When Life is Stale

"When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. ⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah"

Psalm 32:3-4

Reading through this Psalm this week I was prompted to see this in fresh light.  David penned this psalm considering the oppressive nature of sin:  when he refused to confess and repent of sin it gnawed at him day and night.  The picture he paints is one wasting away in pain, a dry soul groaning in distress.  A tree lacking moisture withers and dies, and the drought of summer sapped him of spiritual vitality.

There are certain foods which are delicious when moist, but when the moisture dries up they become stale and unpalatable.  Because of sin David's life became dry and stale.  It is a strange thing how the composition of baked goods changes dramatically for the worse when exposed to air for extended periods of time.  We do not need to interview David to learn more because we also have experienced besetting sins which made our lives stale:  tasteless, worn out, without novelty or power to please.  The things we used to enjoy or live for just aren't as great as they used to be.

In Psalm 1, David compared the child of God to a tree planted by rivers of water that is fruitful in season, its leaves do not wither and it prospers--quite the contrast to the dryness of summer drought.  In verse 4 David ended the line with "Selah" which means to pause and consider.  It is good for us to stop in our tracks and take personally what has been written, examining our own lives to see if we too are dry like a dessert, if ministry has become stale, if relationships are drying up.  The way we feel can be a telling indicator of our need to make personal changes to seek and honour God.

David followed up action with Psalm 32:5:  "I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,"and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah."  Healthy introspection led to confession of sin and forgiveness by our gracious God.  David acknowledged his sinful deeds and also his crooked heart.  He didn't just "Selah" concerning his sin or how twisted and corrupt he was but also revelled in the forgiveness and restoration of his relationship with God.  We can spend a great deal of time wallowing in our failures rather than rejoicing in the forgiveness God delights to give.

Has life become a bit stale?  Pour out your heart to God in confession and know He hears and will answer.  In an instant God can transform a soul that resembles a barren desert into a fruitful oasis by His grace, mercy, and unfailing love.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus can bring radical transformation and renewal to your life today.

The Lovable One

What pictures does "lovable" bring to mind?  Personally I think of a cute and fuzzy plush toy, a smiling face with outstretched arms just begging to be held close.  Synonyms for "lovable" include:  endearing, engaging, attractive, adorable, lovely, sweet, cuddly, charming and pleasing.  One thing these synonyms have in common is being lovable is largely based on appearances and subjective personal opinion--not by demonstrated quality of character.  We can put a great deal of emphasis on looking lovely, but that does not mean we are lovable.

I was struck by David's exhortation in Psalm 31:23-24:  "Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person. ²⁴ Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD."  Forget the fluffy teddy bear with the embroidered smile:  God is the most lovable being of all!  God is worthy of all love as He is absolutely loving, though He is not in the least bit "cute" or "cuddly."  He has demonstrated His love for us sinners, not with chocolate or fluffy keepsakes, but by dying on the cross for our redemption and salvation.  He preserves the faithful, provides courage, and strengthens our hearts as we hope in Him.

The lovable plush toy or pet that loves attention cannot meet the needs of our souls.  1 John 4:19 says of God, "We love Him because He first loved us."  When a person goes to the pet shop or breeder to purchase a cute, lovable puppy or kitten, that animal was loved and chosen before it could respond to love and attention.  To a domesticated animal the buyer was just one of many people who stopped by and watched it play, but after becoming an owner and caretaker a relationship began.  God has done a similar thing for people, having loved each human being before we were conceived and individually fashioned by Him in the womb of our mothers.  Isn't God lovable for His goodness towards us, to create us by grace and pursue a relationship with us?

Jesus Christ said to His disciples in John 15:12-17:  "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. ¹⁷ These things I command you, that you love one another."  We did not choose God, but He chose us; we love Him because He first loved us.  Because He loves us we ought to love Him and one another, and consequently He makes us more lovable ourselves.

Confessing One to Another (and praying too!)

Today a visit to the bathroom turned out to provide an unexpected object lesson.  We have an intermittent leaky tap in our bathroom which is the ultimate "jiggle the handle" experience.  If you have the technique and strength, it works ok.  But because the maintenance man didn't match the new handles with the old-style brass fitting it has always been difficult to keep from dripping.  So we have developed a workaround:  if the tap drips a cup is placed underneath to catch the water to prevent wasting it.  Then when I come in to wash my hands, I crank that puppy down--much to Laura's dismay.

As I watched the water slowly form under the tap and drip into the cup, I mused how pointless it would be to try to keep the tap from dripping with a finger.  Attempts to keep the water from dripping by hand pressure or placement of a cup underneath does not address the internal problem with the tap.  It needs to be pulled apart and fitted with a new plunger, O-Ring, and grease for smooth function (with compatible knobs of course!).  The dripping really isn't the problem, but is a symptom of a hidden internal problem.  We can be quite similar to the dripping tap because losing our temper, worrying, lying, or cheating are only symptoms of a heart problem which can result from our neglect of confession and repentance.

In Christian circles confession of specific sins to others on a regular basis is a seldom practiced spiritual discipline--at least speaking for myself.  That is set to change for me personally on the basis of what the LORD has been teaching me lately, for who does not sin (1 John 1:10)?  In addition to the biblical directive in James 5:16, I came across something J. Edwin Orr wrote in his book Full Surrender which impacted me:

"It costs nothing for a church member to admit in a prayer meeting, "I am not what I ought to be."  It costs no more to say:  "I ought to be a better Christian."  It costs something to say:  "I have been a trouble-maker in this church."  It costs something to say:  "I have had bitterness of heart towards certain leaders, to whom I shall definitely apologise."  While it is true that human hearts possess attributes towards sin which can be described as general, all acts of sin are particular and should be confessed in a particular way.  A sinner might be overwhelmed by so many specific convictions of sin that he does not know where to begin.  He should begin with his besetting sin, about which he will feel most conviction.  The exhortation to confess our sins is clearly progressive:  "If we keep on confessing our sins." (Orr, J. Edwin. Full Surrender. Marshall, Morgan, & Scott. 1951. pages 28-29.)

Though all sin is against God, we also sin against people.  Since this is the case, when guilt of sin comes to our attention we ought to confess our sin to the one we have wronged as the Prodigal did to his father:  "I have sinned against heaven and against you."  Orr put forth a maxim concerning confession in Full Surrender to let the "circle of the offence committed be the circle of the confession."  The unity and healthy fellowship of Christians can be severely hampered by pride and our (my!) refusal to confess sins to one another as James prescribed coupled with prayer for each other.  Joshua exhorted Achan to publicly confess what impacted the nation; Job prayed for his erring friends and they were healed.  We cannot keep short accounts with God if our ledger is bleeding red with sins against our brothers and sisters and we have neglected our responsibility to confess.  It is good for us to keep from sin, but if our primary motivation to avoid it is the fear of confessing to our brothers our hearts are not right before God.  Praise the LORD He is forgives, cleanses, restores, and even redeems our sin for His ultimately glory and our good.

Belief and Obedience

"And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? ¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."

Hebrews 3:18-19

God brought the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt by a mighty hand and led them to the threshold of the Promised Land.  Yet upon hearing a bad report by 10 of the 12 spies sent into Canaan, the people were filled with fear and even regretted leaving Egypt!  They believed the reports of huge fortifications and giants in the land instead of looking to the almighty God who had brought them thus far:  the One who led them out would bring them in with victory.  Because they would not enter in God decreed that generation (save the two faithful spies Joshua and Caleb) could not enter the land.  Their unbelief led them to rebel rather than obey.

This is an incredibly relevant and thought-provoking situation to consider personally.  If unbelief prevented God's people from trust and obedience to Him, it is possible for us to hesitate on the threshold of blessings God has already provided for us.  Unbelief should be viewed as one of the greatest tragedies, completely preventable by undeterred faith in God marked by obedience.  I am saddened to think my life could at times be comparable to the Hebrews who witnessed the power of God yet turned their backs on what God had freely given them:  all they had to do was trust and enter in.  They would not do it, so God made it impossible for them to do it.  It seems they did not possess the spiritual insight of the author of Hebrews, for though they admitted they sinned at times unbelief was not something they repented of.

Believing and obeying, however, it not as easy as it may seem because it involves crucifixion:  first of Jesus Christ and then of our flesh so by faith the life of Jesus might live through us.  Unless we are born again we cannot surrender to this work of the Holy Spirit required for us to walk in victory purchased with the blood of Jesus.  The children of Israel had faith to follow Moses out of Egypt, to pass through the Red Sea on dry ground, but their lack of faith in God was exposed when they refused to enter the land of Canaan because of the reports of giants.  Compared to the giants 10 spies viewed themselves as grasshoppers, but the two men who kept their eyes on God and His promises saw them as bread.  Are you hungry to enter into the plans God has for you, to trust Him at any cost?  May the LORD cause us to follow the examples of these men and our Saviour Jesus Christ who were strengthened to obey.