the fruit of humility

oh humility

do your

good work

in me

set me free

from self

and teach me

how to love

below

rise above

is not the

way of jesus

but stoop below

freedom comes

from forgetting

about self

completely

not shaken

“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.” (Psalm 62:5-6)

I am continually amazed at how fragile my sense of well-being and identity can be.  The least little comment, or lack thereof, can throw me into a bit of a spin.  How I long for a greater durability, a rootedness that is not dependent on mood, whim, or circumstance.

That’s where the words of this ancient prayer are such a great companion.  They remind me that if I am easily shaken, it is most likely because my soul is not resting in God alone.  And, thus, they re-center me and allow me to set my feet, once again, on the rock of his unfailing love.

listening

“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.  Therefore consider carefully how you listen.” (Luke 8:17-18)

Listening is so important in the spiritual life.  But, unfortunately, it is a bit of a lost art.  That’s probably because, in our day and age, silence and solitude have been replaced by noise and hurry and busyness.  Listening requires time and space.  It requires stillness and silence and solitude.  How can we ever hope to hear anything from God if we never stop, shut up, and pay attention to him? 

The reason listening is so important is because how we listen and what we hear have so much bearing on what we believe and how we live.  What we truly believe determines how we act; and who and what we listen to almost always determines what we really believe.  Living falsely is almost always the result of believing things that are not true.

Thus, if we are really listening, then things will be disclosed, made know, and brought out into the open, no matter how hard we try to deny or escape them.  No matter how hard we try to hide and conceal them.  Listening is the place where we open ourselves up to the voice of God—the voice of truth.  And abiding in his truth is how we are set free.

So many voices, Lord, so many voices—both around and within.  It gets really confusing.  Sometimes it’s hard to tell who is really telling me the truth; and even harder to tell where I have come to believe things that are just not true.  Help me, O Lord, to listen to your voice.  Help me to pay careful attention to how I listen to you, so that I can know the truth that will set me free.  Amen.

false ways

“Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate very false way.” (Psalm 119:104, ESV) 

The ability to see falseness, in whatever form it takes—particularly within ourselves—is so important in the spiritual journey.  Because it is easy for us to live falsely and not even recognize it.  And, as with most things, the best way to be able to recognize the false is to mediate on the true.  When we are constantly mediating on the truth, it increases our capacity and ability to recognize the false.

O Lord, help me to see my false ways today.  And help me to walk, instead, in your truth.

 

autonomy and authority

“When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests and Levites.  It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left.” (Deuteronomy 17:19-20)

Autonomy [aw-ton-uh-mee] – independence, as of the will or one’s actions; self-government; subject only to its own laws.

Authority [uh-thawr-i-tee] – a power or right delegated or given.

All too often I think we equate freedom with autonomy, when that is really not the case at all.  Freedom is not about total autonomy; freedom is the ability to thrive and flourish under the proper authority. 

Even the king of Israel was not given total autonomy, he was God’s servant to his people.  That’s why he was instructed to put himself under the authority of God’s word and God’s law by keeping it with him, by reading it constantly, and by following it carefully all of the days of his life.  For when a leader is not under authority, he has a tendency to go astray, either to the right or to the left.  He starts to look after his own interests, rather than those of the people under his care.  He puts himself above the law and, thus, above all of those who are under that law.  He becomes full of himself, impressed his own observations, enamored by his own wisdom, inspired by his own voice, and seduced by his own power.  He becomes his own authority, which is never good.

Leadership in God’s kingdom, however, is meant to be much different than that.  It is a life under authority.  Leadership in God’s kingdom is not a life of isolation, but of community.  It is not a life of power, but of humility.  Not a life of taking, but of giving.  Not a life of becoming more, but of becoming less.  It is not a life of independence, but of dependence. 

So be very careful of the seduction of autonomy, it is a dangerous thing.  It is one of the surest ways to get lost in this life, without not even knowing it.

deceit

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.  Blessed is the man whose iniquity the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. (Psalm 32:1-2, NIV) 

We are indeed blessed when we come to realize that our transgression are forgiven, our sins are covered, and the Lord no longer counts our iniquity against us.  The cross has taken care of all of that once and for all—past, present, and future.  But what about the part that says we are blessed when we have no more deceit in our spirits?  That’s a little more difficult.  I mean, how in the world do we rid our spirits of deceit?  That seems like a tall order. 

The essence of deceit (rᵊmîyâ) is living falsely.  It isn’t just about telling a lie; it’s about living one.  It’s about presenting a false front.  It’s about trying to make people believe we are better, or different, than we really are.  It is about manufacturing an appearance that is not true.  We do it all the time; every minute of every day.  We do it when we posture and pose.  We do it when we hide and conceal.  We do it when we conform and camouflage.  And we do it when we masquerade and pretend.  We do it when we jockey and perform.  Trying to create ourselves, rather than become ourselves is a great temptation.  And it can become so subtle, so second-nature to us, that we do not even notice it.

That’s why the words to this ancient prayer are so helpful.  Only God can rid our hearts and lives of deceit.  Only God can show us when we are being false rather than true, fake rather than real.  Only God can help us to become who he made us to be, but it takes a relentless openness and attentiveness to his word and his Spirit in the silence and solitude of our won hearts and souls.  It takes constant prayer and reflection and confession and repentance.  It is an ongoing battle, but one that is worth the time and effort, because at the end of it all lies a life that he calls blessed.

What bliss belongs to the one whose rebellion has been forgiven, those whose sins are covered by blood.  What bliss belongs to those who have confessed their corruption to God! For he wipes their slates clean and removes hypocrisy from their hearts. (Psalm 32:1-2, TPT)