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- Written by: Don Goulding
The Lord said to Jonah son of Amittai, “Go immediately to Nineveh, that large capital city, and announce judgment against its people because their wickedness has come to my attention.” Instead, Jonah immediately headed off to Tarshish to escape from the commission of the Lord. … The Lord sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. Jonah 1:1-3, 17 (NETFull)
Two weeks before I left for the Middle East, I received a message from the brother arranging my mission trip.
“I am very sorry to let you know there are many problems in Pakistan. Bombing and shooting. It looks very dangerous but do as the Lord leads you.”
It was a heated election season aggravated by volatile politics with Americans.
I went to the Lord and asked if I should make the trip. He let me recall a Bible verse. But they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. Revelation 12:11
What is safety? Jonah would tell us that hiding in anonymity offers no protection. When he tried to avoid ministry he found himself in his most perilous circumstances—tossed into a killer storm and swallowed by a fish. Only when he finally obeyed God did the umbrella of supernatural protection open above him.
I realized there are far greater dangers than the threat of death or deportation. I could loose my one chance to honor Jesus. Waisting the few earthly hours I’m given on my temporal self is the ultimate in foolish risky behavior.
Safety comes from abiding in the exact spot God calls me to. Even if my health suffers, or my bank account zeros, or my friendships sour—obeying God guarantees my soul is in the center of the safety-nest.
I did go to Pakistan. We had to take precautions such as traveling at night and posting guards, but I learned that serving Jesus makes me soar on wings of angels. For me, it was much better than hiding at home with the stench of a fish belly.
Prayer: Father, help me obey your direction and rest in your protection.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
He made the large basin of bronze and its pedestal of bronze from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting. Exodus 38:8 (NETFull)
“You there, stop. Moses said no more donations,” a tribal leader shouted at his people.
A mound of gold earrings and jewelry stood at the temple site and the people were restrained from giving more. It was a high point in Israel’s devotion. They were caught in a wave of revival and on the crest were the godly women who served as temple concierges. They melted their bronze mirrors to make the basin used for washing in front of the altar. Their hearts were redirected from self-worship to cleansing before God.
Those who spend a lot of time before the mirror miss the point of life. So I asked the Lord to show me what mirrors I have in my heart, where I am more focused on me than on him. A few things surfaced.
I worry about how to make what comes next in my life pleasant. The days I have remaining should be about honoring Jesus, not about staring into my comfort. So that’s a mirror.
Then there are the cravings of my old nature—over-indulgence, distraction, laziness. Surely those are mirrors of self-interest.
Finally there is my work. To the extent that I make my vocation about what I do instead of about what God does through me, it’s another mirror.
To melt these reflectors of vanity I have to do what the women at the temple did. As I redirect into praise of the Holy One—lying facedown, pressing my adoration heavenward—flames melt my concerns about self. Homage generates heat that recasts the object of my devotion into the washbasin of Christ.
Prayer: Beautiful God, melt these mirrors into worship of you.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
Therefore, so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble me - so that I would not become arrogant. I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 (NETFull)
I have a monkey on my back. No, it’s much heavier than that, it must be a gorilla. I can never turn far enough to see it but I stagger under its weight and I hear primal grunts from behind. People give strange looks, they must be shocked at the size of my gorilla.
My ape is noisy and rude. He is all that is vile and ugly and hateful. Everywhere I go, he interrupts with inappropriate habits and offensive banter. He is the cause for the temptations raging in my life, for my ailing body, and for all my soured relationships.
The most frustrating tactic of my gorilla is that he mimics my voice. He whispers dark thoughts and fools me into thinking I came up with them. Depression, anger, apathy—he has a long repertoire of wicked ideas to plant. And when he runs out, he listens to demons who give him even more ways to trick me.
Try what I may, I can’t get free of this exhausting weight crushing my shoulders. I slap at my back and jab sticks but my gorilla only laughs and digs in for a tighter hold.
I asked Jesus to get rid of the beast, to lift it from my back and set me free. He said, no, because when there’s no gorilla I don’t hold his hand as tight. He would do anything to make sure I never let go of his hand, including allowing the unwelcome monkey to stay on my back.
If Jesus said this is the way it is, then that’s how it will stay. I have to keep the gorilla until I die. So I’ll cling to the hand of Jesus and ask him to counteract each whisper from my gorilla. There is going to be a lot of asking and much hand squeezing.
Prayer: Be close, Jesus, and help me with the weight of my sin nature.