Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

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Sunday, March 28, 2010

Isaiah 50:4-6
The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.

I never imagine Jesus muttering - when God gave him words, he said them. He didn't hesitate to act, either; and because there was no gap between God and Jesus, there was no gap between Jesus and the people. As Jesus so often said to them, "Just open your eyes, and you'll see. I and my Father are one."

In an unbroken stream, God's desire for his children flowed into Jesus and through him. Now as then ... as that flow of energy from Jesus and the Holy Spirit pours on me I can become solely, wholly present.

Of course I love those moments, when I don't question myself or God but just Do what I Hear. God's agenda might not be as clear as the words. I guess you could say I'm on a "need to know" basis with God, and often I don't need to know. But knowing why I'm doing something matters very little when I'm so focused on listening and doing. No need to be thinking then.

Jesus drew great drama around himself on the first Palm Sunday. As he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, he fulfilled ancient prophecy and excited the crowd. Moreover, this "in your face" gesture challenged the Pharisees and high priests to stop him. He seemed sure of every move. All week he seemed sure. His conversations with his Father made him certain of himself.

In my own life fear and pride interrupt this sweet communion time after time. Suddenly I become aware of myself, and in that instant I stop listening to God. The moment loses its essential presence, and I begin comparing or evaluating or naming. Whatever verb I replace it with, the listening stops.

God speaks, I listen. As I listen He continues. When I stop listening, perhaps He stops speaking. At any rate, I know I no longer hear. There is little comfort in remembering what I heard, or in anticipating what I will hear. It's all here and now or nothing. As Thomas Merton wrote about solitude, so it is also true of Presence: it "is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present you will never find it."

Fasting during Lent brings on this "deepening." Privation and deprivation widen my eyes and strengthen my hunger for God. Lightness of physical being intensifies everything that is mental and emotional, and my spirit thrives.

What's that worth? Everything. But I can't hold onto it, even for an instant. I can only let it be.

In the quiet you create, Lord, bring your word and open my ear and let me hear you.

Devotions Archive

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Sunday, March 28, 2010