Huh? You Talkin' To Me?

2 Chronicles 7:14 resonates with me deeply with me:

"Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."

My conscience keeps telling me, "Yolanda, humble yourself before something or someone humbles you." And, I'm pretty sure that this humbling by others would not be a good thing if it were to happen. 

The voice in my head is a warning against the pride that I sometimes let get in my way. There are times when I think, "I've got this. I can handle it. I don't need any help. I don't need to let anybody get so into my life and see my issues." And, then BOOM! Along comes some unexpected and completely unplanned for issue/problem/bill/note from the kids' school/trouble at work/etc. 

So, God says, "But if my people..." 

Well, dang. Um, yeah, I AM his people. He's definitely talking to me. Sometimes, my pride keeps me from noticing that he's talking directly to me. I'm like, what? Dude, I'm a good girl. He's talking to THEM OTHER folks. That's the danger with pride, it blinds you to reality. 

Thankfully, the Lord gives us easy (ok, sure...sometimes easier said than done depending on how prideful we've gotten) steps to take in order for Him to hear our pleas once again. He says, if MY people:

1) Humble themselves - which is usually the hardest part
2) Pray
3) Seek my face 
4) Turn from their wicked ways

He promises to do two things: 
1) I will forgive their sins
2) Restore their land

How amazing is it that we hold the key to our restoration? I plan on using my key to unlock the door to forgiveness and restoration. 

If you were to conduct an honest assessment of your life, how humble are you? How, if at all, has pride gotten in the way of you facing reality? 

Of the four steps God requires us to do, which is difficult for you? Why? 

Do you have an accountability partner to walk with you through life...someone you give permission to speak openly and honestly with you?

Leave your comments below.

Peace out.

Muzzling Hurricanes

Mark 4:35-40

35As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” 39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 

So, let’s recap. A group of friends were hanging out together; Jesus was head of this crew. The friends were in an intimate, privileged, relationship with Him by now. They all confided and shared things with one another. Jesus revealed things to them that he had not revealed to others. They were trusted companions. They had Jesus as one of their best friends.

Anyway, after some time of teaching to a large crowd and then private ministering to the core twelve, Jesus tells his crew that it’s time for them to head out. As they were headed to the other side of the lake the twelve’s lives were literally shaken to the core. They didn’t just hit a rough patch in life. Their world was turned inside out and topsy turvy by violent gusts of wind. As a matter of fact, the Greek word used to describe what assailed them was lailaps, pronounced lah'-ee-laps, which can be translated as hurricane, whirlwind, squall. Strong winds churned the lake so badly that water began crashing over and into their boat, filling it with water.

Naturally, the friends began to panic. Well, all of them except for one (I’m sure you know who that one was). Throughout the chaos and mayhem that terrified the others Jesus slept…peacefully, soundly, and without worry or care. I wonder if the twelve were running and thrashing about like chickens with their heads cut off; anxious and fretting as they frantically filled any type of object that would hold water. Hysterically, dumping the heavy load over the side of the boat, constantly repeating the dip-fill-toss process, but not quite able to keep up with the flood spilling into their boat.

Something tells me that one of them, (or maybe all of them?) started getting kind of ticked off at Jesus. The 3-D movie in my mind pictures them scurrying to him; eyes wide and shining with panic and tears; their chest panting heavily. Their minds strained and to the point of near-breakdown. And in this fearful state they lose their minds and yell at Jesus. The audio in my mind has the conversation going something like, “Dude. I thought you cared about us? I thought you promised to be there for us and with us. What’s up with you sleeping while we are fighting this gigantic storm? Hello????? Do you not see the trouble we are in? There's water. In the boat. In. The. Boat! Are we alone in all of this? Do we have to clear this flood out of the boat all by ourselves? Seriously, are you gonna let us (gulp) drown (a.k.a die)? “

I’m just saying, I think they’d better be glad Jesus loved them and had continuous patience and mercy for them because in all honesty, he could have gone off on them for disrespecting him like that. But, thankfully, that’s not his character. He turned first to the storm. The Greek word for rebuke, as in verse 39, is epitimaó, pronounced, ep-ee-tee-mah'-o. It can mean to chide, admonish, warn. But another meaning is to “place due weight/honor upon.” The way things went down makes me think Jesus thought the wind deserved very little attention or weight. My mind’s audio has him thinking something like, “Really y’all? Y’all are fretting over this? Y’all woke me up because of a…wait for it…wind storm?”

And, then, the 3-D movie in my head has Jesus giving the wind the side-eye and eye-roll treatment, as if to say, “puhleeze”. “Hush up, “ he says to the wind. “Be still, “ he says, as if to a child hyped up on sugary cereal. The Greek word for silence used in the scripture was phimoó, pronounced fee-mo'-o, which means to muzzle. I thought that was powerful image (and funny in my 3-D movie world). Jesus muzzled the wind as one would an obnoxiously mean dog that is prone to biting or injuring others. In effect, Jesus rendered the hurricane winds speechless and of no consequence.

Next, he turns to his friends and asks them a couple of very important questions. Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

I don’t have time to delve into this deeper tonight. But, trust me, I will. It’s just that it’s nearly midnight as I’m writing this. My younger son has to be at football practice early tomorrow – coaches are picky about things like that, you know. I’m usually getting him there in the nick of time.

So, to be continued…