This article was written for my Editor's Section of the PCC Scroll (my church newsletter).
As much as it pains me to confess this, I tend to flirt with danger and judge how close to the edge I can get without tumbling over. I am one of those people who like to dally with the slippery slopes Pastor talks about. Our poor Pastor has to deal with me dangling near the edge, occasionally. Pray for him! My most recent near escapade could have landed me in a heap of trouble, but I came to myself just in time.
These escapades normally deal with people and situations that God keeps telling me are finished. These are things that God kept me from even when I didn’t want to be kept from them. The doors I try to reopen are full of unhealthy drama that could send me back at least ten years. The question is how long will I linger and look back, like Lot’s wife, on things or people God keeps telling me are not for me.
I am not even sure where some of my bright ideas come from. Things just occur to me from time to time. As James 1:4 says, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
The “It is finished,” in James is a far cry from the “It is finished,” uttered by Christ on the Cross. I choose to press toward the latter. When faced with the choice of life or death, I choose life.
My goal for this quarter is to heed Paul’s words in Philippians 3:13-14. Paul wrote, “…forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
I don’t really mind telling on myself, and I don’t mind God’s chastisement of me. I would rather be honest and end up doing the right thing than hide and continue to attempt to open doors that God has slammed shut.
I am glad that God has His Hand on me, and I am able to come to myself and recognize the behavior. If I leave the wrong doors closed, the right door will open for me, and I will be in a place to walk through it.
In this issue, our theme is around completion and closure. In short, “It is finished.” It is time for us to all realize what is truly finished and truly leave it behind us. There is no point in lingering and wondering about what could have been. It is time to stop wandering in the wilderness and move into our promise. “It is finished.”
1 comment:
I know from my own experiences that when I find myself going back to things I thought were "finished", it usually means it's not really "finished". I just wanted it to be finished. It all makes more sense when you think of the big picture....why are we here? We are here, in part, to gain experience, to learn and grow. God puts things in our life to help in that process. He knows exactly what we need in order to progress. Sometimes that involves going through difficult things. If we don't get it the first time, I believe that God will, as gently as possible, repeat the process until we "get it". It's His way of giving us second chances! From our view, it looks like bad things keep happening to us, but in reality, it's our chance to finally learn the lesson. It's God's way of showing us that He isn't giving up on us! He wants us to be like Him and enjoy all the blessings He enjoys and if there is something blocking us from moving along that path, He is going to keep nudging us toward a path of healing. And sometimes, healing cannot come without pain. Kind of like cauterizing a wound...in order to get rid of the germs, you have to endure to burn. It hurts like crazy, but it will leave you whole again!
Whenever I find myself repeatedly going back to things I thought were "finished", or things I would be better off leaving alone, I have learned it is time to turn around, and face it fully. In thinking it is "finished", I tend to turn my back on the issue thinking I can ignore it. But it has a way of tapping my shoulder, trying to get my attention. Kind of like my kids wanting to ask for something..."Mom! Mom! Mom! Can I? Can I....?" Unless I turn around and give them my full attention, the pestering will never end! If I "turn around and face it", and then go on to name it honestly, I finally get to the root of the issue. It usually turns out to be different than I thought when I was in the "it is finished" mind-set. What I once thought was externally influencing me, turns out to be a self-centered issue! I often have issues that I, at first, think are caused by others, but when I face them fully, I can see that the issue is caused by my own lacking....lack of contentment, lack of feeling good about myself, lack of a purpose, you name it....which I am in control of changing. I tend to get stuck thinking my issue is controlled by others, but once I see my part and where I have control over things, then I can start to progress again. It's hard work, but well worth it!
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