The Children of Israel were needing to get a handle on their feelings during the beginning of their journey out of Egypt (where they'd been enslaved) to the Promised Land. They'd been subservient to the Egyptians as their minions for 400 years, and when their rescue came, it was to God's dismay that they rather quickly jettisoned their gratitude, leaving behind the inability to relish their newfound (forever) freedom.
And this became the truthteller regarding their immaturity as a people group. God despised this about them for it proved their focus was no longer on him but their own selfish feelings.
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I've heard preachers use this story in an attempt to quell criticism of shoddy preaching, but that's not at all correctly pitched. The lesson in this story is about staying focused on God's rescue. Paying heed to where you've come out of. Seeing who's right in front, leading you forward today in all of his glory.
But to do this, you must remember truthfully where you were prior. And you must carry that with you into the present.
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My "porn" as a child was the Service Merchandise / Spiegel catalog. Especially this time of year. Every day, often multiple times a day, I would gaze into this glossy-paged, oversized magazine and long for some toy(s) or electronic(s) that captivated by imagination. And all it took was one professional photo of this object and a short descriptive paragraph to bide me over for those few imaginatory minutes. Keep in mind that this was way before online professional / customer reviews much less online retailers.
We are image bearers of God, therefore we have imaginations too which lead us to create / devise / plan / dream. Considering that, we are also perpetually self-focused and subsequently indulgent with flesh that's hyper-sensitive to moods, hunger, fatigue.
And this was the means for the Israelites' undoing once they lost patience with God's provision / direction.
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Youth facilitates the propensity to constantly look forward. It's what makes having children so much fun at times. Santy Claus wouldn't exist were it not for this. And yet, this component of childhood can overstay its welcome as we men are expected to grow out of it but refuse to. Oftentimes, it's simply translated over into real estate, depreciating assets (cars, boats, video game consoles), but also into sexualized fetishes.
Internet porn provides a limitless amount of visual imagery for us to "feed" these latter longings, all from the privacy of our own PC, tablet, smartphone.
And this is where God gets pissed, to the point of putting his foot down.
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So how do we go about encouraging maturation away from all this childishness? What can we do to better manager our unsatisfied, unsettled anticipatory selves?
Pray firstly. Fall to your knees and ask God for release. Ask him for a special measure of his Holy Spirit to fight back with.
Secondly, look clearly at others and see where they need you to be THE MAN. Even within your private life when no one else is looking.
Thirdly, repent of your childishness and all the idolatry that's manifested itself therein. Make a list of these things and pray over them in retreat (backing away).
Put your feet on solid ground via these three moves and work hard to not look back. From there, God's completeness will begin to suffice as you're more focused on where you once were in light of current circumstances.
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