So,
as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” (Hebrews 3:7-11)
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” (Hebrews 3:7-11)
Do you test God? Right now, I’m afraid
I do. I’m reading a book called Soul Keeping by John Ortberg, and the
study guide asks some tough questions about the condition of heart, mind, body,
and soul. I find myself asking if I am really as bad off as I seem to think I
am, or whether I am just so bad off that I think I am. Either way, it’s not
good.
The Israelites tested God. If you read today’s passage, it reads as though it only refers to one incident, but it covers more than forty years of their testing God. Less than a week after the culmination of the ten plagues on Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea, they were shedding bitter tears about bad water. They groused about food, and at grouse (well, quail – a closer relative) for so long that they groused about that (good thing they didn’t carp!)
They told Moses to go talk to God because they were too afraid to stand in His presence when God was on the top of Sinai, but while Moses was up in that same cloud, with the same thundering and lightning going on, they made a golden calf and caroused around it.
They refused to enter the Promised Land because they were told it was a scary place, then when God said, “Turn around and head back into the wilderness” they invaded.
They decided they knew better than Moses, or Moses and Aaron, more than once. They decided they had a right to reject the “president and judge” and the “pastor” God had given them.
I don’t think the question is “Do you test God?” It’s “How do you test God?”
John Ortberg quotes Dallas Willard frequently in this book. One of the big things Professor Willard taught him was “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”
OK, God, I have to clean out the attic, the garage, and the basement this summer and get the rest of the house settled for me to live in…. Oh, and let’s not forget the garden.
OK, God, I need… and now I need…. And I really want….
So I start reading Soul Keeping and burst into tears. “Lord, my life is so screwed up! Fix it!” Thirty seconds later, “Father, are we ‘there’ yet? What’s taking so long?” I like to tell myself I’ve been waiting all my life but the truth is that I have waited thirty seconds, or maybe as much as a month. It’s been more miss than hit in the waiting department. Most of the time “waiting” has involved haring off in some other direction while “waiting” for the green light. Maybe God directed those side trips.
I have often thought that God leads us into situations that demand our attention so that He can remove the “splinter” while we’re distracted. Remember that “Footprints in the Sand” poem? What if the times when there’s only one set of footprints is when we’re on an operating table, having soul cancer removed?
I’m not quite sure how to remove more hurry from my soul. It’s not the same as sitting around and doing nothing. Professor Willard taught to ruthlessly remove hurry from our souls, but he was a university professor and a husband. It’s not about not being busy. It’s an attitude thing.
Which brings me back to the Israelites. All they had to do is break camp, follow the pillar of cloud and fire, and set up camp again. All they had to do is trust. I think that’s the heart of the matter – that’s the alternative to hurry. And that brings me back to W.D. AAAAAAAA.
The Israelites tested God. If you read today’s passage, it reads as though it only refers to one incident, but it covers more than forty years of their testing God. Less than a week after the culmination of the ten plagues on Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea, they were shedding bitter tears about bad water. They groused about food, and at grouse (well, quail – a closer relative) for so long that they groused about that (good thing they didn’t carp!)
They told Moses to go talk to God because they were too afraid to stand in His presence when God was on the top of Sinai, but while Moses was up in that same cloud, with the same thundering and lightning going on, they made a golden calf and caroused around it.
They refused to enter the Promised Land because they were told it was a scary place, then when God said, “Turn around and head back into the wilderness” they invaded.
They decided they knew better than Moses, or Moses and Aaron, more than once. They decided they had a right to reject the “president and judge” and the “pastor” God had given them.
I don’t think the question is “Do you test God?” It’s “How do you test God?”
John Ortberg quotes Dallas Willard frequently in this book. One of the big things Professor Willard taught him was “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”
OK, God, I have to clean out the attic, the garage, and the basement this summer and get the rest of the house settled for me to live in…. Oh, and let’s not forget the garden.
OK, God, I need… and now I need…. And I really want….
So I start reading Soul Keeping and burst into tears. “Lord, my life is so screwed up! Fix it!” Thirty seconds later, “Father, are we ‘there’ yet? What’s taking so long?” I like to tell myself I’ve been waiting all my life but the truth is that I have waited thirty seconds, or maybe as much as a month. It’s been more miss than hit in the waiting department. Most of the time “waiting” has involved haring off in some other direction while “waiting” for the green light. Maybe God directed those side trips.
I have often thought that God leads us into situations that demand our attention so that He can remove the “splinter” while we’re distracted. Remember that “Footprints in the Sand” poem? What if the times when there’s only one set of footprints is when we’re on an operating table, having soul cancer removed?
I’m not quite sure how to remove more hurry from my soul. It’s not the same as sitting around and doing nothing. Professor Willard taught to ruthlessly remove hurry from our souls, but he was a university professor and a husband. It’s not about not being busy. It’s an attitude thing.
Which brings me back to the Israelites. All they had to do is break camp, follow the pillar of cloud and fire, and set up camp again. All they had to do is trust. I think that’s the heart of the matter – that’s the alternative to hurry. And that brings me back to W.D. AAAAAAAA.
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