1.7.25 ~ Lights Out
Good morning!
So many things are going on in the lives of god-fearing people here in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida and beyond. Not just victorious celebration, but challenges! Obstacles! Decisions! Frustration! Questioning! And longing for clear direction with the wisdom You provide (Jam. 1:1-12)!
Have you ever known an individual who is walking life the way they are supposed to, but then unexpectedly the ‘lights’ go out (Isa. 50:10-11)? At one point they saw clearly, now their walking where it's pitch black. They feel all alone. Don’t know what to do. But more often than not, they try like a mad-maniac to find a light switch, check the ‘spiritual breaker box’, fumble through the drawers to find a match and a candle, or experience frustration that they forgot to put new batteries in the old flashlight…
Unexpected ‘lights out’ realities are scary to say the least. If you’re like me, we start questioning everything we’ve done that brought this reality to light (pun intended), how we’ve done them and the bad timing of this ‘lights out’ event. Our minds race at the speed of light trying to figure out how to get some of that light to guide our next steps.
These 'lights out' moments are not easy to walk through, but in the darkness, the Lord God gives us great light! For most of humanity, walking in the light and experiencing the darkness are fewer than the Adam/Eve story that we choose to live out; where life became dark because I ate from the ‘Tree of knowledge of good and evil’...my desires. Yes, for most of us, darkness has become a part of our journey because of our own self-indulgent choices.
This morning I want to point out the obvious on how to know the difference between the God-directed ‘lights out’ moments and the man-made darkness we often grope in.
Who among you fears the Lord? You obey the voice of His Servant? You walk in darkness and have no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.
Look, all of you who try to kindle your own fire, who surround yourself with sparks: you long to walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled--this I can guarantee--because of your effort to create your own light, you will lie down in sorrow (Isa. 50:10,11).
Everything in life has a sowing and reaping pattern (Gal. 6:7-9). When a farmer/gardener plants a seed, it will produce a plant that produces much more than the original. Whether it’s good seed or bad seed, the law of multiplication is guaranteed for the seed that germinates. Fortunately, for many of us we have sown ‘wild-oats’ and the seed never germinated. Simultaneously, many have sown ‘wild-oats’ and prayed diligently for crop failure only to find that year produced the best harvest ever
.
Have you ever known an individual who is walking life the way they are supposed to, but then unexpectedly the ‘lights’ go out (Isa. 50:10-11)? At one point they saw clearly, now their walking where it's pitch black. They feel all alone. Don’t know what to do. But more often than not, they try like a mad-maniac to find a light switch, check the ‘spiritual breaker box’, fumble through the drawers to find a match and a candle, or experience frustration that they forgot to put new batteries in the old flashlight…
Unexpected ‘lights out’ realities are scary to say the least. If you’re like me, we start questioning everything we’ve done that brought this reality to light (pun intended), how we’ve done them and the bad timing of this ‘lights out’ event. Our minds race at the speed of light trying to figure out how to get some of that light to guide our next steps.
These 'lights out' moments are not easy to walk through, but in the darkness, the Lord God gives us great light! For most of humanity, walking in the light and experiencing the darkness are fewer than the Adam/Eve story that we choose to live out; where life became dark because I ate from the ‘Tree of knowledge of good and evil’...my desires. Yes, for most of us, darkness has become a part of our journey because of our own self-indulgent choices.
This morning I want to point out the obvious on how to know the difference between the God-directed ‘lights out’ moments and the man-made darkness we often grope in.
Who among you fears the Lord? You obey the voice of His Servant? You walk in darkness and have no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.
Look, all of you who try to kindle your own fire, who surround yourself with sparks: you long to walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled--this I can guarantee--because of your effort to create your own light, you will lie down in sorrow (Isa. 50:10,11).
Everything in life has a sowing and reaping pattern (Gal. 6:7-9). When a farmer/gardener plants a seed, it will produce a plant that produces much more than the original. Whether it’s good seed or bad seed, the law of multiplication is guaranteed for the seed that germinates. Fortunately, for many of us we have sown ‘wild-oats’ and the seed never germinated. Simultaneously, many have sown ‘wild-oats’ and prayed diligently for crop failure only to find that year produced the best harvest ever
.
.
Adam and his wife sewed (pun intended) into their own desires (Gen. 3:6,7) and it’s plagued mankind with the seed of their decision ever since. History does repeat itself for those who don’t learn the first time, or the second time, or…
There are several characteristics that mark the individual who brought on their own darkness. Immediately, we start to live in fear. We feel ashamed. We run and hide. We play the cover-up game. We pretend everything is ok, but in reality it’s just a facade. We become critical and tend to blame everyone but the one who looks at us in the mirror.
Prior to eating the fruit of their ‘own desires’, they were ‘naked’ enjoying paradise to the fullest (Naked, no children, and the cupboards full of food). After they ate from the tree they were still in their nakedness, but now shame creeps in.
Nakedness implies being exposed. Transparency. Nothing to hide. Completely uncovered. Vulnerable. Authentic. Unprotected. Transparent. When shame enters the picture we go scrambling for ‘fig leaves’ so others can’t see our ‘nakedness’ any more. My fear of exposure makes me distant. One of our greatest needs is to be loved. Unfortunately, society has become so accustomed to ‘fig leaves’ that very few are accepted for who they are, which leads to our greatest fear…people finding out who we really are or what we’ve done in the past.
Adam and his wife knew this all too well (Gen. 3:7). Initially their shame caused them to be afraid. So they ran and hid among the trees thinking they could blend in with their fig leaves (you may recall from previous studies that trees in Scripture are symbolic of mankind, Deut. 20:19,20). Instead of standing out in our original identity, His Image, we try to blend in with the crowd.
When we experience shame, we are easily embarrassed. And we will do anything, just about anything not to be embarrassed. Shame makes me more self-conscious. It makes me nervous. It makes me fearful of being humiliated. I’m easily mortified. If you’ve ever experienced what Adam and his wife did, you know it’s no fun at all!
Our shame leads to writing our own ‘Sherlock Holmes’ mystery novel and the cover up begins. We try to conceal who we are and who we were made to be, ‘Naked’. The ‘fig-leaves’ take on all types of appearances in our modern culture. Sometimes it’s wealth, prestige, humor, success, false-image, perfect FB life, and/or the deadliest behavior…isolation. Whichever one we choose, they are all mere ‘fig leaves’ helping us blend, hoping not to be found out.
Ironically, the deadliest cover up is isolation. Isolation from our Creator (Gen. 3:8). Isolation from the one Who is Love (1 John 4:8,16). And we settle for existence blending in among the other trees.
They hid from God. They hid among the trees. They were afraid to approach the One Who created, made and loved them. They couldn’t confess who they had become…why? The same reason we don’t. We’re afraid those who hear may not like who I am. If we don’t feel accepted for who we are, we feel stranded on the proverbial creek without a paddle
.
Adam and his wife sewed (pun intended) into their own desires (Gen. 3:6,7) and it’s plagued mankind with the seed of their decision ever since. History does repeat itself for those who don’t learn the first time, or the second time, or…
There are several characteristics that mark the individual who brought on their own darkness. Immediately, we start to live in fear. We feel ashamed. We run and hide. We play the cover-up game. We pretend everything is ok, but in reality it’s just a facade. We become critical and tend to blame everyone but the one who looks at us in the mirror.
Prior to eating the fruit of their ‘own desires’, they were ‘naked’ enjoying paradise to the fullest (Naked, no children, and the cupboards full of food). After they ate from the tree they were still in their nakedness, but now shame creeps in.
Nakedness implies being exposed. Transparency. Nothing to hide. Completely uncovered. Vulnerable. Authentic. Unprotected. Transparent. When shame enters the picture we go scrambling for ‘fig leaves’ so others can’t see our ‘nakedness’ any more. My fear of exposure makes me distant. One of our greatest needs is to be loved. Unfortunately, society has become so accustomed to ‘fig leaves’ that very few are accepted for who they are, which leads to our greatest fear…people finding out who we really are or what we’ve done in the past.
Adam and his wife knew this all too well (Gen. 3:7). Initially their shame caused them to be afraid. So they ran and hid among the trees thinking they could blend in with their fig leaves (you may recall from previous studies that trees in Scripture are symbolic of mankind, Deut. 20:19,20). Instead of standing out in our original identity, His Image, we try to blend in with the crowd.
When we experience shame, we are easily embarrassed. And we will do anything, just about anything not to be embarrassed. Shame makes me more self-conscious. It makes me nervous. It makes me fearful of being humiliated. I’m easily mortified. If you’ve ever experienced what Adam and his wife did, you know it’s no fun at all!
Our shame leads to writing our own ‘Sherlock Holmes’ mystery novel and the cover up begins. We try to conceal who we are and who we were made to be, ‘Naked’. The ‘fig-leaves’ take on all types of appearances in our modern culture. Sometimes it’s wealth, prestige, humor, success, false-image, perfect FB life, and/or the deadliest behavior…isolation. Whichever one we choose, they are all mere ‘fig leaves’ helping us blend, hoping not to be found out.
Ironically, the deadliest cover up is isolation. Isolation from our Creator (Gen. 3:8). Isolation from the one Who is Love (1 John 4:8,16). And we settle for existence blending in among the other trees.
They hid from God. They hid among the trees. They were afraid to approach the One Who created, made and loved them. They couldn’t confess who they had become…why? The same reason we don’t. We’re afraid those who hear may not like who I am. If we don’t feel accepted for who we are, we feel stranded on the proverbial creek without a paddle
.
.
My fear of being exposed causes me to become distant. My fear of disapproval causes me to become defensive. As Adam did, we stop hiding and start hurling accusations at one another. We’re not excusing anyone, just accusing anyone we can find. I start pointing out the obvious with my ‘finger pointing’ (Gen. 3:12). I start losing control and become demanding. The more out of control I feel, the more controlling I become. I become ‘bossy’, demanding, demeaning, and dominating. The more insecure I am the more I need to get my way.
Naked people are happy and secure. If you’re secure, you don’t have to have your way all the time. Your mind moves from competition to cooperation. You play life as a team player rather than the ‘one-man band’. You recognize you're part of a 'body' and each individual has their God-given roles that need support.
Is there any hope for this fearful, shameful, isolating, ‘fig leaf addiction’? Yes! It’s LOVE. Learn to live in God’s love. There is no fear in His love (1 John 4:18). When we invite God’s love in the front door, fear goes out the back. On the flip-side of the coin, fear of a ‘wild-oat’ harvest in the front door, drives love out the back door. Punishment or consequences have silenced us more than we’d like to admit. How many times have we been afraid to tell the truth or be ourselves because of the consequences?
If you’ve ever experienced the ‘fig leaves’ or are still wearing them, there’s some truths that we can apply. One, know that God isn’t shocked by any of this nor is He panicking! In fact, He’s trying to find you to cover you with His provision, not yours (Gen. 3:8,9, 21). He’s not about isolation or blending in. He’s about intimacy. He is the epitome of love and His love will never fail (1 Cor. 13:8). Thirdly, run to the darkness, where God dwells, and you'll find the greatest light (Psa. 18:11; 97:2; Rev. 4:5,6; Ex.19:16-20; etc)!
Today is my final full day here in Ft. Walton Beach with Iglesia Mana Del Cielo. Pray for our celebration tonight (not that it's my last night LOL) and my flight back to Michigan tomorrow. You have been prayed for!
Shalom
My fear of being exposed causes me to become distant. My fear of disapproval causes me to become defensive. As Adam did, we stop hiding and start hurling accusations at one another. We’re not excusing anyone, just accusing anyone we can find. I start pointing out the obvious with my ‘finger pointing’ (Gen. 3:12). I start losing control and become demanding. The more out of control I feel, the more controlling I become. I become ‘bossy’, demanding, demeaning, and dominating. The more insecure I am the more I need to get my way.
Naked people are happy and secure. If you’re secure, you don’t have to have your way all the time. Your mind moves from competition to cooperation. You play life as a team player rather than the ‘one-man band’. You recognize you're part of a 'body' and each individual has their God-given roles that need support.
Is there any hope for this fearful, shameful, isolating, ‘fig leaf addiction’? Yes! It’s LOVE. Learn to live in God’s love. There is no fear in His love (1 John 4:18). When we invite God’s love in the front door, fear goes out the back. On the flip-side of the coin, fear of a ‘wild-oat’ harvest in the front door, drives love out the back door. Punishment or consequences have silenced us more than we’d like to admit. How many times have we been afraid to tell the truth or be ourselves because of the consequences?
If you’ve ever experienced the ‘fig leaves’ or are still wearing them, there’s some truths that we can apply. One, know that God isn’t shocked by any of this nor is He panicking! In fact, He’s trying to find you to cover you with His provision, not yours (Gen. 3:8,9, 21). He’s not about isolation or blending in. He’s about intimacy. He is the epitome of love and His love will never fail (1 Cor. 13:8). Thirdly, run to the darkness, where God dwells, and you'll find the greatest light (Psa. 18:11; 97:2; Rev. 4:5,6; Ex.19:16-20; etc)!
Today is my final full day here in Ft. Walton Beach with Iglesia Mana Del Cielo. Pray for our celebration tonight (not that it's my last night LOL) and my flight back to Michigan tomorrow. You have been prayed for!
Shalom
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