Confused of the title of this post? Do you know what the word means (or do you care to look it up) or would you rather I just tell you? I'll give you a hint--it's not Greek, it's Hebrew. Any guesses now?
Okay, I can't wait any longer. It means "asked for" in Hebrew & it was the introduction to the single ladies spring Bible study: DAVID: Seeking a Heart Like His by Beth Moore. So, what's so cool about sha'ul & what does that little Hebrew word have to do with David? Let me tell you.
Pop culture proclaims that the story of my life begins with me, but is that really true? In the introduction to week one, Beth Moore refutes this humanistic argument as she introduces us to the people who shaped David's life remarking that "A person's story never begins with his or her own. . . . Our lives are often laboriously intertwined with another we have neither chosen nor fully accepted" (8). God started molding David's life, not at his birth, but with the lives of his two counselors: Saul & Samuel.
In I Samuel 1, a woman named Hannah asks God for a son. When her request is answered, she names her son Samuel (shem'el) which sounded similar to the word "asked for (sha'ul). To show her gratitude, Hannah returnsto God what she had asked for & God uses Samuel to accomplish His will in a mighty way.
In I Samuel 8, the people of Israel demand that Samuel select a king to rule over the nation. Following the Lord's direction, Samuel anoints a tall, good-looking Benjaminite named Saul. Where Samuel's name sounds like "asked for", Saul's name literally means "asked for". God literally gave the children of Israel what they asked for! Sadly, the nation soon discoved that what they asked for, wasn't really what they wanted.
Saul eventually loses God's favor because his "position exceed his passion." He worshipped God, not because he wanted to, but because he was a Hebrew. God was part of the package deal. As Beth Moore put it, "There is a country mile's difference between pleasing & appeasing God" (9).
As Beth Moore spoke, I could remember a little too well times when God gave me exactly what I asked for &, like the people of Israel, I soon regretted my choice. That little word sha'ul (which I can surely write better than I could pronounce) has been a rebuke to me. What have I been asking God for? "He wants my whole heart--the whole splattered mess." Am I willing to give Him what He has asked for?
27 January 2012
19 January 2012
Because
I know I said that I wasn't going to answer "why?" with "because" anymore, but, let's be honest, you were expecting it. Which is interesting because I wasn't.
Why you ask? Because God is still teaching me what "because" means.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, & keep his commandments: for this is the whold duty of man." Did you catch that--the whole duty of man rests in two words: fear & obedience.
Fear is humbly bending my body down & lifting my heart & hands up to God in reverential worship--not a shaking terror of what God will do to me if I don't obey. Obedience blossoms from proper fear. If I truly fear the Lord then I will obey Him because I want to worship Him withe every action.
Even if obeying Him will bring me pain.
Paul tells the believers in Corinth to expect trials because of their faith & encourages them not to give up, "therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy [God granting us favor, benefits, opportunities, & especially salvation], we faint not [do not get discouraged or overcome with fear]" (2 Cor. 4:1).
So, why do I do what I do? Because I have received mercy & I have no reason to doubt God's love for me.
Why you ask? Because God is still teaching me what "because" means.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, & keep his commandments: for this is the whold duty of man." Did you catch that--the whole duty of man rests in two words: fear & obedience.
Fear is humbly bending my body down & lifting my heart & hands up to God in reverential worship--not a shaking terror of what God will do to me if I don't obey. Obedience blossoms from proper fear. If I truly fear the Lord then I will obey Him because I want to worship Him withe every action.
Even if obeying Him will bring me pain.
Paul tells the believers in Corinth to expect trials because of their faith & encourages them not to give up, "therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy [God granting us favor, benefits, opportunities, & especially salvation], we faint not [do not get discouraged or overcome with fear]" (2 Cor. 4:1).
So, why do I do what I do? Because I have received mercy & I have no reason to doubt God's love for me.
17 January 2012
Why?
Has anyone ever asked you why you do what you do? What was
your response—a simple response or a ten-point message explaining each
intricate thought behind the decision?
When I left home for college five years ago, I found that when others asked me, “why?” all I could do was repeat the question to myself: Why do I do what I do?
If you asked my high school classmates to describe me you would probably hear adjectives like hoity-toity, stuck-up, goodie-two-shoes, & teacher’s pet. Not only was I known for following the rules, I also had the audacity to encourage my classmates to follow them as well. I was one of those irritating students who loved school. I mean LOVED. I played school in the summer & counted down to the first day of school. Weird. People got the impression that I did right because I wanted to stay out of trouble. While avoiding trouble may have been part of my logic, it wasn’t my main motivation. I did right because, well, it was the right thing to do. Crazy, I know.
As I entered college, my mentality for obeying rules remained the same. Was my logic wrong? Well, no, but it wasn’t right either.
Between my sophomore & junior years in college I began to ask myself the question people had been asking me for years, “why do I do what I do?” I was disturbed to find that I didn’t have an answer. I wasn’t a rebel who flagrantly broke rules, but I would make allowances to bend rules when I felt they were too restrictive. I was obeying the rules, but I sure wasn’t being a Christ-like example to others.
The spring of my junior year was a spiritual low. God wanted to change me but I was content to remain spiritually stagnant. On a whim, I applied to be a camp counselor, not really believing God would send me to camp. But He did & I came face-to-face with my mediocrity. My counselor training packed required me to share my reasoning for tough scenarios--principles for deciding if something is right or wrong & principles to give to someone who wants to grow spiritually--& verses defending God’s guidelines for dating, music, friends, authority, & a plethora of other counseling topics. For the first time in my life I had to answer “Why?” with more than just “because.”
I'm not perfect--God is definitely still working on me--but God is helping me answer my own questions. I don't have all of the answers & sometimes what I do may make your head turn, but I promise, God is helping me answer "why do I do what I do" with more than just "because."
When I left home for college five years ago, I found that when others asked me, “why?” all I could do was repeat the question to myself: Why do I do what I do?
If you asked my high school classmates to describe me you would probably hear adjectives like hoity-toity, stuck-up, goodie-two-shoes, & teacher’s pet. Not only was I known for following the rules, I also had the audacity to encourage my classmates to follow them as well. I was one of those irritating students who loved school. I mean LOVED. I played school in the summer & counted down to the first day of school. Weird. People got the impression that I did right because I wanted to stay out of trouble. While avoiding trouble may have been part of my logic, it wasn’t my main motivation. I did right because, well, it was the right thing to do. Crazy, I know.
As I entered college, my mentality for obeying rules remained the same. Was my logic wrong? Well, no, but it wasn’t right either.
Between my sophomore & junior years in college I began to ask myself the question people had been asking me for years, “why do I do what I do?” I was disturbed to find that I didn’t have an answer. I wasn’t a rebel who flagrantly broke rules, but I would make allowances to bend rules when I felt they were too restrictive. I was obeying the rules, but I sure wasn’t being a Christ-like example to others.
The spring of my junior year was a spiritual low. God wanted to change me but I was content to remain spiritually stagnant. On a whim, I applied to be a camp counselor, not really believing God would send me to camp. But He did & I came face-to-face with my mediocrity. My counselor training packed required me to share my reasoning for tough scenarios--principles for deciding if something is right or wrong & principles to give to someone who wants to grow spiritually--& verses defending God’s guidelines for dating, music, friends, authority, & a plethora of other counseling topics. For the first time in my life I had to answer “Why?” with more than just “because.”
I'm not perfect--God is definitely still working on me--but God is helping me answer my own questions. I don't have all of the answers & sometimes what I do may make your head turn, but I promise, God is helping me answer "why do I do what I do" with more than just "because."
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