An instrument may be out of tune, but it shall not complain as it is played.
~ Makala Barnabas Doulos
I believe the will of God prevails;
Without him all human reliance is vain;
Without the assistance of that divine being I cannot succeed;
With that assistance I cannot fail.
I believe I am a humble instrument in the hands of our heavenly Father; I desire that all my works and acts be according to his will;
And that it may be so, I give thanks to the Almighty and seek his aid.
~Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
Oh beloved, it is true. We are ever in the battle for the very lives of men and woman. Evil, in its retreating action after the cross and resurrection of the Captain of the Hosts is a vicious and contemptible enemy. Booby traps abound even as we advance behind the defilade He provides in our advance.
In our flesh,
We get hungry.
We get angry.
We get lonely.
We get tired.
We get disoriented.
What to do?
Admit that we are some combination of (or all of) hungry, angry, lonely, tired and disoriented to G_d. Agree with Him (confess) that we are very poorly equipped (especially in our own spirit) to fight the protracted spiritual battles of life. Admit weakness. Cry out to Him, and lean on His chest like He is just your best Friend – and we are just so tired.
Doesn’t He expect me to be strong and on guard? No. Actually, just the opposite. Because, in one of the most enigmatic axioms of Scripture it is made clear that when we are weak, He is able to become strong in and through our lives.
And may this blogger preach for a second? Don’t whine. Whining is not admitting weakness. Whining is being offended that someone would dare mess with our comfort. Whining is a complaint that G_d is just not giving us our due rest and relaxation. Whining is an indicator of what is reigning in our lives. Sin and the flesh will absolutely SCREAM for relief when we get through the threshold of the sensations mentioned above. And the first indicator that the old man is about to get his way, is when we give selfish voice to our complaints.
Bluntly, when we have presented ourselves as a living sacrifice to the One who gave both His Life for us, and His Life to us – we do not get to decide how that sacrifice gets used or poured out or burned up. Oh yeah, we can and should be real about how we feel during the process, but maintaining some right to dictate the terms of our sacrifice/surrender to Him just doesn’t make any sense.
One of the five great cries of the Protestant Reformation was: “Soli Deo Gloria!” (Glory to G_d alone!). See friend, the universe is not about us. It is about the Creator and His glory. But don’t forget one the accompanying phrases of the great movement: “Coram Deo.” (Before the sovereign face of G_d.) See this too friend, we live under the very watchful eye of the most Loving and Good and Powerful Father ever. He does not fail. Not ever.
So, as G_d righteously pursues His own glory – He may be arbitrary – but He is never capricious. He is the kind of Person who stops to comfort a hurting woman (Mary in the garden on Easter morning) on His way out of the grave, back on the way to glory and His Father. GET THIS… Jesus had literally just been dead, buried and gone to hell for three days. And this same Jesus just wanted to get home for a minute to finish the process of His own glorification. And this same Jesus interrupted that vital process to simply comfort the feelings of a friend.
Yeah, we get hungry, angry, lonely, tired and disoriented.
He knows. He cares.
May we all just stay sharp; stay ready to be used as a weapon of His righteousness. May we just present ourselves to be played by the One who is a Master Musician – and One who knows how to take good care of His instruments. May we simply be just full of Him.
