From Sticky Souls to Transformed Hearts
God’s command—from the glorious clouds overshadowing the Transfiguration of Jesus in the gospels—reminds us: when we listen and do whatever the Son of God says he will lead us from barrenness due to selfish living into righteous fruit-producing living for the glory of God. Self cannot satisfy self. We must hunger for God.
This is basically our journey for Lent, because sinful attitudes and actions try to stick to our souls and destroy our Life with God. Jesus wants us to produce righteous fruit that bring glory to our King’s rule and reign.
“When we were children most of us were good friends with mystery. The world was full of it and we loved it. Then as we grew older we slowly accepted the indoctrination that mystery exists only to be solved. For many of us, mystery became an adversary; unknown became a weakness. The contemplative spiritual life is an ongoing reversal of this adjustment. It is a slow and sometimes painful process of becoming ‘as little children’ again in which we first make friends with mystery and finally fall in love again with it.” —Gerald G. May
Day 10: Fasting Avoidance
Many things in life can make us feel insecure and when that happens we usually have a default response. Sometimes we sit in a state of denial and shut-down. Sometimes we want to run, hide, or escape. Sometimes we choose comfort-eating. All the time, we are looking to achieve a feeling of control. What is your response when you feel insecure and your life seems like it’s heading out-of-control?
On Day 4, we explored the reasons for fasting uncertainty, because the unknown is so very challenging for our souls. Uncertainty is something we try to avoid; so, we do what we can for self-preservation. The mystery of God may leave us with a feeling of uncertainty.
Yet, friends, if faith was not necessary to navigate life, we would not need God. There has always and will always be a mystery associated with God, because the Infinite Lord of all creation desires a relationship with the finite human beings who are made from the dust of the earth. So, we must fast avoidance, because moving forward is the only direction God makes available in the Spirit.
Life is movement—a kind of dance—and God is the Lead Partner. We don’t know the steps of the dance—they are a mystery—but the One leading us through the dance, knows every step to keep us moving in synchrony with the music of the spheres. I have to trust my divine dance Partner and so do you. Don’t try to avoid the dance through the feelings of uncertainty in the challenges you face. If you try to avoid or control, you will hinder the work Christ seeks to do ‘in’ you.
In our passage today, Jesus has been preparing the disciples for his death. Judas does not like the direction things are going. He does not want to pick up his cross; he wants to lead a victory dance and thinks he knows a way. However, Judas goes about finding a way that leads to his death. He fulfills the first part of this gospel Scripture, “For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity] (Mat 16:25 AMP). We can have no other dance Partner than the Great I AM, so, love and trust Him!
John 13: 31-36 NLT
31 As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. 32 And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once. 33 Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
36 Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?”
And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”
Prayer: Lord, it is a bit easier to dance with you in the Light of day than it is in the dark, but we desire to trust you and let you lead into the glorious transformation you have chosen for us. We fast avoidance and self-preserving maneuvers as an effort to shield our insecurity. Instead, we ask for courage and strength, hold onto you, and move to your sacred rhythm. In Jesus’ name.