GOD GOES TO THE NTH DEGREE

GOD GOES TO THE NTH DEGREE

Thursday was a beautiful sunny day with a few fluffy white clouds left over from the shower on Wednesday. In the morning when I went out to my backyard, I saw that many flowers had started to bloom: paperwhites, lavender, snapdragons, pansies, and others. I noticed one yellow daffodil that was just about ready, and by noon, it was fully open. In such a short time, it was opening up its face to the sunshine! God is the sunshine in our lives, and He goes to the nth degree to show us.

Lately, my thoughts have been racing, my emotions fickle and unreliable, but the Lord has done so many things to wake me up, get my attention, and bless me. And God is a very personal God. What delights me may be way different from what delights you, and vice versa. As I walked around my yard, I saw that there were buds on a mulberry tree, and a new hummingbird visitor. These things made me happy, but it was kind of short-lived.

Yesterday, I got in a mental muddle again. But then when I went out to study and write, a woman sitting close by asked about the big book I was looking at. It was the Strong’s Concordance to the Bible. I usually look at the Concordance online, but sometimes I like the feel of a real book, and this was one of those times. We got into a really delightful conversation and talked about how inspiring it is to see the meanings of Bible words in their original language. She said she used to do that, and I hope our conversation inspired her to do it again.  We’ll see. Anyway, it was great to talk to a stranger about God’s word, and I do expect to see her again.

God was working hard to get my attention! Psalm 37:4 says: “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

I don’t believe we are the ones who decide, all the time, what those desires are. Why does one person thrill at working on a motorcycle, and another person get so excited about refinishing a kitchen, and another person finding delight in simply walking a dog? I believe God is the one who gives each of us those desires in the first place. Then He makes sure He gives us opportunities to enjoy them.

The Lord had to pour on the delights this week, so I would wake up and take a look at what He was doing personally for me. God definitely has a sense of humor, and the scripture I was studying happened to be from the story of Elisha and his servant when the army of Syria surrounded the town of Dothan where they lived.

 ^“And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, ‘Alas, my master! how shall we do?’ And he answered, ‘Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them’” (2 Kings 6:15-16). 

Then in verse 17 is where I looked up some of the words: “And Elisha prayed, and said, ‘Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.’ And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

The word “open,” in the Hebrew is to open the senses, especially the eyes, and be observant. The Hebrew word for “eyes” is a word that indicates one is to see as a fountain, as in the eye of the landscape going outward, looking beyond, looking well. It is to see beyond and think about what one is really seeing. Then the word “see” means to behold, to consider, discern, and enjoy the experience. It means to stare at, think about and perceive, to be near.

This is what Elisha was praying for God to do for this young servant who was initially afraid of what he was superficially seeing with only his natural eyes. Do you see why I love so much to look up the meanings of the words, in their original language? When translators did their work in going from Hebrew to English, they often picked just one word, but the meanings are so much richer, and thank God we have a Concordance so that we can see it for ourselves!

Well, God answered Elisha’s prayer, and even when the enemy came right to the door, God did a miracle and blinded the discerning eyes of the Syrians. They did not even recognize Elisha, and instead, they let this strange man and his young servant lead them right down into Samaria where they could have all been killed. But God had mercy on them. Read the rest of the story in 2 Kings 6. It’s a good one!

So, God blessed me in my study and used it to show me that He was pushing me to open my eyes too! I got the message.

I realized other things He’d done this week to bless me, and at last, I woke up, cleared away the fog, and got thankful!

I’m so glad our God and our Lord Jesus don’t give up on us. God will go to the nth degree, to the extreme, to wake us up and show us how much He loves us as individuals. 2 Corinthians 5:14 puts it this way: “For the love of Christ constraineth us.” In other words, He keeps coming back and coming back and coming back to show us His love.

Like the gentle rain watered my flowers and the sun warmed up the dirt, and they opened up their faces full-on, let’s do the same. God hasn’t forgotten us.

Love, Carolyn