Monday, July 28, 2008

Pulling Up Short

There is a deeper, purer, more meaningful place with God than most of us are experiencing. It is a place of rest (Hebrews 4) in the finished work of Christ. It is a present-tense dwelling place (Psalm 27:14, John 10:10, Titus 2:11,12) and for some reason we continue to sabotage our walks every time we get to the edge of it.

In Numbers 32, the Israelites have finished their 40 years of desert wanderings and are on the verge of the Rest. Just before crossing, the leaders of the tribes of Gilead and Manasseh pull Moses aside and tell him that they like the east side of the Jordan, that they will settle there and not cross. Moses proceeds to take one of the best 'fits' that's recorded in the OT. He is enraged that they will not cross with the other 10 tribes. To their credit, they say that they will send their fighting men over to help - but they want this land, on the other side of the Jordan.

I really feel that this symbolizes my life and probably the lives of most other Christians. We get close to the victory - so close we can taste it - and then for some reason we pull up short. We're afraid of what total commitment might cost us. We like our comfort zone and are worried that really pushing deep into God will require of us things we don't want to give up or get into.

It's time. Seriously - it's time to push deep into the heart of God and quit shooting ourselves in the foot every time we get close to the deeper walk.

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