A God Who Answers | Part Thirteen.

 

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."

Jacob lived a life of contentions. That which God had determined to give freely to him, he was attempting to get in his own power. God said, “Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.” [Genesis 25:23]

With such a promise, do you suppose Jacob and his mother needed to scheme for Isaac's blessing? Did Jeroboam need to scheme to keep the ten (10), out of the Twelve (12) tribes of Israel, God gave him? Was keeping it not included in the package? Did God need help? [1 Kings 12]

In 1 Samuel 13, we Saul sealing his own fate. Yes, he had earlier committed a grave sin of listening to the people rather than God, in not carrying out the killings God ordained. That, however, was not necessarily the sealing of his fate. 

In 1 Samuel 13, Saul was waiting for Samuel to come to perform the customary sacrifice prior to his leading the people to war, but Samuel delayed. Have you been there? When it seems like God is delaying. According to your calculations, things should have gone this and that far along, but.

What do you do at such a time? What do you do when what God asked you to do seems not to be growing? What do you do when you are under threat? Well, Jacob and Rebekah felt they needed to help God. They felt they could help God's course by cheating their brother and son, respectively.

Rehoboam thought he could guarantee that which God had given to him by taking the hearts of the people away from the same God. It was too much for him to trust God to do it. He did not feel safe in the hands which sustain the universe. Are you better?

Saul felt the sacrifice was magical. He did not understand it was undergirded by obedience and reverence. He worshipped the sacrifice rather than the God of the sacrifice. So, he was rejected by the God of the sacrifice. Notice, Samuel arrived immediately, and Saul was done.

Wait for God. Trust totally and wholly in Him. He is our salvation.

The Saint.

Link to Similar Articles:
A God Who Answers | Part Twelve.

My Resolutions: Resolution One.

A Fasted Life | The Saint.

Book Club with The Saint | The Good Life | Chapter Nine | The Good Life at Work | Part One.

Welcome to our Book Club. So glad to have you join us. 

We continue reading our Sixth Featured Book, "The Good Life," by Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz. This is our first reading into Chapter Nine: "The Good Life at Work."

Get yourself a seat, tighten your belt, and let us take flight. 

The Saint.

A God Who Answers | Part Twelve.

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."

Well, Elijah missed out on Jezebel in the equation of things. He thought he had all his bases covered, but lo and behold, he didn't. Moses thought he had all covered, but lo and behold, he missed out on the reality of Pharaoh, Egypt, and God's timing.

What or which "Jezebel" are you missing out on? Are you walking in faith or presumption? God always supports faith, not presumption. Just because you carry the ark of covenant does not mean God will avail for you, if you miss out on the "Jezebel."

God has nothing to lose by the capture of the Ark of the Covenant. [1 Samuel 4] The Ark of the Covenant is not God. It is a MERE symbolism that derives its power from the rightness and accuracy of the people in alignment with God's story and lays down dictate.

"Ichabod!" (The glory has departed.) Who lost? God or the people? Whose story paused? God or the people? It does not fail to amaze me the foolishness of those who suppose they can hand-twist God. What he asked that we command Him concerning are His promises, [Isaiah 43:26, 45:11] not our threats.

God will not answer your prayer because His glory is at stake. It never is. God is not limited by ANYONE of His creation or creature. When we expire, God has not even started yet. We are not the ones giving Him space. He is the one giving us space.

This is what God means when He says, "He gives grace to the human, and stands in the way of the proud." [James 4:6-8] We are the sheep of His pasture, not the reverse. [Psalm 100:3]

The Saint.

Link to Similar Articles:
A God Who Answers | Part Eleven.

A God Who Answers | Part Thirteen.

My Resolutions: Resolution One.

A Fasted Life | The Saint.

A God Who Answers | Part Eleven.

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."

“If all is well, why am I like this?” [Genesis 25:21-22] Paul must have asked this same question several times as he battled with the thorns (difficulties, hardships, persecutions, pains) in his flesh. [2 Corinthians 12:1-10]

In all the endowment of his life, he did not lose sight of his weaknesses, his humanity. Maybe that is why God allows the "buts," the "like these" in our lives. Maybe they are the landmarks, the "in-body experiences," to balance our "out-of-body experiences." They are the weights that keep us from being sucked into empty Outer Space.

The Lord's counsel to Paul might just be appropriate for us also. He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” [2 Corinthians 12:9] He is asking that we always depend on Him. He wants to be a part of the equation in all we do and think. He does not want to leave us at the mercy of our own vain selves.

Again, the story is His, not ours. Ours is a part of His. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." (2 Corinthians 4:7) It appears each time we attempt to go ahead of God, He has a way of pulling the brakes, and helping us gain perspective. 

What Elijah had thought in this wise? What if he had seen himself as he truly is, a pawn in God's chess game? Would he have thought himself the only one serving God? Would he have wanted to die, and leave the scene? Elijah's ministry and life ended because Elijah chose, not because he was done.

Yet, God took him home in a chariot of fire. What does that exhibit? Grace! Grace!! Grace!!! God is the main actor in the scene. Yet, He calls us to partner with Him, to take part in the shine. The challenge comes when we miss position, and suppose it is all about us. Nope. It is all about Him.

The Saint.

Link to Similar Articles:
A God Who Answers | Part Ten.

A God Who Answers | Part Twelve.

My Resolutions: Resolution One.

A Fasted Life | The Saint.

A God Who Answers | Part Ten.

 

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.

Link to Similar Articles:
A God Who Answers | Part Nine.

A God Who Answers | Part Eleven.

My Resolutions: Resolution One.

A Fasted Life | The Saint.

A God Who Answers | Part Nine.

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."

I love scriptures that open to us how the invisible realm operates. If nothing else, it saves us from the deceptions of those who claim they know what they have no clue about. Here the scripture paints the picture of an encounter between an archangel and territorial demons (kings of Persia). Note the plurality.

Territorial demons were able to delay an archangel on God's assignment. Why and How? 'Tis a legal system. The question is who has the legal hold. It is not as though they were shooting mortars armament at each other. Note the word used by the archangel, "withstood me."

The root Hebrew word used here simply means to stand one's ground, not to wobble or shift. Those in states with "stand your ground rules" in the USA will perfectly understand this. It is a law or rule which permits you to defend a land, ground, or territory that belongs to you.

So, the Princes, and Kings of Persia were simply standing their ground, and laying claim to the territory. Obviously, they could not do that except if they have some kind of legal claim. And, they were using that legal claim to hold the Archangel back from carrying out his assignment in the area.

Whatever they hold they had, it was so efficacious they were able to hold back God's agenda for 21 days (three FULL weeks). Note the emphasis in Daniel 10:2. I guess there is a whole lot we need to learn and know about the spirit (invisible) world, and thus rightly size our ego.

The Saint.

Link to Similar Articles:
A God Who Answers | Part Eight.

A God Who Answers | Part Ten.

My Resolutions: Resolution One.

A Fasted Life | The Saint.

A God Who Answers | Part Eight.

 

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." The other example that comes to mind in this direction of thought is Jacob. He lived a life of struggles from conception. He was competitive. Been there. Done that. And, have my last daughter presently there.

Genesis 25:21-22 reads,

"Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord."

The struggle is real. I love Rebekah's question. “If all is well, why am I like this?” If all is well, why the trouble (struggle, tension, confusion, shaking, doubt, tension, contention, disappointments, delays, etc.) in my life?" Why? Don't we all have such questions in our lives?

The struggle is real. Note Jesus, in saving us, did not isolate us from the world. His prayer for us, in John 17:15-16 was, "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one."

The struggle is real. Yes, Rebekah! All is well with you. It is all part of the plan. If there were no struggles, there would be no victories to be won. There will be no growing, maturing, building, or development. There is wisdom in it all. There is a method in the seeming commotion.

The struggle is real. Jesus teaches us to pray, "And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one." (Matthew 6:13a) There is something amiss with the first part here, as it runs against the totality of the counsel of scriptures.

First, God does not lead us into temptation. [James 1:13] Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted. [Matthew 4:1] Third, the word "but" is typically used to cancel or moderate the statement before it. So, in saying, "But deliver us from the evil one" what was said prior exposes us to the evil one.

In light of the above, I dare to re-write Matthew 6:13a as, "And lead us to every temptation you have ordained for our path, but deliver us from the evil one."

The Saint.

Link to Similar Articles:
A God Who Answers | Part Seven.

A God Who Answers | Part Nine.

My Resolutions: Resolution One.

A Fasted Life | The Saint.