle at work here. Our dislike for limits is, at heart, the struggle of a creature who wants to be the Creator. At the heart of recovery for many of us is the struggle to acknowledge our creatureliness. Creatures have limits. Creatures are finite. Creatures get tired. Creatures cannot take care of everything. Accepting the limitations which are appropriate to a creature is for many of us an important step toward accepting God as our Creator. The disciplines of recovery involve learning practical ways to identify and respond to our limits." Dale and Juanita Ryan, "Rooted in God's Love, p. 117.
I have had a short-sighted view of evil. My definition includes predators and bad people taking advantage of the hopeless and helpless. But the Drs. Ryan have challenged my perspective. Wicked can be as innocuous as a strong desire to push through our limits. When we work too hard, sleep too little, eat too fast - all in an effort to push past our limits, we're missing the full life. We won't recognize our large living experiences when our brains are stressed out because we're pushing past our limits.
The good life is best experienced when we remember our limits.
Recommended reading: Judges 15 and 16 in the morning; John 2 and Psalm 103 in the evening
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