Nikol

Sometimes I forget that the people from the Bible actually lived. Movies and television have warped my mind to think of things fictitiously first. That default mentality crosses over into my bible reading where I consciously and intentionally have to remind myself of one truth: these were real people experiencing a real God.

These are not characters on a screen.  They were flesh and blood; bone and breathe. I forget sometimes that their feet hurt from walking and their bellies sometimes gurgled. I forget that they got colds or that they sometimes woke up on the wrong side of the pallet.

They put their tunics on every morning one sleeve at a time.
They argued with their spouses and yelled at their children.
They experienced fear and discouragement.
They even had ugly-girl laughs.

Not only do I forget that they were real people, but sometimes I forget that the God to whom they spoke is the same God whom we speak with today.

Wait.
Stop.
Don’t let that sentence slip haphazardly from your mind.  Let it pierce your soul.

When you pray…you are standing before the same God that Moses stood before in the Tabernacle.
When you sing…you are praising the same God that David praised with his harp.
When you cry out…you are crying out to the same God that Jesus cried out to on the cross.

How can we live our lives knowing that simple truth and not be changed forever?

Recently, a dear friend recounted a story from her work.  She observed, much to her discomfort, a lady correcting a man in her office.  The lady was not being rude or unprofessional; she was simply teaching an employee how to do his job with excellence. 

My indescribably compassionate friend, felt uncomfortable as she watched the scene unfold before her.  So, she stepped into the conversation in an attempt to alleviate the tension and discomfort.

The lady very politely looked at my friend, smiled and said something to the effect of, “Sit down.  I wasn’t talking to you.  I need to do this because he needs to learn.”

All of a sudden, I became very aware of how – in our limited understanding – we step in to “help” someone when God is trying to teach them a lesson.   

It is human nature to step in when someone is uncomfortable, embarrassed or hurting.  But sometimes that is not our role. 

At times, God’s role for us is to simply love them through whatever situation they are in; lead them to Him to find the answer; and listen as they work through the situation.

Yes.  Sometimes God calls us to step in and help, but before we jump in to save the day, let us make sure that God is not going to smile at us and say, “Sit down, Child.  I am not talking to you.  This is something she needs to learn.”

“For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him! – Isaiah 64:4

I like to wonder through the Bible.  Not wander.  Wonder.  

I wonder if Eve thought the apple from the tree of knowledge tasted good.  Did it taste like chocolate?  Because I would be seriously disappointed if I gave up my life and doomed humanity to eternal hell if it tasted like the apples we have now.   What a bummer. 

I wonder if Noah got tired of cleaning up after the animals, or if Sarai ever thought she needed to check Abram into the Wack Shack because he kept talking about this son they were going to have…when they were ninety!

I really started to wonder why David did not kill Saul when he had the chance.  David had a chance to kill him not once, but twice! 

In 1 Samuel 24, we pick up at David’s second chance to kill Saul.  He and his friend, Abishai, sneak into Saul’s camp.  They tiptoe past 3,000 armed men and stand beside Saul while he is fast sleep.  A spear sits beside Saul’s head.  Just one strike of that spear and David could ascend to his rightful place on the throne. 

When David had the opportunity to take matters into His own hands, he didn’t.   As he stood among 3,000 men who could have killed him in a split second — and without a moment’s pause — David did the unfathomable.

David chose instead to make an impression that Saul would carry with him for the rest of his life:  He waited on God’s timing.  He chose God’s way and God’s plan.  David trusted God to fight his battles for him, and he respected God’s decision to keep Saul as king.

I wonder if Saul thought about how close he came to death. 
I wonder if he ever slept in peace again. 
I wonder what he thought of his “big” army when he realized how close David came to taking his life. 
I wonder.
I wonder if I was in the same position if I would take the high road.
I wonder if I would wait on God.
I wonder if I would resist the temptation to take what was mine in my timing, and instead allow God to gift it to me personally, in His timing.
I wonder.