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Rumors, Reports ...

             In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.  They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. (Nehemiah 1:1-4) 

Our setting of goals for the next year is often seen as a game. We want to see the goals we’re setting come to mind, but it’s almost as though we have one of those little game spinners. Everyone takes three spins, and whatever it lands on, that’s their goals for the next year. For 2021, apparently, these were the most often hits for the spinner:

Exercise more

Eat healthier

Spend more time with family/friends

Lose weight

Live more economically

Spend less time on social media

Improve performance on the job

Reduce stress on the job

Quit smoking

Cut down on alcohol

There’s nothing wrong with any of those resolutions, or with goals based on them. Some are mine, some aren’t but each could be considered a symptom of a life that is in ruins. The damage may not seem devastating seen from one angle, but from another, it’s just a mess. We might not even be looking at it, but we might hear rumors. Are we concerned enough to ask someone we trust for their honest opinions about our own conditions?   Consider the description Dallas Willard gives of us as souls:

You might also consider your relationships with people, places, money, power, control, and things, starting with God. Are they healthy, godly relationships? Whatever way you and your trusted friend look at your life, and whatever your response, take it before God. The exact details of how you respond to the reports of your condition aren’t as important as your honesty about them. Are there things that are in ruins? Are there ways that you are disgraced? Does anything bother you enough to lead you to mourn, fast, or pray for several days?

You may not be able to point to anything specific. Something is wrong or everything is wrong and you don’t know where to begin. That may be a bigger problem than knowing. Some people go from doctor to doctor trying to find someone who can diagnose the problem. That’s worse because you can’t do much about something when you don’t know what the something is. If trusted reports merit several days of mourning, fasting, and praying, then mysteries probably merit more time praying, mourning, and fasting – or however you take your deepest concerns to God.

The key to this time is that while you may receive information,  you don’t share it with anyone but God. Go to Him in complete honesty and humility. Lay out the problem as you know it to be (you might be wrong) and plead with Him to act.

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