Please...

 "At that time I pleaded with the Lord and said,'O Sovereign Lord, you have only begun to show your greatness and the strength of your hand to me, your servant. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as you do? Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon mountains. But the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me.' 'That's enough!' he declared. 'Speak of it no more.' 
Deuteronomy 3:23-26

Having a beautiful wife, four daughters and now a granddaughter, I have been powerless in the face of the many long and passionate "Ple-e-e-e-eases" over the years. I would gruffly choke out a "No" every once in awhile, but we were all in on the little secret. Just keep asking. Just keep sounding cute and desperate and Dad would eventually buckle. If Mom were with me on the "no," it would stand. If not, forget about it. Those sweet girls own me and they know it.

Moses and God were really close. Their relationship was truly remarkable. It's not that God loved him more than anyone else. He wasn't playing favorites. It was simply unique in ways that were representative of Moses' uniqueness. These verses record Moses asking, "Ple-e-e-e-ease," and God holding firm with the no answer. Moses had disobeyed God and the consequences were devastating. He desperately asked God to change his mind. God finally had to tell him, "Do not ask me again." I think both their hearts were broken.

Moses learned some things simply cannot be undone. No quick redo or take twos. Paul learned a fleshly 'thorn" is necessary at times for mission success. Jesus submitted to the brutality of a Roman beating and crucifixion in order to provide the one and only way to heaven. All were told "No." No amount of "pleases" managed to turn God from his "No" answer. What "No" from God is troubling you today? Even aging "No" answers can hinder healing, stunt growth, and derail our impact in this world if we continue to believe that God got it wrong and he should have said, "Yes." 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tested

"He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do." John 6:1-13 Test day. I remember all too well the feelings of discomfort connected to that expression from my school days. I was so thankful the last time I had to take one. Tests felt so much like a cruel game of, "Guess What I'm Thinking?" with the author of the test. During one particularly grueling test, I noticed one of my classmates cheating like there was no tomorrow. Predictably, he aced it and I let's just say, didn't. It occurred to me later that I was actually being tested in two different ways that day. By God's grace alone, I passed them both. Philip was in the hot seat that day. Jesus, out of the twelve disciples, decided to single him out for testing. From all appearances, there was a massive resource shortage. Five thousand men plus women and children all hungry up against whatever money Judas had in the money bag. Philip was apparently incredulous as he emphaticall
Read more

Nothing Left

"'What do you mean what's the matter?' Micah replied. 'You've taken away all the gods I have made, and my priest, and I have nothing left!" Judges 17, 18 Unaware of some purchases that my wife had made earlier in the day, I didn't even hesitate to use my debit card at the checkout line. However, our bank was fully aware of all those purchases as well as the one I was attempting to make at the present moment. Clearly, the math didn't add up. Something from nothing is something less than nothing and that, as it turns, is frowned upon by our aforementioned bank. In short, the bank told the merchant there was nothing left and the merchant told me, "Declined." Micah was one panicked individual. His personal little self-directed and self-centered religion was coming apart at the seams. He had idols. He had priests. He had a shrine and even a sacred ephod (a priestly garment). All this, he thought, secured the LORD's blessing. When the warri
Read more

Who is Jesus?

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:15, 16 NIV) What are your thoughts about Jesus? Every major religion on earth has an opinion on who he was. Mostly they say that he was a good man, a powerful teacher, and a peacemaker. All of that is true. But what about him being the Son of God? Peter, after being with Jesus non-stop for 4 years was confident of his identity. He was assured that Jesus was God in the flesh, the Messiah that was to come. You essentially have three options when it comes to what you believe about Jesus: 1) He was a Liar 2) He was a Lunatic (out of his mind) 3) Or that He was Lord If he was, and is, Lord, then he deserves our worship and our entire lives. If Jesus is Lord, it is true that we have access to God by His sacrifice on the cross. Join us Friday night at 7, as we reflect on Jesus going to the cross for the sins of the entire world (Good Frida
Read more