Instability
I'm back at CSU, after a once again difficult transition time into winter break, in which I was frustrated and confused, not unlike the majority of last semester. I searched scripture half-heartedly for an answer, and God gave me some critical insight into having a strong foundation in Him. Unfortunately I procrastinated in writing anything substantial down, but still want to reflect upon what I learned, though it may not be complete and it certainly won't have the same impact as it had on me while I was learning.
I wonder why sometimes it is so hard for me to transition between life at school and life at home with my family. Though there are many, many reasons, some of which I know and don't want to get into, and some of which I have no idea, there are a few reasons that are blatantly obvious in scripture: I don't have a strong foundation in Christ because I don't always listen and obey, I doubt when I ask God for wisdom in trying to live this life, and I look back to my past when I'm home. Here's what God says in three passages of scripture:
Luke 6:46-49
"But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."
James 1:2-8
"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways."
Luke 9:57-62
"Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
(Note: this last chunk is hard for me to understand in a lot of ways, but the commentary in my Bible from John Macarthur helped a lot:
let me first go and bury my father. This does not mean that the man's father was already dead. The phrase, "I must bury my father" was a common figure of speech meaning, "Let me wait until I receive my inheritance."
let the dead bury their own dead. Let the world (the spiritually dead) take care of mundane things.
looking back. A plowman looking back cuts a crooked furrow.)
I think one of the most impactful things I learned out of these verses was the last one:
"No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."... A plowman looking back cuts a crooked furrow. One of my biggest weaknesses in going home is laying in my bed, looking at my walls and my pictures, glorifying my high school memories. If that doesn't derail me in my race towards Jesus, I don't know what does. I need to stop looking back and start running full speed ahead. God has blessed me with a lot of incredible memories, but nothing compares to the future the sons of God can hope in.
A common theme in all of these verses is the instability of those that don't quite have it together. The man who hears God and doesn't obey has no foundation in Christ and is therefore ruined when any difficulty in life arises. The man who doubts when he asks God for wisdom is tossed around by the difficulty and persecution of this life, and he is incredibly unstable. The man who wants to follow Jesus, but keeps looking to find comfort and satisfaction from his past is not only unable to stay on the right, God glorifying path, he is unfit for the kingdom of God!!
I am praying that God can help me apply these verses to my life. I don't understand a lot about this life and this world, and I screw up a lot, but I trust that God will meet me where I'm at and can help me to become a person that is not pushed around by this world, but stands firm in Him.
I wonder why sometimes it is so hard for me to transition between life at school and life at home with my family. Though there are many, many reasons, some of which I know and don't want to get into, and some of which I have no idea, there are a few reasons that are blatantly obvious in scripture: I don't have a strong foundation in Christ because I don't always listen and obey, I doubt when I ask God for wisdom in trying to live this life, and I look back to my past when I'm home. Here's what God says in three passages of scripture:
Luke 6:46-49
"But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."
James 1:2-8
"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways."
Luke 9:57-62
"Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
(Note: this last chunk is hard for me to understand in a lot of ways, but the commentary in my Bible from John Macarthur helped a lot:
let me first go and bury my father. This does not mean that the man's father was already dead. The phrase, "I must bury my father" was a common figure of speech meaning, "Let me wait until I receive my inheritance."
let the dead bury their own dead. Let the world (the spiritually dead) take care of mundane things.
looking back. A plowman looking back cuts a crooked furrow.)
I think one of the most impactful things I learned out of these verses was the last one:
"No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."... A plowman looking back cuts a crooked furrow. One of my biggest weaknesses in going home is laying in my bed, looking at my walls and my pictures, glorifying my high school memories. If that doesn't derail me in my race towards Jesus, I don't know what does. I need to stop looking back and start running full speed ahead. God has blessed me with a lot of incredible memories, but nothing compares to the future the sons of God can hope in.
A common theme in all of these verses is the instability of those that don't quite have it together. The man who hears God and doesn't obey has no foundation in Christ and is therefore ruined when any difficulty in life arises. The man who doubts when he asks God for wisdom is tossed around by the difficulty and persecution of this life, and he is incredibly unstable. The man who wants to follow Jesus, but keeps looking to find comfort and satisfaction from his past is not only unable to stay on the right, God glorifying path, he is unfit for the kingdom of God!!
I am praying that God can help me apply these verses to my life. I don't understand a lot about this life and this world, and I screw up a lot, but I trust that God will meet me where I'm at and can help me to become a person that is not pushed around by this world, but stands firm in Him.
posted by Monika at 1/16/2006 09:19:00 AM
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