1 Samuel 1:15 Hannah replied “I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman.”
How is it possible that our deepest devotion can look so shallow and even offensive to others? How can a woman crying out to God for help be mistaken for a wino by a kindly old priest?
Here’s how: Our motives are hidden. Our actions are in plain view. And every onlooker sees only what the angle of his vision lets him see. Result: a much higher likelihood of misunderstanding than most of us are prepared for.
Hannah is not the first or last to be misunderstood in her passion for God. She stands in a long and venerable line:
David danced for God and his wife was disgusted as she watched (2 Sam. 6:14-16).
The tribes living on the east side of the Jordan River built an altar of devotion to God. The tribes living on the west side thought it was an idol and the two factions nearly went to war over the misunderstanding (Josh. 22:24-27).
Jesus healed the sick in the name of God and religious leaders called him a devil (Mk. 3:22).
The Apostles stepped out of the upper room touched by the Spirit’s fire and wind and the crowds accused them of drunkenness, like Hannah (Acts 2:12-16).
Paul shared the gospel and his opponents tried their hardest to discredit him (1 Thess. 2:1-16).
I can add my name and I am sure that you can add yours!
So, when it happens to you be ready.
Don’t be surprised. People can’t see your heart. They can only judge your actions which they usually do before they have all the facts. It’s not fair, but it is life. And misunderstanding can come from the least expected places. For Hannah it was her priest and for David his wife who did not respect or understand their devotion.
Decide not to retaliate. It will hurt, so be slow to react. If there is truth in the criticism, accept it and change. But if the challenge is just wrong – as it was for Hannah – you need to speak up. Sometimes everything is quickly fixed (Hannah, Tribes of Israel) but other times the animosity goes deeper and the pain gets worse (David, Jesus). Whatever happens learn, grow and keep going forward. Every criticism is an opportunity to flush selfishness out of our systems and to double our resolve to walk with God.
Dial up your passion. That’s what David did. It is what Hannah, Jesus and Paul did. You can do it too. Sometimes it will be wise to change the way you express your devotion, but you must not reduce your passion for God. Do not let other people determine your spiritual ceiling.
Spiritual devotion is not a spectator sport! Unlike football, devotion to God gives very little pleasure to those who watch but do not participate. Ironically we’re not talking here about people with no spirituality. Sane worship can inspire unbelievers (1 Cor 14:24-25). We are talking about people with faith: Hannah’s priest, David’s wife, Israel’s brothers, Jesus’ religious peers, the Apostles' congregation and Paul’s colleagues. That’s why misunderstanding hurts. It often comes from people who should be participating and celebrating with you. And that’s why we need to be ready in advance.
Questions
When did you last experience misunderstanding? How did you react? What would you do differently? Or the same?
What strategies have you learned for dealing with the hurt of being misunderstood?
1 Samuel 5:3 “When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord!”
Don’t trifle with the God of Israel. He cannot be domesticated and he will not be subjugated. He does not share equal time with other gods. He does not consult for a fee. His expectation is simple, just let him be GOD.
A Touch of Irony (1 Samuel 5) Dagon was the fish-god of the Philistines, probably the chief god of their pantheon. When the Philistines (mortal enemies of Israel) captured the Ark of God in a notorious battle (1 Sam 4) they placed it in Dagon’s temple in Ashdod. It was meant to be a prize of their triumph.
Less than 24 hours later when Dagon’s priests entered the temple, they found the fish god fallen off his pedestal, face to the ground in front of God’s Ark. They lifted their humiliated god back onto his perch. Embarrassing!
The scene was repeated the very next day only this time Dagon’s hands and head were broken off. Just his fishy torso remained; an inert mass prostrate before the majestic symbol of the living God. Philistia panicked.
Lesson #1: You can’t put God on your trophy shelf and celebrate your conquest. He is not a collectable. God, who revealed himself in Jesus, overwhelms all other gods. If you welcome him into your life, everything else must bow down. If you are in a workplace, a family or a season of your life where it seems like God has been downgraded and shoved into a corner with other competing gods, don’t despair. Wait. Something is going to break. Heads are going to roll.
A Touch of Agony (1 Samuel 4) Prior to this Dagon episode, it was Israel who needed to learn to let God be God. They presumed they could manoeuvre God’s power to achieve their own ends. Wrong!
When the battle was not going well, some bright sparks in Israel decide to bring the Ark of God to the front lines of war. Things went from bad to worse and the Ark was captured. All Israel went into mourning. It was as if God had died. Their offense was great and their pain was deep.
Lesson #2: You can’t put God on a leash and make him do tricks for you. He is not on your side! God is on God’s side. You and I are welcome to join him on his terms. But don’t suppose that God is some sort of pit-bull you can put on a lead to help you get your way.
Reject the small god of culture. Dismiss all notions of “god on the shelf” and “god on the leash”. Let God be God. Untamed, unboxed, unpredictable!
Questions
When are you most tempted to domesticate God? How does this express itself in your life?
Do you have a personal story about God that illustrates a contemporary touch of “irony” or a touch of “agony”?
1 Thessalonians 2:18 “We wanted to come to you – certainly I, Paul, did, again and again – but Satan stopped us.”
“Satan stopped us”, says Paul. Now where would you use language like that in the coming week? Could you tell your teacher: “I wanted to finish my essay but Satan stopped me”? I wouldn’t recommend it. Could you explain to your manager: “I wanted to make that sale but Satan got in the way”? Best update your résumé before you do. Talk like this is quirky.
Many Christians treat Paul’s words literally, but very few talk like Paul anywhere but in church. And those who do – blaming this and that on Satan – embarrass the rest of us. Overt talk of “Satan” is odd. For most secular people devils belong on the same intellectual shelf as leprechauns and fairies.
I lament this. Not because I want to use the word “Satan” or blame things on “devils” more frequently. I don’t actually. But what I do want is to talk about the power and presence of evil in every day life. I want to name the elephant in the room.
People may scoff. They probably argued with Paul: “Satan? Don’t be silly, you just planned poorly or maybe it was simply bad luck. No need to invoke fantasies”. But Paul is convinced that something more is going on in the world. Something that opposes God’s purpose and that works to extinguish love in every life. (Eph. 6:12)
I share Paul’s conviction. I do not believe that injustice is simply bad luck or that violence is poor planning. I reject the notion that better politics, more education and good psychology can make everything right. There is something else going on in the world. I can’t explain it fully (nor does the bible by the way) but it is there. And I want to talk about it.
How do we bring this conviction into everyday conversation? How do we put the reality of evil back into secular vocabulary? Here is my initial list of ideas. I would be pleased to hear your thoughts as well.
Asking provocative questions. “Do you ever think evil has a mind of its own?” “Do you believe evil in the world is more than just choice and chance?” Be prepared for a conversation. It could get interesting.
Risking a confession. “I think I experienced evil once …” “Sometimes I think evil works more like a person than an inert force. What do you think?”
Stating a conviction. “I think evil is working against us here.” You can’t say this if you are buying your third Mercedes and they don’t have the colour you want, but you may be spot on if your disrupted project is transporting food to starving children.
Talking systems. “They are all good people, but there is something evil that takes over when they get together.” “I think that company/regime/group is serving an evil bigger than itself.”
Invoking tradition. “I was brought up to believe in Satan. When I hear/see that (fill in your choice of evil) I realise I still believe it. What do you believe?”
Conversation about evil must lead to redemptive outcomes. There is no point spiritualising the problem if we are not ready to offer spiritual solutions. Talking about evil in this way is a call to pray and to act with God. It rests on the conviction that God is at work against evil.
Christians sometimes fail the wider culture when our talk of “Satan” has more to do with testing each other’s orthodoxy than confronting the world’s deep need together. It does not matter to me if people see it differently. What matters is if people don’t see it at all. When evil hides, we are all in danger.
I suggest we bring “Satan” back into the public conversation. If not by name, at least by our attention to the anti-God forces alive and well on planet earth. There is an elephant in the room. Let’s not allow him to hide among us any longer.
Questions
How do you talk about evil in secular contexts? What strategies have helped you?
What kinds of Christian talk about evil make you cringe?
1 Thessalonians 2:3 “We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.”
People matter. But sometimes, people and their approval matter too much. I can get tangled up in the people-pleasing game wanting others to like me and applaud my efforts. This becomes counter productive. I need a different strategy.
PROBLEM Chronic people-pleasing diminishes the soul. If we are always trying to make others happy we become smaller people and we loose our way. Our capacity shrinks and our purpose shrivels.
Aesop’s 6th Cent. B.C. fable makes the point (Harvard Classics, 1909-14).
The Man, The Boy and The Donkey
A man and his son were once going with their donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said: “You fools, what is a donkey for but to ride upon?”
So the man put the boy on the donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: “See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides.”
So the man ordered his boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn’t gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: “Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along.”
Well, the man didn’t know what to do, but at last he took his boy up before him on the donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said: “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor Donkey of yours—you and your hulking son?”
The man and boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey’s feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore-feet being tied together he was drowned. “That will teach you,” said an old man who had followed them: “Please all, and you will please none.”
Reacting to every criticism feeds a vicious circle of defeat. Of course I need encouragement, but craving affirmation makes me vulnerable to indecision and folly. The harder I try to please the crowds the more complicated it becomes. It is like drinking salt water to quench thirst – the problem escalates.
SOLUTION Choose an audience of ONE. It is much easier (and wiser) to please one God than many friends. In 1Thessalonians Paul is writing to people who have criticised him. His comment is wise. "We are not trying to please you but God." That must be my objective also.
Someone may be thinking, it is hard to please God and to know what God wants. Not true. Most of God’s will is plain in the Bible, in common sense, in the community of believers, in the history of the faith, in the witness of the Spirit, in the place of prayer, in the book of nature and in the promise of Jesus’ abiding presence.
If none of that helps initially, I submit that it is still easier to work out what God wants than to please everyone else. And even if I fail God, I am still in a better place. God’s forgiveness is sweeter than the highest praise of people.
Live from your HEART. Paul was keen to have God judging his heart rather than people judging his actions. Me too! People rank us by our outward achievements and rate us on our performance but they don’t know the whole story. If they can’t see our motives they may very well misinterpret our actions.
We are blind to each other’s history, ignorant of dreams and unaware of fears that lurk beneath the surface. We are too quick to judge and slow to discern. God however is attentive to our entire story, both public and private, from beginning to end. So, keep a pure heart and let God (not people) score your progress.
What peace to live for an audience of one, the Holy One. What joy to have my heart assessed in heaven when my actions on earth draw disapproval from others. Today I choose not to be a people-pleaser. And tomorrow I’ll have to make the same choice again …
Questions
In what circumstances is it harmful to please people and when is it wise? What is a people pleaser?
Luke 22:42 Jesus: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Jesus was obsessed with God’s will. His single purpose was to obey it. He spoke about God’s will constantly and prayed for it repeatedly. Here are a few of the more obvious examples:
John 4:34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
John 6:38 “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.”
John 8:28 “I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.”
John 9:31 “God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.”
Mark 3:35 “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
Matthew 6:10 “Our Father … your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
This passion never abates. As Jesus prepares for arrest, torture, trial and death he remains singularly committed to the purposes of God. Nothing else matters. He hopes (as any of us would) that his cup of terror might be taken away, but he stands firm: “Not my will, but yours be done”.
I too want to be obsessed with God’s will. I want obedience to be "my food", as it was for Jesus. BUT, I am NOT Jesus. Didn't he have an advantage over us? What I find striking about the Gethsemane prayer is this, if he did have an advantage he didn't employ it here. He wrestles. He sweats. He agonizes. And still he obeys.
His prayer is a helpful model. It demonstrates two essential exercises for training in obedience. Think of these as spiritual work-out routines.
An Extraordinary Resolution. Jesus prays: “Not my will, but yours!” It is like a stake in the ground. I need to pray the same declaration. Until I do, my natural impulse will be to plead the anti-prayer: “My will be done!” That is a prayer to another god. It is idolatry. It needs to be beaten down in self denial. When my ego can lay down its claim to sovereignty, then I am ready to explore God’s will. I dare not think this is easy, but I know it is right.
An Ordinary Conversation. “If you are willing”, implies: “Are you?” Jesus opens a conversation with God. There is a space here for wrestling with God and discovering his specific intent. Even for Jesus, obedience is a dialogue. Don’t race through the prayer too quickly. Jesus spent much of the evening battling. The wrestle is not a waste of time or even a shadow of disobedience. The painful wrestle is part of the posture of obedience. God does not seek to crush our spirits, but to align them with his.
Obedience is like a muscle. You need to work it to grow it. Resolving and Conversing are spiritual weight-lifting exercises. As we practice in the little things we build strength for the big tasks. Jesus was able to do God’s will in the closing hours of his life because he had been practicing his whole life long. Even when the burden of obedience was so great that he sweat drops like blood, he still did not falter. His disciples, on the other hand, failed for lack of training.
Today is a good day to begin an obedience workout. Your challenge is these two exercises: Resolve (Not my will!) and Converse (If you are willing?). Repeat them many, many times. Become obsessed!
Questions
How do you practice renouncing your will and aligning with God's will? Has it cost you?
What other actions help you to obey God consistently?
Luke 18:7-8 “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? … I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Before you read the next paragraph of this blog, cry to God for justice. Ask him to rain down his righteousness upon the world. Ask for his mercy and peace to flow like a river!
Do you think God heard you? Do you think it matters what you just did? Did you actually pray for justice? Will you do it again? Does God care if you do or don’t?
All those questions are addressed in Luke 18:1-8. For Jesus they are all to be answered “YES”. But he tells this story because he fears that his disciples – both then and now – will fatigue and give up praying for justice. He knows us well.
If you have been following news of the devastating famine in East Africa your heart is no doubt broken. As new statistics roll in we get overwhelmed and fatigued. Are you still praying for God to act justly?
If you are paying attention to the riots in London you probably feel shocked and perhaps anxious. The contagious mayhem and violence is frightening. Are you crying to God for justice?
Frankly all the pain makes you question if God is ever going to answer. The problems are huge and you start to wonder if praying is useless. Some reading this may have given up praying already. Why bother?
And that is the point of Jesus’ story. If you are beginning to feel God is inattentive, uncaring and aloof it is no reason to quit praying. Rather it is a reason to pray harder.
The judge in the parable was a blighter! He “neither feared God nor cared about people”. For a long while he refused to do his job and address the women’s case. But she didn’t stop pleading. She badgered him until she got satisfaction. Her plight drove her to be more insistent not less. Join her!
Heaven is just. All the injustice is on earth. But until God acts, entreat the eternal courtroom with dogged insistence. Go to God as if you were this women’s lawyer. Pray harder, louder and longer. Knock on heaven’s door with indignation and expectation.
According to Jesus, justice IS coming and God WILL bring it. The only question is, will Christians still be expecting it, praying for it and working towards it when he comes. Will the Son of Man “find faith on the earth?”
Questions
What helps you pray when it feels pointless to do so?
How does news of injustice affect you? How do you counteract the fatigue of too much bad news?
What other insights about prayer do you see in this story?
Luke 17:4-5 “If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent’, forgive him.” The Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
Jesus teaching on forgiveness seems hard. Even the disciples upon hearing this were incredulous. Can you really keep on forgiving someone who keeps on failing? Should you even try?
The principle at work here is abundance. God’s way is to lavish us with kindness. He does not count our sins but rather erases them. Our forgiveness towards other people is meant to mirror God’s grace. The number of times is not the point, our attitude is. God invites us to practice extravagant forgiveness.
I make five observations on forgiving someone who sins against you repeatedly.
1. Be straight with your critique. The verse just before this one says: “If your brother sins, rebuke him, if he repents forgive him” (Lk. 17:3).You have a mandate to confront the wrong. The goal of forgiveness is renewed relationship and changed behaviour. Rebuke cannot be overlooked in the cycle of forgiveness. And often rebuke will take forms that ensure abuses do not continue. Forgiveness is not a license for ever deepening sinful behaviour. Extravagant forgiveness is the path to life.
2. Ask God for supernatural capacity. You can’t forgive like Jesus wants you to in your own human strength. You really need God’s help. I think that is why the disciples respond immediately with: “Increase our faith!” (Lk. 17:5) I feel the same need. I need God's Spirit to help me and Jesus' cross to inspire me in order to forgive like this.
3. It is OK to be exasperated with the situation. Jesus certainly was (Mk. 3:5, 8:12). He repeatedly showed emotion when those around him were hardhearted and unchanging in their ways. Don’t let that exasperation lead you to sin. But don't pretend forgiveness is easy either.
4. Adopt the posture of a servant. Think of each offer of forgiveness as an act of obedience to God. If I am a bond-slave of Jesus, in a sense, my offer of forgiveness is no more than a days work for my Master. I am just doing my duty (Lk. 17:7-10). Best not to count the cycles of forgiveness. I think 7 times (and elsewhere 77 times, Mt. 18:2) means “again and again”, the same way a servant would attend to his chores.
5. Believe that God will not ask us to bear more than we can endure. We usually want to set a limit on our forgiveness. God asks us to be open ended with our patience and love. He knows this is how healing occurs, slowly. We fear this approach because we think we won’t be able to endure or we reject it because it seems unfair. God knows better. And, he promises not to abandon us.
Forgiveness is hard work. It is servant's work. Its purpose is to make new people out of broken ones and it requires supernatural capacity. O Lord, increase our faith!
Questions
Why is this kind of forgiveness so hard?
What would you add to this list of insights about forgiving others?
Judge 6:15 “Gideon replied, ‘but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’ The LORD answered, ‘I will be with you …’”
Contemporary culture despises weakness. God does not! In fact, God seems to relish the opportunities that weakness presents. He uses weak people in weak situations. He will use you if you allow him.
Gideon is no Samson (Judges 13). He is not courageous like Deborah (Judges 4), or clever like Ehud (Judges 3). He whines, worries and procrastinates. He doesn’t have the fortitude to stand up for his convictions in the daylight and he asks God for sign, after sign, after sign. You wouldn’t call Gideon impressive. As he himself sums it up, he is the weakest member of the weakest clan in Israel. YET, God uses him powerfully.
There is something about vulnerability and disadvantage that sets the stage for mighty acts of God. When we are weak the Spirit helps us (Rom 8:26), Jesus empathises with us (Heb 4:15) and God’s power is made perfect (2 Cor. 12:9). When you see a weak person, do not despise or reject them. Christ was weak.
If you can get rid of your weakness do so. I am not applauding character flaws or laziness. But if your weakness is forced on you, don’t despair. A disheartening inadequacy may prove to be the start of something unexpected and God intended. Beyond each cross there is an empty tomb.
Do NOT assume that your weakness is:
Primarily a limitation
Unique to you
A surprise to God
An end to your dream
A disqualification
An embarrassment to those who love you
A roadblock for God
Permanent (factor in eternity)
God’s word to Gideon is life giving: “Go in the strength you have ... I will go with you!” (Judges 6:14-16). That is God’s word to you and me today. Grasp it and live.
Questions
What weakness do you need to surrender to God?
How have you experienced God’s power in your frailty?
Please leave a comment.
Enjoy one of my favourite songs: "What the Lord has done in me"
(If video does not load paste link in your browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4H6Uv7BI7I)
