The Divine Donkey Chase

The Divine Donkey Chase Or…When Zuph is Enough

              “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs is steps.”                                                   Proverbs 16:9

                We’re all familiar with the expression…and more likely than not, with the experience…of going on a “wild goose chase”.  There is a goal you are hard pressed to accomplish, or there is a missing piece you are scrambling to locate, but with each setback and with every restart, what you are searching for only becomes more elusive and, therefore, more essential.  We can all relate to this.  We’ve all played our fair share of hide-and-go-seek with people, places, projects, and plans.  But what about with purpose?  Have you ever felt hidden from your purpose…or felt that your purpose was hidden from you?  If so, then you’ve been on a divine donkey chase.  It’s not quite the same as a wild goose chase, although at certain times and after countless reroutes it may feel like one.  No, there is a distinct difference between the two types of searching.  While both the wild goose chase and the divine donkey chase are launched by the shotgun of need and propelled by the desire to retrieve, only the runner of the latter returns with something in hand.  Granted, it’s not what he set out to reclaim, but therein lies the divine element of the donkey chase…and the procurement of the hidden purpose.

I came across this contrast between goose chases and donkey runs while reading about Saul’s excursions in I Samuel 9.  It is in this chapter that Saul is asked by his father to go and find some missing donkeys.  But, prior to the misplaced donkeys in chapter nine, we read about some misplaced desires in chapter eight.  Kish, Saul’s father, wasn’t the only one with a wayward herd; God had one of His own:  the Israelites.  A stubborn people, these tribes, and they had set their eyes to greener pastures…to neighboring pastures…to kingly pastures; and they wanted to graze there, under the protection of an earthly king.  Turning their noses from the Provider of the fields, they sniffed after a person from the fold.  Samuel warned them about the dangers of having an earthly king, but they demanded it…and God decreed it…and so it would be done, via a divine donkey chase.

It seems an unlikely connection, these missing donkeys and the appointment of a king, but when God is at work, the disconnected soon gives way to the perfectly connected.  And so it was for Saul, as he set out in search for that which he would never find, only to return with that which he had never lost.  Taking a servant with him, Saul set off in search of the missing animals.  Over the course of three days, the two men traveled to five locations.  And by the time they came to Zuph, Saul had had enough.  He wanted to return home, fearing that his father would now be more concerned over his lost son than over his lost donkeys.  But the servant had a suggestion.  Maybe it was pointless, but since there was a prophet, a seer, in this particular location, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to ask him about the donkeys.  After all, what did they have to lose…other than the still elusive donkeys?  And so they went on into the city and found not only their man, but also God’s plan.

Samuel was the prophet who just so happened to be in the last city on the last day of Saul’s last attempt to ‘pin-the-tail-on-the-donkeys’.  God had told Samuel about Saul.  He knew Saul would be in Zuph by the end of the day and that by the close of the following day, Saul would be anointed as the future king of Israel.  God knew this; Samuel knew this; Saul was clueless.  All he knew was that he’d spent the last three days looking for donkeys and he was ready to return home.  But, while “a man’s heart plans his way, the LORD directs his steps” (Prov. 20:24), and such was the case for Saul.  What he thought had been a “wild goose chase” actually ended up being a divine donkey chase as his search netted a prophet, a plan, and a purpose.  And the donkeys?  Well, Samuel set Saul’s mind at ease by telling him they had been found and had returned home.  Saul’s search never had been about finding his father’s donkeys but about finding his Father’s destiny.  Saul was chosen to be the first king of Israel and to get him to his appointed position, God had to send him to an appointed person in an appointed place…via appointed donkeys.

So how does this speak to you and to me?  Well, in much the same way as it did to Saul.  Saul had an objective set before him and he set out to accomplish it.  He knew what he was looking for and he was determined to find it.  However, along the way…the way grew long.  One day became three, three cities became five, and five dead-ends became more than enough reasons to give up.  But just when Saul thought he’d come to the end of his rope, he found himself at the beginning of God’s rescue; when he thought he had nothing more to lose, God showed him he had everything left to gain.  For Saul, his last place became his starting place; and in the land of Zuph, Saul found enough.  Enough of God’s persistence, enough of God’s productivity, enough of God’s plan.  All that he thought had been pointless proved to be purposeful and skillfully perfected in the hands of a Providential God.

‘Not sure when I’ll be home -w we’re on another wild goose chase.’

And isn’t that how God works in our lives, too?  When we set out in search of that missing piece, aren’t we often rerouted along the way and, in many cases, kept from ever finding that which we were looking for at the start?  It’s frustrating. It’s energy-zapping.  It’s heart-wrenching.  It’s…it’s a wild goose chase!  Or is it?  Perhaps we’ve been looking at it all wrong.  Perhaps instead of listening for the sound of flapping wings we should tune our ears to the sound of pounding hoofs.  And, perhaps, we shouldn’t be so focused on what we’re looking for that we miss what we’re supposed to see…or where we’re supposed to be.  On his search for donkeys, Saul went to five different locations.  In his mind, or so I think, Saul must have felt that each stop brought him farther from his home and took him further from his goal.  Little did he know that his course was not only perfectly mapped but also precisely measured.  Had Saul made a direct route to Zuph, he would have arrived before Samuel got there and missed him altogether.  Had he delayed in any of the cities longer than he had, he would have arrived in Zuph too late.  Each detour was divinely ordained so that, just as Saul was entering the city, Samuel was leaving the city…and there their preordained steps met, and the seeker beheld the seer; and the wild goose chase became a divine donkey chase.

I don’t know about you, but for me this is just another example, another reminder, of God’s personal involvement in our lives.  Not only is He sovereign over the big pieces, but He is a stickler over the little pieces.  God chose Saul to be the first king of Israel.  He could have appointed him in any number of ways but He chose some donkeys, a wise servant, a zig-zagged route, and a series of dead ends to lead Saul to the right place…to his starting place.  Since God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, isn’t it likely that He still works in such a way?  Could it be that, when what we’re seeking is still not found, it’s time to ask ourselves if we are on a divine donkey chase?  Could it be that God never intended for us to lay hold of that which we are pursuing, but that He is simply leading us to the land of Zuph…to the place where He’ll be enough?  Perhaps that is exactly what He is doing, which means the journey is not in vain nor the obstacles without merit.  Not only has God ordered our steps, He has choreographed them.  And, in perfect rhythm with His plan and in perfect time with His purpose, God will set our feet where they need to be…even if it takes a divine donkey chase to get us there!

Unchained

So…about that play.  You know the one, “A Christmas Carol”?  I recently wrote about its ghosts…remember?  Well, there’s one more thing that kept pulling at me, so I had to pull back.  And when I pull back, I put down.  So, here’s what I put down.  I hope it pulls at you too!

Unchained

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,”     2 Corinthians 10:4

       At the beginning of “A Christmas Carol”, an apparition introduces the audience to the storyline and to its main character, Ebenezer Scrooge.  We learn, through this ghostly being, that Mr. Scrooge’s life is about to be interrupted and that Marley, in his chained condition, is the vessel through whom this opportunity will present itself.  It’s an interesting concept, that of the dead bringing advice and counsel from the grave, but…in part…it’s an accurate one.  Not the part about a ghostly figure appearing and saying, “Don’t do what I have done,” but the part where the chains of an old life are forged into the armaments of a new life.  It’s the old life/new life lesson that presents itself in this story.  That, and the warning given by one who has received his just rewards; granted, he’s a ghost, but it is a fictional story so let’s allow rationality to give way to intentionality, and learn the lessons of the chain.

Before we look at the two lessons contained within the links of Marley’s chain, let’s first refresh our memory by revisiting this play.  We’ll slip in during Act 1, Scene 3.  Here, we see Marley entering Scrooge’s bedchamber, where he explains his appearance and announces the evening’s agenda.

(Marley’s ghost enters the room.  He drags an enormous chain now, to which is fastened cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses fashioned of steel.)

 Marley:  I wear the chain I forged in life.  I made it link by link, and yard by yard.  Is its pattern strange to you?  Or would you know, Scrooge, the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself?  It was full as heavy and long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago.  You have labored on it, since.  It is a ponderous chain.

Marley:  I am here tonight to warn you that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate.  A chance and hope of my procuring, Ebenezer.

There we have it.  Jacob Marley, encumbered with a weighty chain, returns by his own desire (hope of my procuring) to offer counsel and hope to his former business partner and friend, Ebenezer Scrooge.  While a ghostly appearance would be alarming enough in itself, this one is far from what one would expect…should one have expectations for a ghost!  Marley is not floating about carelessly, but is haltingly moving under the weight of a heavy chain.  He explains the meaning of the chain, and from that we will receive the same lesson Scrooge received, but there is another lesson linked to this chain.  The second lesson has to do with chains that have been removed…and reforged.  Marley didn’t learn that lesson, so it wasn’t his to share; but Scrooge did.  And, should there have been a sequel to “A Christmas Carol”, I think he would have shared it with us.  But we needn’t rely upon fictional stories to learn our lessons when we have the best-selling, truth-telling, non-fictional book of all time at our fingertips!  The Bible is filled with examples of men and women who have learned the lesson of the chain.  For our purpose, we’ll go to the writings of Paul.  From his life, we’ll learn what Scrooge did; we’ll learn the second lesson of the chain.

When Marley first appears to Scrooge, he gives an explanation for his chain.  For the reader’s benefit, the chain is described so that we too might see what Scrooge sees.  It is described as having items attached to it, not unlike a charm bracelet whose trinkets represent the one who wears it.  For Marley, the tokens which symbolize his life are cash-boxes, ledgers, deeds, padlocks, and keys.  From these “charms”, we learn that Marley’s drive for financial gain was matched only by his desire to lock up that which he had collected.  And, for every earthly treasure he acquired, an eternal link was added to his chain.  That which brought freedom in life, brought captivity in death.  Herein lies the first lesson of the chain:  our current life affects our coming life; that which we desire in part on earth, we will receive in full in eternity.

Marley sought earthly treasures during his life so that, in his death, he received the weight of their accumulation.  Gone was their luster; all that remained was their load.  Jesus warned of such a result in Matthew 6:21; “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Jesus told all who would listen to be careful with earthly pursuits, for they would have eternal pay-offs.  In Galatians 6:7-8, Paul expounds upon Jesus’ message with an analogy:  “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.”  You are no doubt familiar with the saying ‘you are what you eat’.  Well, from a spiritual perspective, ‘you chain what you chew’.  Marley’s taste for the possessions of the physical world left him chained to those treasures in death.  When it was time for his heart to join his stored up treasures, he didn’t have far to go.  His links kept him chained to the earth and unable to soar to the heavens.

If Marley’s destiny was doctrinally true, some of us might not be too concerned with the eternal links we form during our earthly stay.  But we must separate fiction from fact, especially when it comes to our eternal destination.  While carrying around a weighty chain might not sound appealing, it doesn’t compare to the weights that will encumber the one who has chosen the gifts of his god over the God of his gifts.  In 2 Peter 2:4, we’re told of the chains that were placed upon the angels who sinned against God; chains that bound them to the darkness of hell as they awaited their coming judgment.  In Mark 9:43, hell is described as a place where the fire never goes out and in Matthew 13:42, it is described as a blazing furnace where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.   Will there be chains that bind the unbeliever?  Yes.  But those chains won’t hold him to an existence in the earthly realm, but will fasten him to a pit of desolation in an eternal realm of darkness.

As a result of Marley’s visit, Ebenezer Scrooge was able to escape the fate that enslaved his friend.  The chain that he had been forging was now being removed, section by section, link by link, token by token.  Scrooge had received an amazing gift; he’d been given a rewrite by the playwright that allowed him to stand upright!  No longer was he held captive by despair, now he was captivated by hope; no longer did the invisible chain with its indelible weight keep him tethered to a painful past, now it linked him to a purposeful future.  And, because the length of his days now exceeded the limits of his chain, Scrooge learned the second lesson of the chain:  that which once fettered can be reforged.

In Scripture, we find examples of others who learned this lesson as well.  Those whose scripts were rewritten by another Playwright that they too might stand upright.  Men such as Joseph, Moses, and Nicodemus; women such as Rehab, Abigail, and Mary Magdalene.  While lesson number one teaches us about the forming of chains, lesson number two teaches us about the reforming of chains, and each of these individuals knew the value of reforged chains.  Paul knew this too, and he wrote about it for our benefit.  He is to us what Marley was to Scrooge:  the voice of one who steps out of the past to speak into our present…to redirect our future.

Paul’s chains fell off on the Damascus Road, or somewhere between there and Judas’ house on Straight Street.  But, despite the where, we know the what…and the Who.  Paul encountered Jesus on that road and, as a result, not only was his chain removed, but it was remade.  Paul’s weight of earthly good was refashioned into a weight of eternal glory.  Through the Holy Spirit, Paul looked not “at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:17-18).  Can you hear the clinking of the chain as it fell?  Can you hear the hammering as its links are forged into weapons of defense?  “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” (2 Cor. 10:3-6).  With these words, we learn Paul is on the battle line…on the front line, and he is firing away with his weapons of warfare.

But where did these weapons come from?  From what arsenal did Paul receive his tools of defense?  I believe Paul’s spiritual weapons were arrows forged from the links of his chain.  I think each link was smelted and shaped into the shaft of an arrow and I think the tips of the arrows were fashioned from the trinkets, from the charms, that decorated that former chain.  From where does such a thought emerge?  From the words of Paul; from the lesson he learned after he was visited by the Holy Spirit:  “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28).  If all things work for our good, then God doesn’t throw old things away, but refashions them to be used for our good…for our defense.  Based upon this truth, the links that made up the chain that once bound us are not rejected but are recycled.  Add to this verse the verses in which Paul uses military terms (“put on the whole armor of God”, Eph. 6:10; “we are more than conquerors”, Rom. 8:37; “endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ…engaged in warfare”, 2 Tim. 2:3-4), and we know that the unchained life is not an unassaulted life.  Yes, God fights for us.  Yes, the battle has been won.  But, yes, we must engage in the conflict.  Yes, we must place the arrow in the bow…pull back the string…and fire when the enemy approaches.  And from where do our arrows come?  From the same Blacksmith who forged Paul’s; from the One who refashions links and tokens into arrows and tips.

One chain, two lessons.  Two lessons, one change.  Like Scrooge, we too have an opportunity to learn from those who have gone before us; to learn what binds and what releases, what arms and what defeats us.  As one year fades and another unfolds, let’s reflect upon the lessons of the chain and, like Paul, let the weight of earthly goods be exchanged for the weight of eternal glory.

Border Fries

Border Fries

 “Oh, that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border …and God granted him what he requested.”        I Chronicles 4:10

         What if God had a drive-thru window in which we could place our orders?  What if the “Golden Arches” truly were golden archways to short-order blessings?  If so, would our American mindset be evident as we rolled down our window, casually leaned out, and said,

                                           “I’ll have the border special, please.”

                                          “Would you like that super-sized?”

                                          “Why, yes, please super-size my border.”

And, in keeping with the fast food analogy, would we check our order when it was handed to us and complain if we didn’t get all we asked for?  I’m thinking that’s exactly what would happen.  Missing ketchup packets and napkins are one thing, but getting a child-sized border when a ¼ pound border was ordered is another matter altogether!  While blessings are not something we can just “order up”, they are requests we make to our Heavenly Father that are often times not handed to us the way we “ordered”.  And, because our eyes are often bigger than our stomachs, regular-sized orders are not quite good enough…we want our requests super-sized.

I thought about this recently while reading over Jabez’s “run for the border” order recorded in 1 Chronicles 4:10.  Perhaps this request took longer to fill than it appears, but the text rendition sure makes it sound like a drive-thru order…that was super-sized.  “Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!” And, within that same verse, the order was made, packed, and handed out the window.  “And God granted him what he requested.”  Order up.  Order out.  Order completed.  I bet there were even extra napkins and ketchup packets in the bag!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had some late night hankerings for “border fries”; for a super-sized order that increased the territory God had given me.  Perhaps you’ve had a similar craving.  A desire to reset fence posts, to clear new land, to move beyond the river.  It seems like a purposeful craving…a prosperous hunger.  After all, if the extra land is desired to be used for God, isn’t the request a righteous one…and shouldn’t our order be filled as quickly and completely as Jabez’s?  And Jabez pulled up, rolled down the window, held out his hand, “And God granted him what he requested.”

So, why aren’t our orders filled like Jabez’s?  Why does God allow us to pull up, pull out, and find that what’s in our bag isn’t at all what we ordered?  I believe it’s because God, not unlike our earthly parents, wants us to clean our plates before He gives us more to chew on.  I think that, while our eyes are on the lands beyond, His are on the ground beneath; beneath our feet, that is.  Enlarged territories are good, and we should want them.  Expanded borders are great, and we should request them.  But, what is true physically, is also true spiritually… our eyes are often bigger than our stomachs and our petitions are often larger than our preparations.  If we have not fully cleared and inhabited the land that we’ve been given, why should we be given more to care for?  The need for enlarged borders arises when growth has been curbed due to a lack of expandable space.  When we are closed in by our current borders, God resets our fence posts.  When we’ve been faithful with a little plot, God not only answers our request for more territory, but He supersizes our order!

In Scripture, we find examples of people who fully inhabited their territory of faith and, when they came dangerously close to the edge of their turf, they found their boundary lines extended.  There’s the widow who gave all her flour and oil to prepare food for Elijah (I Kings 17); she found her border enlarged at the end of her provisions.  Then, there’s the widow whose two-bit offering was a bit too generous; she found her border expanded at the end of her stewardship (Luke 21).  And the boy with the loaves and fish (John 6:9)?  He found his border stretched at the end of his imagination.   And then there’s Mary and Martha who, after burying their brother, found their border broadened at the end of their applied hope (John 11).  In each example, the borders were not extended until the present land had been fully inhabited and the need for further territory was completely evident.

And isn’t that how it should be?  Isn’t that what God created us to do?  To inhabit our land so that He could reestablish our borders and let the process start all over again?  I think that’s what Jabez did and that’s why God filled his order so (seemingly) quickly.  I think Jabez needed a larger territory because he had outgrown the one he was in.  He needed God to move his fence line back or he’d cease to be productive.  When you’ve cultivated, planted, and harvested the fields you have, it’s time for more land.  When you’ve been faithful with a little, then God will be faithful to entrust you with a lot (both figuratively…and, sometimes, literally!).

This process of habitation is not only true in how we inhabit that which God has given us but also in how the Holy Spirit indwells that which God has given Him.  In much the same way, the Holy Spirit’s borders are determined by our willingness to allow Him complete access to areas within us.  Here too we tend to offer up supersized orders.  We want to be Spirit filled, but then we start fencing off plots and, often times, we even erect ‘No Trespassing’ signs on some posts.  Until we allow the Holy Spirit to fully indwell the territory that He’s claimed, He won’t move beyond the borders we’ve set, but will wait for there to be a need for extension…a neediness for expansion.

As we prepare to step out of the perimeter of one year and into the boundaries of another, perhaps it is a good time to walk our fence line, survey our territories, and see just how well we’ve inhabited that which God has entrusted to our care.  Are we fully using all God has given us?  Are we about to outgrow the area we’re in, or do we need to go back and rework some sections?  Have we come to the edge of our provisions, our stewardship, our imagination, and our applied hope?  If not, then it’s not our borders but our spiritual muscles that need stretching.  And, when those late night cravings for supersized “border fries” hit, we would all be wise to remember that we can’t have seconds until we’ve finished our firsts!far-side-cow-philosophy

 

 

 

Sidebar…that’s oddly enough located at the bottom…about those cartoons.  Well, I have a thing for the Far Side.  Gary Larson’s insights (if I may elevate his humor to the status of deeply perceptual) crack me up.  That’s it.  I just chuckle when I see the illustrations and capsize when I read the dialogue.  One of my favorites is the one posted at the top of this post.  The reference to being territorial and the obvious presence of fence lines just made this seem like a good fit.  The cow philosophy?  Well, who doesn’t get a kick out of a cow in a toga?  Am I right?  As to either of these being remotely connected to Jabez, prayer, or spiritual borders…they aren’t.  I just wanted you to know that I know that.  So, now you do.  I still hope they make you laugh! 

 

How (Not) to Reset a Rooster

How (Not) to Reset a Rooster

“But if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  2 Peter 1:8

A week ago, most of us bid a reluctant farewell to Daylight Saving Time and mumbled a recalcitrant welcome to its often undesirable (and less excitingly named) counterpart…standard time.  This phenomenon, though technically occurring at 2:00 a.m., tends to be ushered in much earlier as people go about their home resetting clocks, appliances, and watches before they go to bed.  That’s what I did last Saturday night.  I reset clocks and timers all around the house so that, upon waking, I’d know the correct time.  I, like most people, enjoy my annual 25-hour day, and as I set clocks back, I set plans forward.  After much deliberation, I decided I’d use my “extra” hour that night to get some work done that would, hopefully, allow me to have some free time the following day.  It seemed like the perfect plan, but I forgot one thing:  you can’t reset a rooster.

Here’s what happened.  After setting every time-reflecting device in the house to its new time, I went to bed.  It was later than usual, due to the cashing in of my extra hour (turns out you can buy time on credit too, though it also has a hefty interest rate).  I was pleased with my usage of time and laid down for a much needed rest.  Within moments, or so it seemed, I was awakened by the crowing of our rooster.  That’s when it hit me:  you can’t reset a rooster!  While I had adjusted clocks, timers, and watches, I hadn’t adjusted the rooster (though in my mind I was thinking of how that might yet be done!), and it was a foul reminder that some things can’t be reset; some things are governed by inner laws and not outer labels.

Isn’t that true of us, too?  Or…shouldn’t that be true of us, too?  Shouldn’t there be attributes that are so deeply ingrained in us that the changing of time has no impact upon them, no possibility of resetting them or renaming them?  This lesson wasn’t the alarm I was expecting to wake up to last Sunday, but within the rooster’s innate wiring that caused him to crow, I found that in life, as in roosters, some things should not be reset because they are not meant to be reset.

As if to ingrain this message into my head even further, our Sunday school lesson that day came from 2 Peter 1:5-11.  One of my favorite verses lies within this passage:  verse eight, or, as it was first ‘magnified’ to me – 2P18 (two P one eight).  In these verses, Peter is introducing the early believers to Daylight Saving Time.  They’d previously been on standard time, but having encountered Jesus, the Timeless One, they were all due for a resetting!  And Peter was just the man for the job.  After all, his Son-dial had already been altered and his bout with a rooster had left him with an undeniable understanding of things that could not be reset.  So, with such knowledge fresh on his mind, Peter set out to reset what he could – the mindset of other believers.  That’s where 2P18 comes into play.  That’s where Peter “cleans the clocks” of those who are ready to leave standard time, and standard living, behind.

In verse eight of this passage, Peter writes, “But if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  The emphasis is on these thingsthese things that are to be present in every believer; these things that are not to be reset or readjusted, these things that are to keep time with the steady heartbeat of a palpable faith. So what are these things?  Peter tells us beginning in verse five:  “Therefore, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.  For if these things are yours and abound…”.  And there you have it:  Daylight Saving Time for every follower of Christ!  But just how do we move from a standard lifestyle to a time honoring one?  We allow Jesus to reset our spiritual clocks as we recognize that He alone holds our time in His hands.  We step out of living on standard time and step into living on reset time…on redeemed time…on Son-Light Saving Time!  And when we do, these things become our inner setting that, in time and with time, need never change.  Regardless of the season, regardless of the circumstance, regardless of the timing…faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love are to be as ingrained in us as the rising and the setting of the sun.  With each new day, these things hold true.  With each new season, these things ring true.  With each new resetting, these things remain true.  In season and out of season, these things are to be the default setting…the default crowing…of every believer.

And there you have it:  how not to reset a rooster.  He’ll crow when he’s supposed to; he’ll crow because he’s supposed to.  He’ll crow when it’s appreciated; he’ll crow when it’s depreciated.  He’ll crow when it’s standard time; he’ll crow when it’s Daylight Saving Time; but regardless of what others think or expect, he’ll crow at the right time…because you can’t reset a rooster.  May we live and learn and crow like him.  May we, like those men and women Peter addressed long ago, allow these things to be said of us, to be seen in us, and to be heard from us.

2p18

When Obstacles Become Oracles

When Obstacles Become Oracles

“…as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests…shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters…shall be cut off…and they shall stand as a heap.”  Joshua 3.13

                Wet feet.  That’s what I want.  Feet that are stepping into the cool waters of expectation, hope, and deliverance.  Toes that sink into the bedrock of faith.  I want to cross my Jordan River, at flood stage, at the appointed time, with my covenant keeping God pressing upon my shoulders.

That’s what the priests of Israel experienced in Joshua’s day.  When it was time to enter the Promised Land, they stepped up to the Ark of the Covenant and stepped into the waters of the Jordan.  And the waters stopped, and the waters stacked, and the waters stayed…and then they spoke.  As they piled high, the waters proclaimed the voice of the LORD; “These are My people and I am their God.  This is their destination and I am their Deliverer.”  Everyone within eye-shot heard.  The Israelites had arrived, and upon their crossing, even the waters proclaimed their entrance.

I love this story.  I remember the first time I stepped into it and its truth stacked up…and then crashed down…upon me.  Somehow, in times past, I had skipped over the stacking up of the waters.  I noted the crossing of the Jordan, I noted the river at flood stage, I even noted the passage upon dry land, but I failed to notice the original Tower of Terror.  I failed to see the river for the water!  How could I have missed so great a miracle?  But once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it.

I’m not the only one who has had a difficult time unseeing this aquatic wonder.  I’m quite certain the people who saw it first-hand struggled with this vision as well.  While I don’t know the actual height of this upside-down water fall, I do know that the distance it left uncovered was a 15 mile stretch.  In Joshua 3:16, we read “that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam…so the waters that went down into the Salt Sea failed and were cut off.”  This was no small pathway but rather a sizable passage into the land of promise.  The waters that once flowed downward, now stacked upward.  And I wonder, did the pile of water climb as high vertically as it flowed horizontally?  While I don’t know how God stacked it, I think the waters piled as high as they plummeted.  I think God simply put His hand down and the waters began to pile up…and up…and up.  If that is how it happened, then the tower of water would have risen a heaping 15 miles…or 79,200 feet…or 7,200 stories!  Can you imagine such a display?  The tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa located in Dubai which stands an impressive 2,722 feet.  Its presence is daunting; its height is menacing; its strength is intimidating.  And yet, compared to God’s Aquatic Wonder, it’s but a drop in the bucket!  Its height is out-towered by nearly 30:1; its stories are out-stacked by nearly 29:1! tallest-tower

Now let that image pile up in your mind…and elevate the ceiling of your imagination.  I can’t quite picture it.  I can’t even fathom how high this tower would have stretched, but one thing I can see is the impact it must have had on those who did look upon it.  One thing I can imagine is the look of shock, amazement, and fear that must have been etched upon the faces of those who beheld it.  And, when they regained their ability to speak, do you think they were silent about what they saw?  No way!  How can you not talk about a pillar of water that reaches to the heavens?  I think the first ever water tower made the front page news of the Adam Gazette and the Jericho Post!  I think the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites became Rumor-ites as they spoke endlessly about the waters that not only rose beyond them but towered over them!  And while the surrounding countryside was astounded, what about the people who passed beside it and under it?  What was their reaction to these rising waters?  Did their courage heap up as well?  Did their faith pile high to the heavens?  Did their expectations stack up as they walked upon the dry grounds of deliverance?  Surely their joy, like the Jordan, overflowed its banks.  After all, when God delivered on His promise to lead them to the Promised Land, He didn’t do it quietly.  He marked their crossing with an exclamation mark; a 79,200 foot exclamation mark!  And the people talked because the water spoke.

And, as I stretch my imagination around this towering event and crane my spiritual neck to scan its heights, I wonder if it’d be wiser to look around for giant water-stalks in my own life.  I wonder if the God who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, still sticks His hand in our rivers and heaps up our waters.  I wonder if, as He did with the Jordan River, God is turning my obstacle into an oracle; if the pathway He’s paving is also the pillar He’s piling…for my deliverance and for His declaration.  If that’s the case, then I’d better be looking around for some memorial stones!

When the children of Israel crossed into the Promised Land, God told Joshua to have twelve men remove stones from the bed of the river in order to erect a monument of testimony.  As a reminder of the waters that had been piled up, so the rocks were to be stacked up; as the people who saw the waters questioned the source of their elevation, so too would the people who encountered the rocks question their source of existence.  And so the questions would rise, and then the answers would flow…and the waters would speak.

“Why are those rocks stacked up in a heap?”

“They are reminders of when God stacked up the waters that once covered them.”

“Why did God stack up the waters?”

 “To clear away an obstacle.”

“Why was there an obstacle?”

“So God could uncover the rocks.”

“Why did God want the rocks?”

“So you would ask about them.”

“Oh.”

While God speaks to us and through us, He also speaks around us.  When He pauses our waters, He makes sure those waters speak not only to us but to those who are both near and far; He makes sure our horizontal obstacles become vertical oracles that proclaim His power and love and provision.  When God delivers on a promise, He makes sure it is promoted.  Balloons?  Too bouncy.  Billboards?  Too stationary.  Sky writing?  Too airy.  Water towers?  That should do it!  That will get My people talking!  And for a souvenir…I’ll place some rocks in the midst of their crossing…for them to place on the other side.

Wet feet…and water towers…and rock piles; they come from the same place: the Obstacle River.  Promises…and passageways…and praises; they too come from the same riverbed.  The name of the river, however, changes upon reaching the opposite shore.  For once the Obstacle River has been crossed, it becomes the Oracle River, for from it God speaks, through it we pray, and after it we proclaim.

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