Posts Tagged: Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem
DTEB, “SITTIN’ AROUND, WAITIN’ FOR SOMETHING GOOD TO HAPPEN”
Don’t!
Sit around and wait for something good to happen, that is. Make it happen!
We all want good things, but I’ve noticed something about myself: I don’t want to actually have to do anything for those good things to come to me. I want to be zapped with goodness.
This may or may not be a common human reality. You decide. But I am beginning to suspect that there is no goodness zapper.
The problem with knowing even a little bit about biblical languages is that you sometimes discover more than you wanted to discover. For example . . .
I receive a verse of the day from the You Version folks on my smart phone. Today’s verse was Psalm 37:4:
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your hearts’ desires.”
So, I decided to take a look at the Hebrew, just for giggles. I ended up not giggling.
The Hebrew verb that is used for “take delight” is a Hebrew form (stem is the technical term) that refers to “something you do to yourself.” Think, in terms of “I hit myself with a hammer.” The first three words of that sentence could be said in one word in Hebrew. So, the first part of this verse is saying, “Delight yourself in the Lord.”
So what? So this!
What this verse is saying is that God is not going to delight us. No! Instead, we are responsible for delighting ourselves in God.
This is, at first blush, unspeakably dismal. Do you mean to tell me that God isn’t going to just drop delight on me from the Heavens? Do you mean that I have to be active in my following of Jesus. I’m afraid that I only want to follow Jesus, if I’m allowed to ride in a comfy limousine. However, the last time I read the gospels, I noticed that the only time Jesus is recorded as riding anything, it was a donkey. And he was riding it triumphantly (??) into Jerusalem in order to be crucified.
Here is the bottom line: The Christian faith is not for sissies of either sex. Delight there is. But it is a delight that I must pursue myself.
And then, I came to another equally dismal insight. What if God granting the desires of my heart doesn’t mean what I want it to mean? What if it means that God will give me proper, healthy desires in my heart? Andy Stanley says that our problem is that we want what we want, and we want it right now! What if God gives me wants and desires that I don’t want or desire?
So, perhaps I have looked at this verse completely wrongly. Perhaps it is cold comfort or no comfort at all. Perhaps it is a most unwelcome truth.
But Truth doesn’t come to us to comfort us. Truth comes to us to wake us up.
And yet, I do feel strangely comforted by this Truth. There’s something I can actually do to know God better. If God’s Word says that I must delight myself in God, then there must be a way that I can. I just need to figure that out. And, by God’s grace, I will!
And as for the desires of my heart, I’ve often actually gotten what I wanted, only to find out that it left me feeling hollow inside, less alive, a billion light years away from God, from other people, even from the man I wanted to be.
Maybe it’s time for me to do it God’s way.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- “Even a Sliver of Light” April 9, 2024“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:6, English Standard Version) I missed the total eclipse yesterday. There were a number of good reasons for this, but […]
- “The Process in Miracles and the Miracle of Process” March 11, 2024“2 Kings 5:1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids […]
- “The Power of Encouragement—Even for Old People” March 10, 2024“But encourage each other every day while it is ‘today.’ Help each other so none of you will become hardened because sin has tricked you.” (Hebrews 3:13, New Century Version) Yesterday, I was walking at a nearby park. There was a large group of young people some of whom were running while other young people […]
- “Endurance” March 10, 2024“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:36, English Standard Version) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us […]
- “The Limits of Non-Judgmentalism” February 24, 2024“Matt. 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. Matt. 7:2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2, English Standard Version) This morning, in my virtual 12-step meeting, we discussed the topic of judgmentalism. There were many wise […]
- “Delighting in Being Told What to Do?!?” February 23, 2024“Psa. 112:1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures […]
- “Character is the Real Lesson” January 19, 2024I am often confused about what lesson I’m really supposed to be learning. For example, this morning I was trying to knock out several Spanish lessons. My intentions were a lot better than my internet connection. I’ve done three lessons. Or rather, I’ve done two lessons. One of them I did twice because the internet […]
- “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked” January 1, 2024Each year, I try to come up with one word or a short phrase for what I intend to work on in the upcoming year. 2024 is “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked”. What?!! What does that even mean? So glad that you asked! Jesus said to his disciples, “Why do you look at the speck […]
- “Searching for the Noble One” December 26, 2023My wife and I were reading Luke, chapter 2 on Christmas Day. Luke 2 talks about the shepherds being told to look for this very special child—in fact, this King—in a stable. I prefer the word “barn”. I grew up on a farm. I know what a barn is. A stable is entirely too biblical […]
- “That Don’t Impress God Much” December 14, 2023DTEB, “That Don’t Impress God Much” “That Don’t Impress Me Much” (Song by Robert John Lange and Shania Twain) Micah 6:8 (MSG) “But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be […]
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