We have a bodily machine which we must regulate. God does not regulate it for us. Until we learn to bring the bodily machine into harmony with God’s will, there will be friction, and the friction is a warning that part of the machine is not in working order.
~Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of His own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
~ James, a Slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, writing to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion
Oh beloved, life can be so simply very daily. It can, in the natural, be absolutely full of friction. This writer, having moved from the land of abject convenience, now finds himself in a country that is still trying to find its way out of the 3rd world. And for all of it’s beauty, Jakarta is known as the “Big Durian.”
Little stuff like the ongoing skirmishes with banks to get money to move. Days where something that took 45 seconds in Arizona – here in Jakarta; 2 taxis, a micro-bus and 2 bank branches later…. and the problem is still not solved, leads one to see that one can definitely have some friction with simple day to day life in this place.
Having little go right the first time (or second or third) is normal stuff for Indonesia… Life is better lived here when it is seen to be a little more like camping. Our fridge does not work (we have a tiny one as a spare luckily), the landlord will not fix it – and we have no one to appeal to. The washing machine leaks, no shower curtain, internet is intermittent…. and lots of other little stuff.
And God is in control.
The wonderful thing about walking with Him is that we come to realize that life is really not about us. Really, all the things that look like impediments to life, are actually catalysts to push us more fully into the Presence of the One who really is our Life. Yes, the impediments compete LOUDLY for our attention. But, thankfully, we learn that we do not have to listen.
And really, when we feel the need to get uneasy about things not going our way, it is really only because we are allowing the voice of that old man to fuss and poke around for another way to come out of the grave he has been reckoned into by the new creation we have become in Christ. Might it be simpler to let that old man lie dead? And even so… Oh, the flesh will scream for attention!
And yeah, our actual bodies DO need attention. We need to feed them, rest them, hydrate them and exercise them the same way that we need to exercise ourselves unto godliness. We must subjugate them to His will the same way that we subjugate the rest of ourselves to the Him – through the power of His Spirit. If we don’t, the body becomes a fulcrum for the flesh to use to gain a foothold once again in our lives.
And yeah again, all this is still about Him in working in and through our lives. It is the only way that it works. For friction will mount and burn us or abraid us or break us if we continue in it. The only way to overcome the friction of the natural is to introduce the Infinite Coefficient of the Spirit to the equation.
So yeah once again, life is very daily. Friction in the natural is unavoidable. And G_d is still in control. Will we yield and let Him continue the work of bearing fruit in and through our lives? Or will we let the friction burn away the tender leaves that are beginning to bud along the branches of our lives?
Anyone for a little free movement in the Spirit? Yeah. Let’s do that!
