We continue with our meditations in The Book of Daniel, as we continue to dig deeper into verse 13 of Chapter 10. It reads,
"But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia."
We continue digging into the phrase "withstood me," through the contention-filled life of Jacob. Rebekah asked the question. “If all is well, why am I like this?” [Genesis 25:21-22]
I just got out of a week of congestion. My whole body lost its strength, and I was off my regular exercise routine. My numbers were up and that was taking its toll on my usual upturned confidence. My heart began to question my path, as the deep thinker that I am.
Yeah, I knocked on the doors of doubt and worry, but caught myself before I could be swallowed up by them. Paul Tillich says, "Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is one element of faith." Really? The struggle is real.
Anne Lamott adds, "The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns."
Wow! This almost perfectly depicts my meditations this morning, as I deep thought. Like Rebekah, I asked, “If all is well, why am I like this?” The struggle is real. Imagine Moses after Pharaoh sought his life. He had seen Him who is invisible and was responding accordingly, but...
Imagine Elijah. He had only just prayed the rain down, after three (3) years of no rain. He had called fire down from heaven, but...Jezebel was not floored. That was outside of the box of Elijah's expectations. “If all is well, why am I like this?”
Elijah was done. He was not expecting such a struggle. Was God? Did God allow this? Is anything amiss? The struggle is real. Nowhere did God assuage Elijah's feelings. God even ferned ignorance of Elijah's struggles, as He asked why Elijah had come to the mountain. [1 Kings 19:13-14]
The struggle is real. God did not as much as notice Elijah's response as much. [1 Kings 19:15-18] He simply gave him what the next assignment is, and right-sized his thoughts. Elijah thought he was the only one left serving the Lord. God told him of seven (7) thousand still standing.
The struggle is real, but God has it all under control. NOTHING runs amuck. God is in control and always is. The struggle is real, but we can always right-size before God. It is not about Elijah. It is not about Rebekah. It is not about you. It is not about me. It is all about God.
When Elijah is done, God will continue with Elisha. We are each here to do our own part in God's story. We are not the main actors. God is.
The Saint.
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