November 14
Scripture focus: You’re blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart – put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. Matthew 5:8 The Message
I thought that the phone call was an invitation to offer a friend feedback – it turns out I was wrong! My friend told a very long, sometimes complex story and I listened with interest. It was a good story had it been fiction. In this case, because I knew all the players involved, it was a heartbreaking tale.
My friend did indeed want feedback, so I had not misread her intentions. But it would have been wrong of me to provide it. Why? Because her questions were best answered by a lawyer, not a pastor. It would have been wrong for me to offer feedback without legal training.
Frustrated, my friend explained to me in no uncertain terms how utterly useless I was to her in a desperate time of need. I agree with her assessment. And I learned something along the way.
Sometimes, in order to see God in the outside world, there are some hoops we need to jump through that we might actually mis-identify as unspiritual. My friend thinks it is unchristian to go to a lawyer. I think she’s wrong. Trusting God may require her to trust God and his love for her enough to believe that God is willing to stand beside her as she makes that legal appointment.
Getting our inside world put right is necessary in order for us to see God in the outside world. This “inside” work might require us to expand our definition of spiritual problem solving. We might have a chemical imbalance in our mind that requires medical intervention. We may need to avail ourselves of the counsel of an excellent therapist, or a skilled nutritionist or even an awesome personal trainer.
Spiritual renewal may require us to expand our notions about how God can refresh us.
If God can use a donkey to talk to Balaam, who knows what means he might use to talk with us?
Recommended reading: Zephaniah 1 – 3; Haggai 1 - 2
No comments:
Post a Comment