Revelation -101: How NOT to See & Hear God

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You read that right "Revelation MINUS 101." 

I wish I didn't have to write this post, but I wouldn't be honest if I didn't.

And can I be honest? I've been cranky . . . crabby . . . "out of sorts" . . . ok, nasty! Ask my husband. I had gotten tired of being a "punching bag" in little ways in a certain relationship. My house is torn apart with a pending reconstruction project. I feel in limbo emotionally (aftermath of my husband's and my retirement?) . . . all potential reasons but very poor excuses!

mired clay

When I give in to those dark and empty pulls, I don't hear or see God all around. The only God-Voice that I do hear is . . . "don't get sucked into that downward pull" . . . the fleshly self, happily fed by the enemy of my soul and the unwanted circumstances of my world around me. The Holy Spirit warns where this is headed -- death all around . . . and He rescues if I let Him.

And so I remember a poem my husband found several weeks ago, tucked away in an old notebook of his, a real "find" when cleaning out his office for that pending home renovation:

Fifteen Minutes to Freedom*
George MacDonald

With every morn my life afresh must break
The crust of self, gathered about me fresh;
That thy wind-spirit may rush in and shake
The darkness out of me, and rend the mesh
The spider-devils spin out of the flesh—
Eager to net the soul before it wake.
That it may slumberous lie, and listen to the snake.

As C.S. Lewis says, "The fight is at the beginning of the day."

So I return to my "just as I'm awaking" morning prayer (did I forget it today?):

Lord, YOU are my King! I am your servant. I serve at YOUR pleasure and for your YOUR purpose. Unfold YOUR fullness in my life today. Live through me, love through me, serve through me for YOUR honor and glory. Amen.

Now my soul is at peace, clothed with the fullness of the living Christ, to face my day afresh.

McKim Photography

 

[*as quoted by John Eldridge in Waking the Dead]

Next time an excerpt from my Bible Study/devotional book, The With-ness of our God: Relationship in Every Dimension.  "Caught in the Web," from chapter 4, speaks to this very issue of the flesh and the spirit. Don't miss it.
In the meantime, take a peek at my page on this site about the book, With-ness of our God

book, withness