Safely into the Unknown
This blog is designed to give people an inner look at a devotional life. Taking time each day to spend time with the Lord. The hope is if you travel on this journey with Rev. Jacob Shaw, you may be more inclined to spend time with the Lord as well. I encourage the use of a devotional, a scripture reading and prayer, then finally some form of artistic mark to tie it all together.
Today's devotional is taken from: Zacharias, Ravi. The
Logic of God: 52 Christian Essentials for the Heart and Mind. Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2019. [E-Book] Chapter 49: Safely into the Unknown
Opening Thought: “In dying you live. In surrendering, you win.” These are
words quoted by Zacharias from an Easter Vigil, stated by an unnamed preacher,
which inspired a person outside of the faith to think critically about what the
message of the Gospel is. It may seem weird or out of place for the words “dying”
and “surrendering” to be markers for success. The Gospels tell us the story of
God coming to bring His kingdom to us, to free us from the sinful kingdom of
the world.
Now the sinful kingdom of the world will kill us in both body
and spirit, but it does this by making us think we must cling to life. It a
brilliant and diabolical trick. We become so concerned about the physical, that
we sacrifice the spiritual, moral, and righteous to serve our physical being, wants
and desires. But what good are the bounties of this world, if you must sell
your soul to get it?
In dying you live means that the material life you are embodied into
is not the life you serve. It is not the totem you bow to, rather it is merely
a tool to live out the righteous calling of God. If to live righteously, you
had to sacrifice your life to hold to the integrity of the spirit, to the will
of God, then so be it. Your pathway is set and all you do in the physical world
is to serve the spirit. In some cases, this will take a physical approach, like
feeding the homeless, clothing the poor, and helping the elderly – but the purpose
in this is so they know love, kindness, prudence, and care – feeding their
spirits and bodies all together.
When you discover what it means to live through death, giving your
life to God, then you learn what victory in life is all about. You win!
Happiness, contentment, dedication, purpose and meaning all derive from this dying
of the self to serve the wider world and to bow to the King that is Christ.
The devotional begins with: Psalm 119:101-105
I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you
yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than
honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore, I hate
every wrong path. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Second Thought: I find these words from Psalm 119 so compelling, the longing
for God is almost primal, but also enlightening. It is as if the author feels that God’s
wisdom and being completes him in every way. It is a total surrender to that
understanding that ignites the spirit within us, allowing us to find our pathway
into the world. Zacharias offers us a quote from King George VI who spoke to
the world during a Christmas Day message:
“I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a
light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into
the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known
way.”[1]
There is a burden shift when you find the truth in God, a shift
from “ought to” to “want to”. When we live for physical life, we must live to
survive, you want to survive but you don’t necessarily want to “live”, at least
not a life worth living. However, when you realize there is a truth in God, and
in that truth, you can serve the well being of the world, and find salvation from
our iniquity and sin, you move in appreciation and excitement for the will of
God and serve the will of God. You want to live so God can use you for God’s
grander purposes.
So the dark, the unknown, and the fear has no power over you,
because al you say and do is for the source of all, God and his glory!
Continual Work: Reflect on King George VI’s words and see what they may inspire
in your heart. Why is having God in your life better than any physical light
you could take with you into the dark?
What Rev. Jacob is Working On: I am enjoying doing this blog, though it
takes a lot of work. But it has given me a chance to start my day, before this
blog my thoughts were just in my head, or in a journal, but now I have to aim
to articulate in a way that can be taken in by others. Thus, my time with God
in devotion has been more dedicated, so when I too go off into the world, and
even into the darker times, I feel the light of God is more readily with me.
Prayer for your day: God walk with us today, help us as pilgrims on
a journey, guiding us with your light, your truth and your will made known to
us. If we fall off our pathways, help us back on, and if we stumble and fall to
sin, help us back up. Amen.
Artistic Close: Sometimes we notice the beauty of the light when we are lost in darkness, because the dark trail gives us something to compare to the light. The light of God is our freedom, destiny and purpose.
An early morning scene in Davidson River Campground, Pisgah
National Forest, NC. (USDA photo by Lance Cheung). Original public domain image
from Flickr
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