Photo by Bgrace"Keep your foot (give your mind to what you are doing) when you go...to the house of God. For to draw near to hear and obey is better than to give the sacrifice of fools (carelessly, irreverently) too ignorant to know that they are doing evil." Ecclesiastes 5:1
Lately I've taken to writing scripture on 3x5 cards and keeping them with me. It's one of those practices my Dad used to have that when I was younger I thought was incredibly tacky and lame and now have quite contentedly adopted for myself. Of course, my 3x5 cards are neon yellow, pink, green, and orange, so maybe that's the difference. :-)
ANYWAYS, sometimes I take them to the gym, so that I can work them into my mind and listen to how God is applying them to my heart. This passage from Ecclesiastes just seemed to open up to me. Not that I feel like I've had any earth shattering revelations about it. Rather, it feels like something you know all along but suddenly comes alive in a new way. In a meaningful way, especially in my present circumstances.
The message is simply this--pay attention when you go to commune with God. Draw near to hear and then obey what you hear. This is different than those who are foolish--those who are careless about how they commune with God, who don't focus on the interaction.
They are foolish because they approach the time irreverently and carelessly. In other words, they don't really think they have a whole lot to learn through their time with God. Is it because they don't really expect God to speak? Or because they think they already know what God thinks about something, or that they can come up with the answers without the voice of the Holy Spirit giving enlightenment to His Word?
More than anything, what I see in this passage is a very weighty emphasis on coming into the presence of God, listening to God, waiting for Him to speak, and coming out of that interaction, obeying as we have been led. This was written before Christ gave us the Spirit. How much more now than then? For now the Holy Spirit's house is within us.
What saddens me most is how much this beautiful way of receiving guidance that God opens to His children has been undermined, has been doubted, and has been lost in the teachings of the church. It is of such great importance that we practice this.
We must believe that wisdom comes from listening. We must approach God with faith that He will speak. And we must learn to listen to the sound of His voice. If you don't recognize it yet, don't give up. Give it a week, a month, a year. Seek it as the lost pearl. The greatest treasure. But trust that it is there waiting, eager to be discovered.
IT IS A LIVING WORD. Alive and life giving.
Keep your foot as you go to it.
4 comments:
Thanks for your wisdom Bec..I needed that..
The Lord brought you to my mind earlier this morning. Praying for you to become all that He has for you. Remember to look at yourself through HIS eyes. He has great plans for you.
Much love to you.
B
Listening to God… I am learning that it involves me asking God in each detail of my life…each moment and step that I take…asking God "what is your desire?" I am learning that if I ask the questions…He will answer if I am listening…then the hardest thing for me to do is to obey what I hear. Sometimes I find it easier not to ask and just do, but then the consequence is not what may have been “best” Eldredge put it this way “To ask is an act of holiness, because we are seeking to follow our Shepherd. To live by faith in him. Then we are faced with the choice to obey what we hear, and our holiness is deepened.” So the question to me is if I do hear something will I obey? It requires the sanctification of my will “where all things truly are subjected to Christ” It is a “heart that is present and engaged with God, bringing my desires to him, yet submitting my will to him, genuinely trusting what He says is best.”
And I know that it is only through the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. If you know me I can be stubborn:-)…and yielding to Him is an act empowered by the Spirit. I also am aware that His grace, mercy and love continues to cover me.
My prayer is that I may continue to come into His presence and that my ears will be open and receptive to what He desires to say and my heart be willing to obey.
Thanks for sharing that Jean. Being willing to obey what we hear deepens our holiness...that's good stuff. And it can only happen when we develop a familiarity with His voice so we can trust what we hear, and then step out in faith.
So much could happen for good in the Kingdom if only all of us would live this out consistently.
Reminds me of this verse which is SOOOO important for us who are struggling with becoming holy.
II Timothy 1:9 "For it is He Who delivered and saved us and called us with a calling in itself holy and leading to holiness (to a life of consecration, a vocation of holiness); (He did it) not because of anything of merit that we have done, but because of and to further His own purpose and grace (unmerited favor) which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began (eternal ages ago)." (Amplified)
We are called to a great purpose because we are holy, but it is in following the call He gives us that we become holy. We become what we already are.
Its kind of like the boy who by his birthright is king, but has yet to live out his birthright, when he takes on the position as king, he will have to grow into his role, and that very process will help him to actually embody all that it means to be King. And more and more he becomes the king he always was and will be.
May we all rule in the Kingdom in this way.
Post a Comment