I have a sweet, jolly friend from Massachusetts who always has some expression that just makes me guffaw in laughter. One, that has something to do with your hair standing on end while running down the road, is so comical, every time she says it, I find myself laughing so hard, I am practically rolling on the floor.
To this day, I’m not sure of her exact meaning, but when I think of it, in my mind, I see Macaulay Culkin in the movie, Home Alone, running through his house, arms raised high, yelling at the top of his lungs. (For some strange reason, that gives me a good chuckle, too.)
I don’t know if any of you remember Jane Fonda workout videos, but it would always start with something like, Stand up straight. Tighten your abs. Tuck your bottom under. Remember to breathe. Now, RELAX and SMILE!!! With gritted teeth and a grin that would scare anyone—I would begin. It was sheer torture.
Truth be told, deep in my heart, that’s the way I sometimes feel when I read from the Bible to be obedient: seek God with your whole heart, ask for wisdom, and humble yourself.
Not even out of the gate, the reality that these tasks are impossible hits me in the face. My first reaction, Macaulay Culkin’s “Aagh!” My second, I watch my heart crumple fast in defeat. For I know myself too well. Even though I have tucked those words under my belt, gearing up, ready to move into action to follow God’s Word, this knowledge rushes in.
I am stuck.
That’s where I found myself this morning after reading an inspiring and beautiful devotional. Straight down in the nit and grit. Almost solidly frozen in fear, I became prayerfully honest before God.
Lord, I am so scared, that when I ask You for wisdom, I will either miss what You are saying, will flat-out not hear You, or—and this is the worst—You won’t give it to me.
Obedience. Well, Lord, You know my track record. Back and forth. Up and down. Two steps forward and five hundred backward. I really wrestle with this one.
Humility. What does that look like, Lord? Does it mean I try really hard to get my heart in the right position to humble myself? I don’t know how or even where to begin with that one. I can’t humble myself.
And then these words tumbled out: Please. Humble. Me.
That’s when it happened. My heart became quiet with the realization that left to myself, all these things are impossible.
For ~
Without God, wisdom is far out of our reach.
Without God, we can’t begin to obey.
Without God, humility is a hopeful we can’t possibly achieve.
But ALL are possible with God. What I had just prayed was a confession of sin. Everything I wanted to do, I was attempting in my own strength and power. (It seems I have to relearn and be reminded of this one, over, and over, and over again.) Scripture tells us, without faith, it is impossible to please God.
Does the Lord want us groveling on the ground? No! He didn’t come to condemn but to help us, not to judge but to heal and make us whole. That is why He wants us to see that our self-oriented attempts toward godliness are futile. That’s why He wants us to let Him do the powerful work in our hearts that only He can do.
This is Incredibly Good News!!! God sent His Son to take our sinful self onto Himself and then, by His Holy Spirit working within us, do what we cannot. We should be shouting this from the rooftops! We should be dancing in the streets!!!
If you face these same struggles, take heart. The Lord knows we are fragile and like the dust of the earth. He has faced what we face, and that is why He can love on us.
Magnificently.
Oh, that we would let Him,
Kimberly
