When the volcano of our emotions erupts, it’s impossible to contain the flow of lava. The key is finding a way to keep your volcano dormant.
I don’t know if this is a good shake or a bad shake (maybe we should talk more about the shakes next week), but I liken it to the way the earth shakes right before a volcano erupts. Maybe that’s not the best comparison since a volcano can represent total devastation. I’m not convinced that this shaking is bad yet.
Either way, it’s a sense of unsettledness that gives way to change.
I was talking to a friend about this the other day, and then that very night… Explosion. I was lulled into a place of anxiety and insecurity. Weakened by the impact of this set of emotional twins, I reacted.
Weakness makes it really difficult to control our thoughts. Uncontrolled thoughts give way to uncontrollable feelings, and those feelings create pressure that builds and builds until it can no longer be contained.
When the volcano of our emotions erupts, it’s impossible to contain the flow of lava. The key is finding a way to keep your volcano dormant.
It’s two days later, and I finally feel like I’m back to myself. But this peace was hard fought.
When we fail to remember who He is or what He’s done, we get tested.
The thing is, I think God was giving me a heads up that this eruption was coming. The morning I sensed the shaking, I read Judges 3. I was supposed to read the whole chapter – and then some – but I got stuck on the first four verses. Can I show you the highlights real quick?
These are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle…These people were left to test the Israelites—to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses. Judge 3:1-2, 4
It was a test. He left giants in the land, but it was a test. He left battles to be fought, but it was a teaching moment.
At the beginning of the book of Judges, we read one of the saddest verses in all of scripture: After that generation died (Joshua’s generation), another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel (Judges 2:10).
We cannot glean from the faith of the generations before us if we do not remember the things the Lord did for them.
When we fail to remember who He is or what He’s done, we get tested. We fight battles with giants who were left in the land for the sole purpose of teaching us how to fight. Which implies we don’t already know how to fight.
Catch the progression here: test them, teach them warfare, test them to see if they will be obedient.
What happened that caused them to forget? My hypothesis: they got cocky. They defeated so many giants and took possession of so much of the promised land, and I honestly believe they thought they did it themselves. Caleb said, “If the Lord is with me, I will be victorious.”
But this isn’t Caleb’s generation. In fact, Caleb’s son-in-law is the first judge mentioned in chapter 3. It’s the next generation. We cannot glean from the faith of the generations before us if we do not honor them. Likewise, we cannot inspire the faith of the next generation if we do not learn to fight.
We cannot inspire the faith of the next generation if we do not learn to fight.
We fight something bigger than us with no training so that God will get the glory. Not from our death – that brings Him no honor. But from the fact that while we swing at the shadow of our enemy, He lands punch after punch on our behalf.
He gets the glory because we don’t even know what we’re doing. We’re just now learning to fight. He’s the one who actually wins the fight for us. We’re just the ones who show up to the victory party to pick up our participation trophy.
Are you anxious? Are you insecure? Or are you fighting some other kind of giant? This is a test. He’s teaching you to fight. Pass the test.
How?
Acknowledge the Lord. He is the God who brought their victory and He is the God who will bring yours. But you’ve got to fight, and fighting looks like remembering. He will do it again. He is no respecter of persons.
While we swing at the shadow of our enemy, the Lord lands punch after punch on our behalf.
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