Question: How loose is tight enough?
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants… Deuteronomy 30:19
I taught in elementary and middle schools for over thirty years. And every year—make that almost every day—someone thought they needed to test the boundaries. Maybe she’s moved the line. Maybe she’ll just give in. Maybe she didn’t mean it. They had that urge to test the limits; they were just checking.
Unfortunately, God’s people aren’t much different than a lot of the kids I taught. I’ll bet thoughts like some of the following have crossed your mind at least once since you began your walk with the Lord:
- Just how far can I go until it’s too far?
- Just this once won’t hurt, will it?
- How long can I play with this fire before I get burned?
- How close can I get to the edge before falling off?
- Do I really have to put forth any effort on my end of the deal with God, or can I do whatever I feel like from here on out?
In the Old Testament, the Lord God said through Moses that He had set a choice before His people—life or death; blessing or the curse. The route they took was entirely up to them. The rewards—and consequences—that manifested in their lives would likewise play out according to the decisions they made—life or death; blessing or cursing.
But the Lord didn’t stop there. He told them the proper choice to make at every junction before them—life. Life is always the appropriate choice to make. Life and blessing are always available to every one of us; they are always a decision away—even when the alternatives seem more appealing or less challenging.
Notice what the Lord said through Moses: So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants…
Your decisions are your own. However, those decisions impact everyone else around you, extending for generations. Even as a single woman without children, I am keenly aware that my choices effect far more than myself. My choices and yours—as insignificant as they may seem in the grand scheme of things—carry far more weight on the scales of eternity than we can even imagine.
So how do you choose life? The Lord continued as He spoke through Moses: “…by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them” (Deuteronomy 30:20).
How do you choose life?
- By loving the Lord your God
- By obeying His voice
- By holding fast to Him
The pattern was set from the beginning. The boundaries were drawn. Blessing and life have always been wrapped up in one key pursuit: connection with God.
Connection is established when you love Him. Connection is established when you obey His voice. Connection is established when you hold fast to Him.
So how loose is tight enough? When speaking in reference to the One who died an excruciating death to bridge the gap of separation between you and God, looseness of connection emerges as an impoverished choice—a choice attended by things pertaining to death and the curse.
Connection to the One who loves you is as uncomplicated as loving Him, as straightforward as obeying His voice, and as raw as holding fast to Him. The simplest person on earth can connect with Him to the uttermost; the most learned and astute among us discover that they barely scratch the surface of His limitless love as they draw near to Him in close connection.
Connection to the One who loves you is available to you in full measure. Love Him, obey Him, hold fast to Him. Anything less is depriving yourself of the best Life has to offer.
Dorothy
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6
Read MoreConnected to the source
I had one of those dreams last year that stuck with me, but not due to its entertainment value. This dream was disturbing, and frankly, annoying. It falls into the category of frustration dreams—you know, the kind when nothing you do works; you’re lost in a familiar building (for me that place is usually a school); nobody’s listening to you—that type.
But this dream was more straight-forward and made more sense in real life than the common frustration dream. I think that’s why it was so disturbing.
In this dream, I entered my home before dark one summer’s evening and turned on the lights. Nothing. I went from room to room trying to find a switch that worked. None did. However, when I looked up at the ceiling fan, it was operating. The power was on, but the lights would not work.
I inspected each light fixture all over the house—whether ceiling, stove, sink, or table lamp. Each one was fully stocked with bulbs—perfectly good bulbs. I knew the power was on but the lights were not shining.
I climbed up onto my bed and was aware in the dream of the instability of my footing on the mattress. With legs shaking and feeling like a novice surfer on a large wave, I reached up to the bulbs in the ceiling fixture—each one in its place—and then discovered the problem. Every last bulb in the house was just one or two revolutions away from connecting with the power.
When I awoke in the morning after the dream, I didn’t think much about it and went on with my day.
Later, like a bolt out of Heaven—when I was telling someone about the dream—I realized what it signified. My dream was a tutorial about the power and the light operating within me—and the Church.
First, the dream was set in my house. Therefore, it applied to me just as much as it did to anyone else—probably more. Keep this in mind when God reveals issues to you—let Him search your own heart first. “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1, KJV; emphasis added).
Here’s what I saw: The power in the house was on. Nothing was wrong at the electric company’s end—I knew that because the ceiling fan was doing its thing. The light bulbs were all in place—they appeared to be properly installed.
What I know: There is nothing wrong with the power of God in our time. It is every bit as strong as it was when Elijah and Elisha lived, when Peter, Paul, and John preached, and indeed, when Jesus walked the earth. The power is most definitely ON.
This dream opened my eyes to a small adjustment I needed to maintain so that Jesus—the Light of the world—could shine through my life. This “fine-tuning”, I believe, is applicable to anyone else hungering for more of God, as well. Here’s what I gleaned:
- The electricity that was being used was unhindered in operating the ceiling fans. In other words, coolness and comfort were maintained—perhaps prioritized. In my life and in most churches—at least in this nation—the environment is cool and comfortable.
- Every single light bulb was manufacturer-ready and in its place. They looked just right; they appeared to be 100% functional. In the same way, there’s nothing defective with you or me—the people God has pulled out of the world and placed in His Church. Each one of us is capable of 100% functionality.
- None of the bulbs produced any light. No corresponding heat was produced, either, and the house stayed cool. In my dream, the bulbs that were capable of lighting my house were not lighting up. A benefit of that was the lack of heat on a hot summer’s day, but again, no light was shining. When light shines, heat is produced. When you or I start shining, often persecution heats up. One way to avoid the heat is to keep the lights off.
- It took some effort to discover the problem. I had to get up on furniture I don’t normally climb on; I had to force myself out of my comfort-zone to problem-solve. It’s easy to complain or point a finger at others or at issues; it’s much more uncomfortable to endeavor to honestly seek God for the cause so the problem can be solved. Although it may feel precarious—very shaky—to step out of the security of “everything’s great” to face off with besetting issues, the results that come from God are worth it.
- The problem wasn’t in the power or in the bulbs themselves or even in their placement. The power was on; the bulbs each had the appropriate wattage; each bulb was in the right spot; they just weren’t connected to the power. They were mere millimeters away from connection.
We must never take it for granted that because God’s power is present and we are in position to be used that we are actually fully connected to the power. Connection at full revolution is the only sure way to produce light. Heat will be generated as well, but we can’t let that stop us from seeking full connection to our Power Source. Heat is produced when light shines; but when the heat is on, God’s grace and glory flourish all the more.
May the Lord grant all of us the grace we need to turn those“bulbs” the one or two notches it takes to connect with Him at full strength. And may we keep that connection tight on an ongoing basis.
Dorothy
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Read MoreConnection
In plumbing, leaks can be caused by loose connections between pipes. And because you and I take it for granted that the connections between the unseen pipes at home are sound, once in a blue moon we are surprised when facing the inevitable—a leak.
In my house, the leak seeped up over the top of the fitting. Somehow the connection had loosened and soundness was compromised. But as quickly as it was discovered it was repaired—the contractor was in the house! Don’t you wish all of the leaks and glitches in your home would occur when a repairman was on the scene? Well, here’s good news—the Carpenter is always in the house!
The leak in the connection between the pipes started me thinking about the closeness of my connection with God. I hate to admit it, but as I look back over the past 39 years of my relationship with Him, I haven’t always maintained a super-tight connection. Don’t get me wrong—once I was born again, I was connected. But sometimes I was content just to appear to have a close connection, while the connection itself had become loose, casual—even sloppy. And upon closer inspection, I can see that the most satisfying times in my life have occurred when I purposefully tightened that connection.
How do you tighten the connection between yourself and God? What tends to loosen it up? What are some of the signs that you need to crank that connection more tightly? And if you’re in Christ and He’s in you, why concern yourself about this connection at all? Isn’t connection with Him a given?
The skinny is this: the connection is perfect on His end; it’s your end that needs watchful oversight, maintenance, and sometimes repair. If there’s any disconnect, it’s on your end.
Remember last week I wrote that I was bombarded by negative thoughts one snowy morning? I ran for refuge that day to a pile of devotionals, knowing in my gut that I would receive direction and help. And interestingly enough, in one way or another, out of every single entry emerged a strengthening, nutritious nugget about—you guessed it—a vital connection with God.
I’ll be writing about what I gleaned that snowy day in the next several blog entries. But tomorrow I plan to backtrack a bit and share a dream that I had sometime last year. You’ll understand why when you read “Connected to the Source”.
Dorothy
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4
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