Joshua also saw right through their words, their declarations of unwavering faithfulness. He spoke quickly, clearly and directly:
You can't do it; you're not able to worship God. He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. (24:19)Can you imagine saying that to someone at church? You're not able to worship God. Can you imagine someone saying that to you? I think there would be a look of shock and awe on my face. Really? You're telling me that I can't worship God? Interesting how a sense of entitlement can even enter into my "worship".
But, what if I entered each Sunday worship service with that humbling truth? What if I approached each morning with the reality of my harlotry, my cheating on God? (24:27) Would my worship of a holy, jealous God be different? Not about whether I like the song or the singer; not about whether the music moved me; not about whether my Bible reading and prayer ministered to me. But, about my utter lack of ability to worship a holy God.
Larry Crabb writes a parable that is beginning to help me understand worship and why I can't do it. Here's a paraphrase:
The man's life was pleasant. So too was his worship. The two always go together.
God was not pleased. So He allowed the man's life to become unpleasant. The man responded at once with shock. "How can this be? How could this happen in my life? Beneath the shock, the man was smug. But he could not see it. He thought it was trust. "This will soon pass. God is faithful. Life will again be pleasant." His worship remained shallow....His worship became a way to convince God to restore his pleasant life...
The man could see only his pain. He could not see God. He thought he could, but the god he saw was one whose job it was to relieve pain. His worship had always taken the form of a demand, but now the demand was so obvious the man could almost recognize it.
God was not pleased. So He let the struggles continue. And God allowed new troubles to come into the man's life....The man held on to his faith. Even as he did, he could not hear his heart saying, "I have every right to give up on my faith. But I'm choosing the truly noble way...Does that impress you? If not, my God, what does?" His worship was more desperate than ever. But it was still proud.
God was not pleased. So He allowed the man's trials to continue and his pain to remain unabated. ...God had a greater dream for the man than a return to a pleasant life. He wanted the man to find true joy...
The fog around the man's soul thickened until he could feel it, like walls closing in. All that was left was mystery...the mystery of a bad life and a good God...In deep darkness, you cannot see. But you can hear. He could hear for the first time what his heart was saying.
"Bless me!" he cried. From his deepest soul, he could hear words reflecting a resolve that would not let go of God. "Bless me! Not because I am good, but because You are good. Bless me! Not because I deserve Your blessing, but because it is Your nature to bless. You really can't help Yourself. I appeal not to who I am. You owe me nothing. I appeal only to who You are."
He still saw his pain. But now he saw God. And the cry for blessing was no longer a demand for a pleasant life. It was a cry for whatever God wanted to do, for whoever He was. The man felt something different. It was the beginning of humility...The man had forgotten himself and discovered his desire for God...
A new thought occurred to him..."A pleasant life is not water for my soul; whatever comes from God - whoever God is - this is the only true water. And it is enough." The man worshiped God, and God was pleased. [Larry Crabb, Shattered Dreams]As we leave the battles of Joshua and the Israelites, what battles are still waging inside of you? Have you identified areas of entitlement and jealousy? Are you learning to hate sin more than suffering? What have you learned about your God who wants first place in your life?
9 comments:
Whoa. You are right on, Staci. "you can't do it," would be so offensive to hear in church or from friends regarding my worship. But isn't that why Jesus came?
In so many more ways than I'd like to admit, I can't do it. But I want to. I want to gut it out, work longer, try harder, endure stronger. But I wasn't designed to be so independent. I was created for dependency on God. And I fight it so often.
"You can't do it." That is why I need a savior.
Your questions are so thought-provoking and challenging, Staci! Not to mention well-timed. Today kicks off "40 Days of Worship," an emphasis Campus Crusade for Christ (I'm on staff with CCC) is encouraging all of our staff, volunteers, donors and participants to engage in. Want to be involved? There's a Facebook page for it, and a website.
As for Joshua flying by, it sure did! I traveled through the end of Deuteronomy and Joshua, so i cant believe we are about to start Judges. I have some catching up to do! It is sooo good to be back with you all!
Oh! Maybe you all mentioned this while i was away, but have you thought about what it would mean for a nomadic people to have a home and land? Just think about the skills needed for farming, building a home, and cooking. I thought i read something about how they hadn't had beer or bread throughout the 40years (or did i imagine that?) so if the original people who left Egypt with these skills, experience and family recipes died off before they entered the land, did that put pressure on Caleb and Joshua to remember all the little things about living in one location?
Sarah - I'm so happy to see your smiling face back on here! Loved your point about the skills these nomadic people would need as they settle down. Is that in the forefront of your mind because you've been so nomadic lately?? :-)
Loved the parable, Staci! I'm afraid I'm that man. :-(
I feel like I'm fighting battles left and right, with my own attitudes and sin patterns, but I'm not sure I'm fighting the right battles, you know? Just last night, I totally lost it (internally) and found myself snapping at my kids. Even as I was doing it, I knew it was wrong and that I was displacing my anger and irritation. I hate the way sin FEELS, but I'm not sure that I truly hate the sin in itself. I wonder if I even know what that looks like? I definitely need more discernment in this area of my life. I don't fully know or understand my answers to those questions about me. But through Joshua, I know that God will never fail. He leaves nothing undone. (23:14)
I'm re-reading Nancy Leigh DeMoss's book, Holiness, and in it she has a prayer that she prayed for herself as she was wrestling with this topic. Given where I am these days, I felt led to begin praying the same prayer for myself:
"Oh, God, show me more of your holiness. Show me more of my sinfulness. Help me to hate sin and to love righteousness as You do. Grant me a deeper conviction of sin and a more thorough spirit of repentance. And make me holy as You are holy."
I liked that prayer, Cici. It echoes what's been mine over the past few weeks. And Staci, the parable is a convicting reminder that it's not about us at all; it's about Him. My mind went immediately to the Casting Crowns song, Who I Am, whose refrain is:
Not because of who I am,
But because of what You've
Not becuase of what I've done
But because of who You are
....and You've told me who I am,
I am Yours.
Thank you, ladies, for the gentle encouragement to purge the sin that gets comfortable and justified when I fail to acknowledge it.
Here is what's been on my heart as we leave the book of Joshua.
I tend to keep my days very full with little margin for much resting. So the message of "Rest in Me" has been stuck on my mind this week. (not from Joshua directly but the people were enjoying blessings due to their present obedience) I began really asking God what does "rest in Me" look like and how do I do it? I believe God is encouraging me to"enjoy my relationships...be PRESENT in them". God put these relationships in my life for a reason. Discover and UNDERSTAND my husband more, enjoy him, slow down and really observe and discover my kids. This answers the "how" for me. Colossians 3 gave me further insight on the "how to rest in Him". If I'm too busy with all my mental to do lists, then these verses don't represent my life in Christ....I'm not resting, singing, enjoying the peace that comes from Him.
15-17Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
18Wives, UNDERSTAND and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master.
19Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don't take advantage of them.
20Children, do what your parents tell you. This delights the Master no end.
21Parents, don't come down too hard on your children or you'll crush their spirits.
Lord, give me the ability to "rest in You". Help me to understand and enjoy those you have put in my life. please live out the words of Colossian 3 through me. May You be Exalted...always!
Joshua, amazed, too, that today I read the last chapter in this book. A book so full of application, I could easily become overwhelmed, but yet I know God is faithful and he does not give me more than I can handle. Asking Him to show me where he wants me to focus, what do I need to work on today.
Amazed how those on this blog are asking the same or similar questions as I do in each reading. Amazed how your thoughts and applications hit home and challenge me. Thanks to each of you who are being transparent and share your hearts.
For today, I am meditating on God’s faithfulness to His Word, both blessing and curse. We do reap what we sow - His word shows this over and over. Am I (as Staci asked) hating the sin more than the suffering? And is my worship of God truly focused on Who he is and not on what He can do for me? I appreciate the parable from Larry Crabb’s book. Something I need to read again and do some soul searching.
Okay,...so there is so much more I could write but for now, I don’t want to be overwhelming. God is so GOOD! My true inheritance is not what I have but WHO ! A good friend reminded me of this recently :)
Lisa - it sounds like God is doing a lot in your heart! I can relate to the need for resting in the Lord in order to enjoy my God-given relationships. Thanks for that!
Praise God. There is so much to meditate on after reading Joshua. I used to think it was just about dividing the land, but I'm thankful to have been here again and rediscovered so much more than God has had to show me.
One thing that I'll be thinking about today is how even though I know that I'm a sinner and unfaithful, how I can try to be more faithful in pursuing God, because He alone is faithful in all ways. When Joshua tells the people that they can't serve the Lord, and they say No! We will serve the Lord!, I want to scream this :) That's what I picture. Screaming this out to the Lord! I want to serve YOU! Just because, as Joshua said, I have chosen to. And I have chosen to yield my heart to Him. Learning a lot about my pursual of God and the fight I want to fight because I want to be with Him, oh so intimately.
And the parable really touched me deeply in this! As I fight for intimacy with God and know ultimately He's the One fighting for me, as I'm convicted by the HS of sin that keeps me from Him-just Him- I just want to come to worship Him- not for me, but because of who our inheritance is- our Lord, our God! As for me and my heart on this side of the computer, I will serve the Lord. Thanks for encouraging me, fellow women after God's heart. So thankful for all of you, truly! Can't wait for Judges!
What battles wage within? Well this parable you posted really speaks to me. I'll remember it! ..."A pleasant life is not water for my soul; whatever comes from God - whoever God is - this is the only true water. And it is enough." I'm waging a battle for finding my identity in what has happened to us rather than what is happening in me. We both need full-time jobs, insurance, a place to live on our own. Not where I hoped I would be as an emptynester because I'm fighting the wrong battle. What is happening inside of me is simply awesome...I'm awestruck with my hand over my mouth. I'm not the person I was even yesterday. Very good place to be. Thanks for writings that touch me deeply.
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