Coming back to the analogy of intimacy in marriage, in order to come into true intimacy of body, soul and spirit, we need to come to the place where stop blaming each other, where we honour one another and trust one another enough, to allow both to share how we are wounded, and how we wound each other in the relationship. And we need to be able to do this without fear of reprisal or punishment. We will likely not come to this place without a lot of humility and a lot of struggle. Sadly very few seem to arrive there! It is God’s greatest desire that we enter into this level of intimacy with Him, but again we will not likely get there either without a lot of humility and struggle. And obviously there is no fault with Him!
And as with Jacob, God will if we let Him, use the crises and the struggles to change us. And also as with Jacob, when we stick with it, when in the midst of the trial we cry out and groan and travail in the Spirit (Romans 8:20-23) calling out in essence “I will not let you go until you bless me,” then we too are changed and come into the same intimacy as did Jacob. Indeed this is one of the ways that God uses the struggle to work all things for our good (Romans 8:28)! It is worth it all, it is worth it all!
Father, You told us to pray “Do not bring us to the time of trial.” Most of us Lord want to avoid these things like the plague. But Father when we are there, please give us the wherewithal to push through. Lord we cannot grow without the trials. The sailors of old did not learn to sail in the calm, they learned the most in the gales. So it is with us Lord. And I want to thank You today that You are a very present help in time of need (Psalm 46:1), and that You will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). In Jesus Name Amen
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