Weeded Heart

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. Proverbs 27:12

A familiar story came to mind this week concerning God’s ‘testing’ of Abraham in which he was to offer Isaac (his own son) on an altar (Gen. 22). Many friends and family tell me they could never have obeyed such a command.

Actually, I don’t think the story was about Abraham binding Isaac’s hands and feet as an offering as much as it was about Abraham metaphorically holding out his own hands and feet to God, to ready himself for his own ‘death’ to self. That’s what it would have taken for Abraham to willingly comply, even to God. God never intended for Isaac to die. He only wanted to know that there was nothing between them, not even the beloved son Abraham had waited for, for so long. In the end, God provided a ram for Abraham to offer instead of his son.

When there is ANYTHING between God and me, THAT is a danger to my soul. A wise man stands still as his prized possessions are carefully weeded out by the Lord’s careful hand, possessions that could close his ears to God’s voice and his heart to obedience.

The ‘weeds’ (things to which one attaches one’s self too strongly) could be anyone in one’s family or church or anything that captures one’s attention away from the Father.

All summer, I’ve been pulling weeds on my one acre lot. The work has kept me busy. I’ve pruned and cut and trimmed. It’s been hard work, but satisfying to see the beauty of my accomplishments.

As I pull up whole root systems that take hours to conquer, my mind is drawn to how God must feel when the process of change in me is complicated and dreadfully deep. My soul doesn’t want to let go. My soul clings to what it thinks will provide happiness or safety. In reality, the Lord knows what will endanger and harm me more than I do.

Other weeds in my yard, I’ve noticed, are extremely easy to uproot. That reminds me of the hard work the Father has given to my heart’s negatives for several long years. These traits will always try to return, but at this point, God gives a little tug and they yield freely to His gentle hand.

Such a dynamic is astonishing and miraculous and stirs in me a desire to be a prudent woman.

How is the prudent wise and the ‘simple’ so foolish that they keep holding onto their possessions and walking into the same snares and traps of the enemy of God again and again?

Let’s review what we’ve learned so far in Prov. 27:

The fool or simple person boasts about tomorrow, praises himself, overreacts, gets insanely jealous, insincerely compliments but never openly confronts or lovingly ‘wounds’ his friends. The fool is too full of self to be hungry for honey (righteousness), he strays from home, doesn’t care to give or take sweet advice, forsakes his friends in times of need and dishonors his father.

There is danger in continuing a life of laziness, anger, neglect and, also, pride.

Why do the foolish keep going in this direction?

Maybe doing so is thrilling or maybe they are bored. They may need to numb the pain felt on the inside. They may think that anything else is better than the bad they know, even if the consequences are terrible.

But the prudent fight for the good life they can have in Christ. They surrender their desires that would cause them to crave danger.

One beautiful day, I was running in my old neighborhood with my face glancing at the houses I passed by. At one point, the next thing I knew, I had tripped over a jagged piece of sidewalk and fell flat on my face. Bleeding and sore, I picked myself back up and kept running. The next time around, my eyes were fixed on the sidewalk (at that spot), not wanting to go through that again. I learned from my mistake.

The prudent learn to see past their impulsive choices and consider the outcome. They don’t simply live for a moment of pleasure or temporary relief from pain.

The prudent wisely and honorably learn from their blunders and escape much trouble. The simple continue doing the same thing they’ve been doing (foolish or lazy) and continue to be conquered by painful experiences.

Certainly, the situation someone is in isn’t the “problem,” though he may think so. What he does in wisdom or foolishness with the situation or temptation is the focus of today.

What does he see ahead? What will happen if he goes this way or that? He must think it through. Everything he chooses must be carefully and prayerfully weighed for its spiritual benefits or disadvantages.

Some follow the crowd into a pit even though they know the consequences. The benefit of being included is worth more than the wages of sin. Therefore, it is the mature (prudent) man who deeply considers his value in the eyes of God, knowing his acceptance in God’s family and not giving into a need to stray for want of companionship.

The wise soul doesn’t put off needed repairs or projects. He knows that procrastination will eventually worsen the cost and pain of the important jobs. His priorities are rearranged to take care of today’s need. The prudent worker takes time to rest and play and not lose his health. The wise mother cleans up a messy spill immediately and doesn’t wait until it dries and cakes onto the container, only to further complicate and extend her work.

If today the prudent is energetic and strong, he finds productive things to do with his energy instead of lazily watching the time pass him by.

Father God, your Bible is perfect and so good for me to hear every day of my life. Please weed my heart of things that cause me harm. Help me to be free of ruinous habits and negative traits. Help me to thrive in my life like a well-watered garden. Keep me from danger. Help me to be prudent and wise about my choices. In Jesus name, Amen.

Thrive by Living in the Moments of Today

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. Proverbs 27:1

I am beginning a new series of study. My goal is to discover what it means to “thrive.” I’ll be looking at each verse from the 27th and 28th chapters of Proverbs, which ends by saying “the righteous thrive.”

All of Proverbs is a set of wise and foolish choices, giving the true consequences of whichever way a person chooses. In order to thrive, we can add to our wisdom by heeding the beneficial ideas set forth by King Solomon and stay away from the harmful ones.

As I read Proverbs 27:1, right off the bat, I was perplexed at the application this verse had for me. It seemed simple enough. Yet, it took all week with much prayer and thought to truly unravel the treasures gained by following its wisdom.

I learned that each new day is a favor bountifully bestowed for the thriving of my soul that I might live my all for the Lord. The world doesn’t dramatically revolve around me or my entitlement of tomorrow. Tomorrow cannot be earned or bought. Tomorrow isn’t owed to me. There is no one who must pay it back to me as a debt. I cannot borrow it and put a piece of it into today. As tomorrow approaches, I have no power to make it go away.

What a blessing to be in the present and not always staying fixed in the past or future. Each morning only comes one day at a time. I am provided with this marvelous breath of life only moment by moment.

As I get older, I realize how ridiculously short is my earthly pilgrimage. Gratefulness for each day I’m given reminds me of the preciousness of today. This very moment could be my last. Tomorrow is hidden and concealed. Until the morning comes, I am living for today.

Certainly, I make detailed plans for the days ahead and set great goals for the next month or two. Looking forward to my future is something I do with hope and anticipation. But I must never presume upon or boast that I have tomorrow, nor should I become complacent (casual) about it.

If tomorrow’s plans fall apart or become altered, it doesn’t have to disturb my peace of mind. I absolutely plan, but I don’t assume by staking my life upon those plans. Flexibility is an attractive trait I pursue with great fervor to help me thrive in God’s kingdom instead of demanding that my plans be fulfilled.

Certainly, it is wise to aim at a strategy for tomorrow and remove the mistake of being without an agenda, but not at the expense of today. Today matters. How much of ME am I investing in the hours I have left, knowing that tomorrow will be affected by today’s obedience.

What habits can I develop to make today count? How might I truly give my moments the reverence they deserve?

First of all, I don’t put off until another day what is required of me now, thinking that I still have plenty of time. That is boasting about tomorrow. The next morning may never come.

God knows everything. So if I am persistently prompted by Him to follow a course of action today, I must trust that He has knowledge I don’t. That’s why I partner with my Father. There is no doubt that tomorrow will be taken care of if it does come. There’s nothing I can do to change, shift or control it (by worrying about it today). But I can decide to be peaceful, and I can live today with joy. Making such a choice is the best possible preparation I can have for tomorrow’s agenda.

Second, in the midst of a terrible virus and a troubled, hurting nation where anger abounds, how might I choose to be fearless about my tomorrows and not worry? What can I do today, in my small corner of the world, to make it a better place?

In Leviticus 5, the Israelites were told by God (through Moses) that some must go outside the camp and be isolated, humiliated, away from their friends and families for a week, for years, or forever; some for sins they had committed, some for illnesses they had contracted, some for being in the presence of a dead person (family member who died), some for nothing they did wrong and nothing they could control. Yet, they were people just like you and me who could not be around the others in the presence of the Almighty God (and they wanted to be near His people).

These loved ones must have come to some sort of acceptance about their lives. What could they do in their small corner of the world to make it a better place?

They were outsiders. But they were still human beings who were thirsty, hungry and tired. They longed for touch and companionship.

There are times when I feel “outside the camp” for various reasons (especially in these days of isolation). Sometimes, perhaps it is because of sin and other times there is no particular explanation. But it doesn’t give me an excuse to give up, to forget about my fellowman or to stop worshiping my Father.

In fact, more so in today’s circumstances than at any other, I fall to my knees before Him. It is in such precious, dire moments I find that my hunger for Him is my greatest longing and not my desire to be inside the camp (where all problems are supposedly solved). He leads me in compassion to serve His people who are in need of my love and touch.

Jesus made me clean by His blood from His death on a cross. Yet, in my feelings of ‘uncleanness’ or wayward thoughts, angry words, lack of action or simply isolation, I turn to Him in my outside-the-camp status. I realize that, in truth, my very Christianity defines my position as an insider. Yet, I am human. Sometimes, I feel like an outsider. I’m sure I’m not the only one who experiences this. What do we do with these feelings in the precious moments of our todays?

We trust our Father. We acknowledge that today is all we have. We are not promised tomorrow. Therefore, whether we are oppressed and isolated by the threats of a spreading illness, the voices of angry citizens all around us or by human neglect, we still choose to shine bright in these moments and be followers of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We choose to rise, get our minds off ourselves and seek other outsiders who feel forgotten, lost and angry. We show them God’s love through phone calls, cards. Once, recently, I invited a stranger over and we sat far apart outside on my front porch and talked for hours. What a blessing this was for both of us!

Father, today is the day we choose to serve you, no matter what you have chosen for our lives. Send us your wounded and sad. Help us to be a light that guides others back to you. Help us to use this most holy day for your purposes and for your glory. Give us eyes to see and understand how important today is and how tomorrow will wait. Show us the way to your presence. Show us the way to be a healing force in our land, even in the last hours of today. In Jesus name, Amen.