Chapter 3, verses 17-18 in the book of Habakkuk in the Old Testament reads, Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pens and no cattle in the stalls, YET I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior!
Can we say, "YET I WILL REJOICE in the Lord, I WILL BE JOYFUL in God my Savior", when sorrow and crushing blows come our way? When there is no oil in our lamp during the darkest night? When our stomachs are empty and pangs of hunger wrench our guts? I would have said, "No" a few months ago because I was buried under my own view of all that was happening in my life! I had a self-perspective not a God-perspective and when we look at life through our circumstances and not through God, all we see is the impossible, which only bears the bad fruit of hopelessness. It wasn't until I came to the end of myself and surrendered everything, that God gave me spiritual glasses! I was blind but now I see, because I finally chose to fully and unconditionally believe that God can't, won't and will never let me down! He is in it with me until the end. He is my full portion and my deepest need.
What freedom, what liberty there is in surrendering to God! I used to live in fear of everything and hide it all behind smiles, proper appearances and perfected speech. GOD IS REAL AND HE EXPECTS US TO BE REAL TOO! It was in Christ's humanness that people fell in love with him and if we aren't truthful about our struggles then God's work cannot be accomplished through us! I'm not saying to be a blubbering idiot and tell every person you meet the personal details of your sin! I'm saying to let God's Spirit direct your feet and mouth. Think of someone that you truly admire because of their poise, grace and self-control and adopt that behavior into your soul. Our past behavior or secret sins are like ugly sharp pieces of rock and we have to go to the Great Rock Polisher and surrender it to Him so he can smooth our edges and bring the beauty out from under the surface.
I recall when I had my kitchen re-done and I went to look at the huge sheets of polished granite! They had pictures and samples of the raw rock and it was ugly! It looked like a big dirt ball, all dry, course and without any noticeable redeeming qualities at all, similar to a geode. I thought, "How could this unique, colorful, magnificent sheet of granite come from that!?" The owner of the store told me about the process from blasting the earth to retrieving the raw boulders to the final polishing of the sheet. How could I not see the analogy there, between the rock and it's journey and our lives in God's hands, becoming all that we were meant to be because he knew our potential "in him". Every time I see granite, I'm reminded that under all that beauty was once an unloved, undiscovered treasure, just like us before Christ's redemption! The grinding and polishing process doesn't remove what was in the rock, it just shows the beauty that can come out of it! Don't let the pride of that beauty ever make you blind and judgemental to those who don't appear polished in your eyes. Pray for humility.
There is a scripture from Psalm 42:7 which reads...Deep calls unto deep. God doesn't reach down from the heaven's and thrust his awesomeness into our heart like a lightning bolt. No, he chose to send his only beloved son down to this earth to walk among us in flesh and bone. Then, after he died on the cross for our sins, he left to go prepare a place for us in heaven, but he sent his Holy Spirit to dwell "in" us so that the polishing process could start and his image would be seen in us when he calls us home. The work he begins in us, he will be faithful to complete, Philippians 1:6. Yes, our God takes the deepest part of him and reaches into the deepest part of us, but he does it in a personal way. Just as the miners go deep within the earth to find the raw rock because they know what worth lies inside of it, God will reach deep within your life, if you let him, because you are of much worth to him!
So, will we be able to say, "Yes, I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in God my Savior, when the skillful hands of The Rock Cutter are poised above us, ready to begin the sharp blows that will result in our final polished spirit? Will we find it in ourselves to lift our voices in praise, when the grapes are not on the vine and the olive crops have failed? I believe we will...because it is in God's loving nature to not only prepare his children for what life has to come, but also to put deep inside of us, the unpolished yet unquestionable beauty of himself. The God of all creation lives inside of you! What do we have to fear?
Ecclesiastes 3:11...He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Let His Word build you up, so nothing can take you down.
What freedom, what liberty there is in surrendering to God! I used to live in fear of everything and hide it all behind smiles, proper appearances and perfected speech. GOD IS REAL AND HE EXPECTS US TO BE REAL TOO! It was in Christ's humanness that people fell in love with him and if we aren't truthful about our struggles then God's work cannot be accomplished through us! I'm not saying to be a blubbering idiot and tell every person you meet the personal details of your sin! I'm saying to let God's Spirit direct your feet and mouth. Think of someone that you truly admire because of their poise, grace and self-control and adopt that behavior into your soul. Our past behavior or secret sins are like ugly sharp pieces of rock and we have to go to the Great Rock Polisher and surrender it to Him so he can smooth our edges and bring the beauty out from under the surface.
I recall when I had my kitchen re-done and I went to look at the huge sheets of polished granite! They had pictures and samples of the raw rock and it was ugly! It looked like a big dirt ball, all dry, course and without any noticeable redeeming qualities at all, similar to a geode. I thought, "How could this unique, colorful, magnificent sheet of granite come from that!?" The owner of the store told me about the process from blasting the earth to retrieving the raw boulders to the final polishing of the sheet. How could I not see the analogy there, between the rock and it's journey and our lives in God's hands, becoming all that we were meant to be because he knew our potential "in him". Every time I see granite, I'm reminded that under all that beauty was once an unloved, undiscovered treasure, just like us before Christ's redemption! The grinding and polishing process doesn't remove what was in the rock, it just shows the beauty that can come out of it! Don't let the pride of that beauty ever make you blind and judgemental to those who don't appear polished in your eyes. Pray for humility.
There is a scripture from Psalm 42:7 which reads...Deep calls unto deep. God doesn't reach down from the heaven's and thrust his awesomeness into our heart like a lightning bolt. No, he chose to send his only beloved son down to this earth to walk among us in flesh and bone. Then, after he died on the cross for our sins, he left to go prepare a place for us in heaven, but he sent his Holy Spirit to dwell "in" us so that the polishing process could start and his image would be seen in us when he calls us home. The work he begins in us, he will be faithful to complete, Philippians 1:6. Yes, our God takes the deepest part of him and reaches into the deepest part of us, but he does it in a personal way. Just as the miners go deep within the earth to find the raw rock because they know what worth lies inside of it, God will reach deep within your life, if you let him, because you are of much worth to him!
So, will we be able to say, "Yes, I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in God my Savior, when the skillful hands of The Rock Cutter are poised above us, ready to begin the sharp blows that will result in our final polished spirit? Will we find it in ourselves to lift our voices in praise, when the grapes are not on the vine and the olive crops have failed? I believe we will...because it is in God's loving nature to not only prepare his children for what life has to come, but also to put deep inside of us, the unpolished yet unquestionable beauty of himself. The God of all creation lives inside of you! What do we have to fear?
Ecclesiastes 3:11...He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Let His Word build you up, so nothing can take you down.
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