It has been two months since I last did one of these, so I figured I could throw one in now. My pastor is working through a series on David and there is a lot of material in each piece. As always, I hesitate to simply repeat what he said, so I’ll start on another topic altogether. Signs.
This morning I read an old Calvin and Hobbes comic that ended with Calvin all beat up and asking why the universe does not give signs until after you have done something wrong. He spent all of thirty seconds waiting for a sign and naturally it came too late. In this line of thinking, the universe moves along “naturally,” and everything follows the natural order of sin and consequences. Calvin wanted a universe to follow his desires and got what he deserved.
In opposition to this natural way of things, David’s story is dominated by a supernatural God seeing not just what David does, but what is in his heart.
I have recently mentioned David and signs in other posts, but one of the concepts in this lesson series covers how sometimes we look at the signs and the call from God and come to the conclusion that we are not up to the task, and therefore not being called. The phrase “there is always someone better.” rings true, but that does not mean that the God who can do anything does not intend to use you in this time and in this place. Jesus was a great teacher, but he is not around today to talk to a group of 11th grade boys by Himself.
God knows you, He knows what you can do, He knows what you cannot do, and He wants you to do things you cannot, so that He can. Just hear and obey.
The other concept is that the battle is continuous. God does give us rest, but He also knows that we are either in the fire or the frying pan and need Him at all times to get from point A to Point B. God is not our crutch to be used only once a week when we go to church service, but at all times when we are getting up from the coach to get a snack or use the facilities or any small thing we have before us.
Our continuous battel is meant to reveal our purpose and our legacy. My pastor noted that our legacy is not what we leave behind, but what we invest forward. We need to serve by seeking justice, seeking righteousness, and using the power of God to fight through the resistance.
This was my sign. I do not like poker enough to play with people I do not know or for money. Someone I know invited me to play poker. He invited me many times before and I always had an excuse for not going. The issue was never him; I just did not want to play poker with people I did not know or for money. This past week I finally had no excuse and went. After I got home, someone mentioned how much of a complainer I was being. Again, it was not him, it was me. I ended the evening frustrated that I just did not ever stand up and say I do not like playing poker and end the topic. I still have not done so, but I will if he ever invites me again.
I have opportunity in my life to do many things and my new sign tells me to just stand up and say no when it is the right thing to do. I have to follow the Holy Spirit, but I need to follow Him even when I do not want to. He gave me sign, I saw it, I ignored it, and now it is as if the sign is a big metal thing I have to carry around with me. At least it is not the one Jeff Foxworthy talks about.