Category: Wildman Journey (Page 44 of 86)

I often read N.T. Wright’s translation of the New Testament.  I was struck, recently with his use of the word “calculate” instead of “credited” (NIV) or “counted” (ESV & NAS), when declaring a person being right in God’s sight.  “Now when someone ‘works,’ the ‘reward’ they get is not calculated on the basis of generosity, but on the basis of what they are owed.  But if someone doesn’t ‘work,’ but simply believes in the one who declares the ungodly to be in the right, that person’s faith is calculated in their favor, putting them in the right.” (Rom. 4:4-5)  The NLT is very blunt saying, “When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners” (Rom. 4:4-5 ).

The Message declares, “…if you see that the job is too big for you that it’s something only God can do, and you trust him to do it……well, that trusting him to do it is what gets you right with God, by God.  Sheer gift” (vs 3-4 – The Message).  Calculate comes from the Latin word for count.  To calculate is to count on something  having a particular effect.  In this case, its a matter of a right relationship with God.   Men, do you find yourself  managing our spiritual life, calculating whether or not belief and effort would make you more acceptable  to God. I learned years ago from John and Paula Sandford that this is getting caught up in “performance orientation.”  I can still get caught in this trap.

In applying our natural abilities and spiritual gifting, we can easily calculate how well we think we are doing based on our compulsion. It just comes naturally.  What would it be for you?   Mine is that of a “people pleaser.” I can easily become compulsive in caring for others.  Even worse, it is all about me and my performance.  This only reinforces my ego strength.  I  simply work harder at being a  caring individual.  The worse I feel  spiritually the more I can  get on the tread mill of people pleasing.  But it is  never enough.  Even worse, I will perform spiritually to please God.  The Lord, of course, is not impressed with my efforts.  How would you identify the manner you try to please God with your performance?

I have reformed a lot of my compulsive spiritual behavior.  But my wife will tell you, that I can still get on the tread mill of performance orientation.  So what has helped in the lessening of my compulsion.  First, is the realization that my walk with God is based not on a contract (how I perform) but rather on receiving a gift (all grace).  Operating with a contrast, I have to work to earn favor with God.  I’ve had to learn to simply trust in God accepting me as a sinful man.  I marvel at the generosity of God. It is “sheer gift.”

Secondly, the  gift can only be received when in silent before God I hear that I are his beloved.  Beyond your thoughts, perceptions, and feelings I am loved.  I gratefully declare that I am “a beloved sinner.”  Thirdly,  learing to  live freely in the open space of God’s love for me. Here I cry out daily for God to be merciful to me, his beloved sinner.  What matters is my intentions.  If I desire to grow in Christlikeness, God’s mercy will be sufficient in rescuing me when I get  on the tread mill of performance.

Recently, David Brooks wrote an editorial in the New York Times entitled, “How to leave a mark on people.”  “Some organizations are thick, and some are thin,” Brooks explains.  “Some leave a mark on you, and some you pass through with scarcely a memory…a thick institution becomes part of a person’s identity and engages the whole person – head, hands, heart and soul.”  According to Brooks, thick organizations often share a physical location, where people meet regularly, face to face.  Thick institutions often have and practice shared rituals – such as fasting or reciting a song or a theme.  “Thin institutions,” observes Brooks, “tend to see themselves horizontally.  People are members for mutual benefit.  Thick organizations often see themselves on a vertical axis.  People are members so they can collectively serve the same higher good.”

The thick –  thin analogy helps in defining a  healthy spirituality climate for men.  With the  thinning of church life in a post-Christian culture, men need and are looking for a thick community  A very good example of a thin community  is the suggestion recently by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg of the possibility of Facebook providing  community and a sense of belonging, filling the gap left by falling church membership.  Connecting over the internet will never produce the thickness needed for community.  There is no sense of God’s presence or the practice of interpersonal relationships.

When I thought of the thickness of  spirituality I thought of  C. S Lewis’s  quote regarding the presence of God. “The Presence of God is the most real thing we ever encounter.  If we are to have an appropriate image of God’s presence, we should envision God’s presence as something heavier than matter.”  It is what Leanne Payne calls the “unseen real.” We can’t see or feel  the Presence of God, not because it’s unreal or not there.  We can’t see it because the reality of God would blind us.  But this reality, the presence of God  lives within us. God’s Spirit living  within and among us makes for a thick community.

This was Paul’s prayer for us.  “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Eph. 3:16-17).  Rick Richardson gives testimony to this reality in his life. “When I began to take to heart Lewis’s  insights, my soul expanded….My soul came alive….My mind had new ways to imagine the substance and beauty of the heaviness of the Spirit of God…..God’s spirit is more real than flesh and blood.”  He goes on to say, “I feel more sound, more right, more solid at the center of my being.”  Now that is a dose of thick spirituality.

Here are a few things that would make for a thick community of men.  First and foremost, would be the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Men would be expected to surrender daily to the Lord Jesus.  Egos are checked at the door.  Men come humbly together at the foot of the cross in surrender.   Remember God opposes the proud, but give grace to the humble.  Secondly, the insistence of acknowledging  we are sinner, being helpless in changing ourselves.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:8).   Third, the willingness to take up our cross, meaning that we each have our unique spiritual battles and habitual sin patterns that we struggle with.  We need the help and encouragement of other men.  “If anyone would come after men, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt 16:24).

A new song by Selah entitled  “Broken Ladders” speaks to one of the spiritual “land mines” in male spirituality.  Here is the refrain: “All you ever wanted was my heart/My heart, my simple heart/To You that’s all the really matters/Why do I feel I have to reach/Believe I have to rise/When you never said I had to climb/These broken ladders.”  Climbing broken ladders is an apt metaphor for men working on their personal “spiritual improvement projects”  measuring their spiritual progress through personal  “sin management.”   It is an impossible task.  Why do men keep climbing broken ladders?

We keep climbing and reaching because of broken hearts that we can’t fix.  Our work on sin management produces the frustration of broken ladders. God, first and foremost,  wants our hearts not our effort. It takes an “inside job” to fix what is broken. I heard of a very successful high school football coach, who had lead a double life, say he life was broken and he was not able to fix it.  Amen.

Men we are broken.  But the good news is that God is close to the brokenhearted. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Ps. 34:18).  He is able to heal what is broken. “He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds” (Ps. 147:3).  Isaiah prophesied of Jesus helping the brokenhearted. “He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released…” (Isaiah 61:1).  God is pleased with a broken spirit. “The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit.  God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart” (Ps 51:19).

It  is  humbling to  pray along with David as he acknowledges how broken he was after his affair with Bathsheba.  He is aware of his total dependence upon God’s mercy.  “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love.  Because of your great compassion blot out the stain of my sins. (Ps 51:1).  It is difficult for men to surrender totally to the mercy of God.  We think we have to fix something.  No, we come before God in brokenness and humility.

David had some  broken ladders.  “For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.  Against you, and you alone have I sinned.  I have done what is evil in your sight….For I was born a sinner – yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.” (Ps. 51:4a-5).  He could not fix himself.  No climbing broken ladders for David.  He knew that  only God can change his  heart. “Create in me a clean heart, O God.  Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me” ( Ps. 51:10-11).

David knew  healing started on the inside.  No amount of effort could fix his broken heart.  “Purify me from my sins and I will be clean, wash me, and I will be whiter than snow…….Don’t keep looking at my sins.  Remove the stain of my guilt” (Ps 51:7 & 9).  Remember the transformation of a man, begins as an “inside job.”  David had confidence in God’s inner work.  “Create in my a clean heart, O God.  Renew a loyal spirit within me.  Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me” (Ps. 51:10-11).  God’s inside work brought joy, giving David a  willing heart.   “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you” (Ps 51:12).

Instead of climbing broken ladders produced by a broken heart David found joy and willing heart.  There is a big difference between climbing broken ladders and finding the  joy of inner transformation.

I owe the poet Robert Bly a debt for the image of a wild man back in the early 90’s.  After reading “Iron John” I wanted to be a soulful man, even though I was frightened and insecure about the condition of my soul.   In the 80’s Bly observed, “Every modern male has, lying at the bottom of his psyche, a large primitive being covered with hair down to his feet.  Making contact with this Wildman is the step the 80’s male or the 90’s male has yet to take….  Contemporary  man looks down into his psyche, he may, if conditions are right, find under the water of his soul, lying in an area no one has visited for a long time, an ancient hairy man.” I was intrigued with what lay silent deep within my inner life..

I know I was a stranger in my own house.  In the words of Henry Nouwen, “We know little or nothing of our heart.  We keep our distance from it, as though we were afraid of it.  What is most intimate is also what frightens us most.  Where we are most ourselves, we are often strangers to ourselves.  We fail to know our hidden center….If we ask ourselves why we think, feel and act in a certain way, we often have no answer, thus proving to be strangers in our own house.” For the last 20 years I have attempted it live from my center. continual coming home to my authentic self in Christ.

The image of a ancient hairy man, awakened in me a hunger for which I had little guidance in satisfying at the time.   Richard Rohr’s “The Wildman journey” based on the journey of John the beloved and John the Baptist, depicting movement from the common masculine to the common feminine and back again to the deep masculine was very helpful. Leanne Payne’s call for the affirmed masculine to embrace the hidden feminine, helped me see the need for have  a balance between  being tough and tender.  John Eldridge gave me permission to embrace wild at heart, when he talked of “a fierce warrior who goes beyond his comfort zone, away from what he can control, and who fights for what right.”

For me the concept of being fully alive, fully awake and fully human through inner transformation speaks to encounter with the ancient hairy man.  John the Baptist preaching in the desert of Judea, dressed in camel’s hair, eating locust and wild honey, calling for repentance, echoes a call to be wild.  Matthew tells us, “John, called ‘the Baptizer,’ was preaching in the desert country of Judea.  His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: ‘Change your life, God’s kingdom is here.'” (Matt 3:1-2 – Message).  Later in Matthew Jesus compares John to Elijah. “……John is the ‘Elijah’ you’ve all been expecting to arrive and introduce the Messiah.” (Matt 11:14 – Message).

I wonder if the words spoken to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, regarding John,  might not be as true for us today, since it is the work of the same Holy Spirit.  “He will herald God’s arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics – he’ll get the people ready for God” (Luke 1:17).  I wonder, because of the confusion and profound distortion regarding the biblical pattern of male and female relationships, if God might not be raising up “Elijah” type men, who are preparing people ready for God, by being a little wild.   These will be men who are 1) soulful 2) subversive, 3) passionate, 4) countercultural  and 5) prophetic.

Men, I recently went to see Cars 3 with my bride and our oldest grandson.  I loved it!  I encourage every man reading this blog to take his kids to see this great animated movie.  Better yet go with your father, who, of course, is the grandfather of your kids.  The truth be told, I fell in love with Miss Fritter.  I would pay to see more of her dominating the demolition derby.  As a grandfather, who wants to pass it on to his grandkids, this movie has a surprisingly positive  plot.

In the movie, the central character, Lightening McQueen, is getting old.  His legacy is being threatened by the next generation of cars. Cruz Ramirez, the young female trainer assigned to McQueen is the new face of future racing.  But because of enhanced technology and data-driven training, McQueen doesn’t have a chance.  McQueen has to decide if he wants to  preserve his superstardom or keep racing  when it seems impossible to win.  Instead Lightening McQueen looks to the past, especially to his mentor, Doc Hudson to value how he was mentored.  Then he looks to the future racing career of Cruz Ramirez.

S.D. Kelly in a review for Christianity Today notes, “McQueen ends up transferring his outsized ambition and intense desire to continue to win races…to Cruz…..he does so without sublimating her own ambition and her own dreams of her career.  It is a lovely depiction of each generation bringing the best of themselves to their interaction….a depiction of legacy-building not often seen: the tricky part of transference.”  Transference can only happen when there is mutual respect.  Kelly gives this take on Cars 3, “McQueen understands this intuitively.  The lessons of history, of Doc Hudson and his generation, of McQueen and the citizens of Radiator Springs, can be passed on to Cruz and her generation of racecars…..only if this willingness to cede the dais is passed on as well.”

The idea of transference or the” passing on” to the  next generation is at the heart this blog.  When God’s people crossed over the Jordan river into the promised land, they placed a memorial of 12 stones in the river as a sign of God’s deliverance for the following generations.  God said to them, “In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jorden was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.  When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.  These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” (Joshua 4:7).   This blog is my humble attempt of  calling attention to the 12 stones, that is, the story of God’s deliverance for men as they go into the promised land, which is now occupied by the enemy.

Like Lightening McQueen I am getting older.  I am further along on the journey.  I have crossed over many years ago.  I have lived in the promised land.  But there is more to conquer and inherit.  The battles will be different for the next generation.  I appreciated the portrayal of Lightening,  passing on his legacy to Cruz.  It’s not about intergenerational disconnect, but rather honoring the ambition and desires of a new generation, while bring out the best of the past. .

I take to heart the words of Ps. 78:4, “We’re not keeping this to ourselves, we’re passing it along to the next generation – God’s fame and fortune, the marvelous things he has done.” Cars 3 has taught  me to honor the godly ambition and desires of younger men,  while sharing wisdom from someone who has been on the journey for a lot of years.

Since I live in the northwoods, I have little access to a good fitness center.  However, I have been fascinated by several articles about Crossfit and SoulCycle fitness centers.  Casper ter Kuile of  Harvard Divinity School has noticed how gyms are starting to fill spiritual and social needs for many nonreligious people.  With over four million users, the leaders of Crossfit, see themselves tending an orchard not building a skyscraper. “The two most strking things about Crossfitters,” observes ter Kuile, “are their evangelical enthusiasm and the way they hold one another to account.”  SoulCycle promotes a shared, transformative experience. Ter Kuile notes, “many participants joke about the cult-like loyalty……which illustrates both the depth of participant commitment and the hope…..to fulfill brand promises like ‘find our soul.'”

What’s going on here?  “As institutional affiliation decreases, people have the same age-old desires for connection, relationships, connection to something bigger than themselves,” maintains ter Kuile.  “….spaces traditionally meant for exercise have become the locations of shared, transformative experience.”  I personally am encouraged by this trend.  Many of the assumptions of Crossfit and SoulCycle mirror the wildman journey.  I want to point out five.

First, the need for relationship. These “boxes” have the feel of family. Men make connections with others. It is  a place of belonging and acceptance.   A recent survey of more than 2,ooo Americans conducted by the Harris Poll showed that almost three quarters (72%) of Americans experienced loneliness.  “Loneliness is ‘an invisible epidemic’ masked by people’s online personas, which rarely reflects real emotions” observed the report.  A Wildman needs a “band of brothers” knowing that “iron sharps iron.”  He can’t stand alone.

Second, the need for a safe space.  These gyms provide not only physical fitness but mental and spiritual transformation as well.  Fitness is a journey into wholeness, recognizing where one is on the path.  The gym provides a safe space to talk about the journey of life.  A Wildman  needs a safe space to talk about the challenges of the spiritual journey.  Men learn the “male mode of feeling”  with other men  in a safe place.

Third. the need of soul care.  It is amazing to me that  SoulCycle would use the phrase, “find your soul.”  There is an organization called “Faith RX’d” which combines CrossFit with Christianity.  They believe “God an be glorified when we honor him with best efforts in the gym, and even more when we discuss ways to grow in a relationship with him, share His gospel and serve the needs of others.” While secular language is used, the language mirrors many of the function of religious communities.  Above all, a Wildman is a soulful man, knowing he needs soul care.

Fourth, the desire  for transformation.  It is amazing to me how open these gyms are  about change and even transformation.  It is no longer just about physical fitness, but of life style change.  A Wildman is a work in progress.  He is being transformed from the inside out, by the spirit of God.  Transformation is God’s work.  There is the expectation that God can bring a change.

Fifth, the zeal  to promote.  One gym owner talked about his passion for his work.  “I want people to know that CrossFit truly is for everyone…. I want to put it all on the line and open an affiliate because I believe in every part of CrossFit and I want to share that with people.”  We live in a day when the Wildman journey is becoming one of the more viable means of resisting the darkness and spiritual chaos coming upon our nation. Wildmen are learning to stand in their true masculine strength.

A recent article in the New York Times tells the story of a 37-year-old social media consultant who wrote on Twitter her concern for a friend not communicating.  “I don’t hear from my friend for a day – my thought, they don’t want to be my friend anymore,” she wrote, appending the hashtag #ThisIsWhatAnxietyFeelsLike.  Soon thousands of people offered their own examples.  It stuck a nerve.  “If you’re a human being living in 2017 and you’re not anxious,” she said, “there’s something wrong with you.”  Notice the anxiety is about relationships.

The article went on to say, “anxiety is starting to seem like a sociological condition….a shared cultural experience ……. …. We’ve been at war since 2003, we’ve seen two recessions.  Just digital life alone has been a massive change.  And nobody seems to trust the people in charge to tell them where they fit into the future” (Kai Wright).  “People with anxiety were previously labeled dramatic,” said Sarah Fader, a Brooklyn social media consultant, “Now we are seen as human being with a legitimate mental health challenge.”

Men, we live in a barren waste land, giving us little help in knowing ourselves, allowing us to have  a healthy relationship with God and  others.  The anxiety discussed in the New York Times article points to a ” depleted self.”  There is no one home on the inside.   This is cause for real anxiety since we are made to have a relationship not only with  God and others, but also ourselves.   Kierkegaard defined faith relationally,  “That the self in being itself and in willing to be itself rest transparently in God.”  “Let me know thee, O God, and myself, that is all,” was the advise of Augustine.  In my opinion, contemplation is vital in dealing with relational anxiety.

We are created as relational beings, who are not able to handle our uniqueness.  Church Father, William of St. Thierry, reflecting on contemplation, asks, “Why, then, do we go outside of ourselves to seek God in external objects when all the while he is with us and in us, if we will only make it our preoccupation to be with Him and in Him?”  Contemplation calls us to pay attention to the center. In contemplation we become aware of God’s presence within.  “You don’t have to search for God, you have only to realize him…So do not go out so much into reflections…but close your eyes like a child and confide yourself to the hidden being who is so near to your inwardly (Tersteegen).” .

When the Psalmist prayed, “Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?” (Ps 42:5), he was aware of how his relationship with himself and God caused him anxiety.  The Message puts it this way, “Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?  Why are you crying the blues?  Fix my eyes on God – soon I’ll be praising again.”  Fixing our eyes on the Lord is the key to contemplation.

Men, in the days to come you will be tugged two and fro by the conflicting voices in our culture telling you what a man should be  and how he should conduct himself before others.  If you are not sure of who you are, producing  insecurity in your relationship to your heavenly Father, you will be anxious.   Paul reminds us, “For God, who said,’Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (II Cor 4:6).  The darkness of relational anxiety is removed by the light of  Jesus’ presence in our hearts.

Recently at the conclusion of a Sunday morning service in our church I closed the service with prayer.  I had a picture of  people  standing by a door, wondering if they should cross the threshold.  Thresholds can be  important markers, helping us  interpret our progress on the  spiritual journey.  John O’Donohue asks,  “At which threshold am I now standing?  At this time in my life, what am I leaving?  Where am I about to enter?  What is preventing me from crossing my next threshold?  ……  A threshold is not a simple boundary; it is a frontier that divides two different territories, rhythms, and atmospheres?”  There comes a time in a man’s journey, when He must face to need to embrace the feminine compliment  of his masculine soul  – intuition, feeling, meaning and response.

In a poem entitled  “At the Threshold of manhood,” O’Donohue challenges men to “receive your manhood with grace and mindful ease.”   “May you awaken confidently to the feminine within you, and learn to integrate the beauty of intuition and feeling so that your sensitivity kindles and your heart is trusted.  That you may slowly grow to trust the silence of the masculine as the home of your stillness.”  He ends with, “Beyond your work and action, remain faithful to your heart, for you to deepen and grow into a man of dignity and nobility.”  These words speak to the need for men to embrace their tender side.  Remember a wild man is both tough and tender.

Recently I read about Warrior Week, a boot camp for men, who participated in, ” a regimen of physical torture and mental preparation that involves being punched in the face, hiking while holding logs, and reciting the poem ‘Invictus.”  This in not the kind of  threshold experience most men need  to become a better men.   It only  reinforces the “Rambo” image, the tough side of the masculine.   But it can be appealing when men feel emasculated, being told, for example,  after the recent London terror attack, “more sorrow and grief at the hands of madmen in London.  Men and religion are worthless.”

I worry about two responses from men: The passive depressed state of a soft male or the angry mucho man. This blog is committed to helping men not only know the true masculine, but the  balance of the complimentary feminine.  Each man will have a unique integration  of both.   Richard Rohr has observed that men are easily identified because they live in the control tower of their minds. My burden is in helping men cross over the threshold so as to embrace the feminine.  Men are reluctant to do so because it means surrendering control and not being about to rationally understand.

The poem challenges us to “slowing grow  to trust the silence of the masculine as the home of your stillness.”  Beneath our hurried, insecure masculine consciousness, which tries so hard to make sense of true maleness in our present culture, there is a deeper self,  the mystery of Christ hidden within us (Col 1:27).  We are challenged by O’Donohue to, “remain faithful to your heart, for you to deepen and grow into a man of dignity and nobility.”

Being faithful to our hearts, becomes a matter of listening and being attentive to how the Lord desires to form us.  We learn to move beyond the circumference of life to the center.  We have few male mentors who point us to the center.  Men, don’t let either the radical feminist or the angry male voice determine the contours of our soul.  Find wholeness with Jesus, in quietness and rest (Is. 30:15).  Let Jesus form you are as a man.

Be warned men, you will be afflicted by  the “Noonday Devil” on your journey to wholeness in Christ.  This is the term given to the sin of spiritual sloth and  discouragement, known as” acedia.”   The desert fathers of the fourth century called acedia, the noonday devil –  “destruction that wastes at noonday” (Ps. 91:6), because during the hottest part of the day, the monks would  be tempted  give up on the work of the spirit, leave the desert and return their former way of  life. Through painful introspection, the monks would criticize themselves for not being fit for the journey.  The noonday devil would then attack them with acedia, the distain and distaste for the rigors of the spiritual journey due to spiritual warfare.

Today it can be seen in Christian men, who seem to drop out of the race, lack commitment and energy, become careless,  while displaying a passive indifference to the way of Jesus. Some even become passive aggressive.   Their self talk becomes focused on not being worthy or spiritual enough, simply feeling as though they can’t measure up to the standard they feel is the norm for a man of God. These men become  spiritual causality in the spiritual battle that is getting more intense in our day.  They are the “wounded soldiers” that need to be rescued from the noonday devil, who is intent on taken out a lot of sincere men who don’t understand the subtle way of the Devil.  “The Devil is poised to pounce and would like nothing more better than to catch you napping” (I Peter 5:8) – Message).

“The other demons are like the rising or setting sun in that they are found in only a part of the soul,” observed Eavgrius, one the early leaders of the monastic movement. But, “The noonday demon….. is accustomed to embrace the entire soul and oppress the spirit.” The combination of sadness and lethargy cause acedia to be expressed  as despair, crippling the spiritual energy of a man.   It is like a spiritual blanket of darkness that falls over the soul.

Years ago, Fernando Ortega recorded  a song entitled, “Noonday Devil.”  As I  listened for the first time, being under attack by the noonday devil, I was despondent with my spiritual progress. I was turned in on myself, deep in the “disease of introspection,” feeling sorry for myself as a husband, father and pastor.  I could feel myself losing energy for the journey, while beating myself up because of my indifference.  The words, “In my hour of hopelessness/In my deep despair/The noonday devil whispers in my ear” spoke to my condition.

But it has been only years later that I came to understand the meaning of the refrain, “Oh Lord, make me angry/ Oh Lord, make me cry/Oh, Lord break my cold, dark heart/So I can know your love inside/ Your love inside.”  I now see the refrain was encouraging me to be honest.  I was angry and I wanted to cry.  But I could not admit I had a cold heart.  The key over the years has been the discovering of the love of God in my own heart.  I have come to realize,”There is nothing to ‘get’ in the spiritual life because I already have it.  I simply need to become aware of what I already have”( Albert Haase) and  “Things are not what they seem to be” (Haase).

Men the words of the Psalmist can be very helpful when battling with the noonday devil.  “Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Ps 27:8).  It is not your spiritual heroics that will get you through, but rather your awareness, trust and surrender to the loving presence of God within ( Rom 5:5).

I am preparing a sermon on Habakkuk.   Eugene Peterson says this  about Habakkuk. “That God-followers don’t get preferential treatment in life always comes as a surprise.  But it’s also a surprise to find that there are few men and women within the Bible who show up alongside us as such moments….Most prophets, most of the time, speak God’s Word to us………[But] Habakkuk speaks our word to God……The prophet realized that God was going to use the godless military machine of Babylon to bring God’s judgment on God’s own people….It didn’t make sense and Habakkuk was quick and bold to say so.”

So what can we learn from Habakkuk.  First, its OK to bring your complaints to God.  “How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do no listen?” (Hab. 1:2)      The prophet had been praying for some time about the unjust, violent conditions in Judah.  He brought his complaints to God, rather then complaining about the cultural conditions.  Men, don’t  vent before others about how difficult life has become,  rather bring your grievances to the Lord.  Do your grieving in secret before the Lord.

Secondly,  God’s answer.  “Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed…..I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own.” (1:5-6).  Babylon was not yet a super power, but God was preparing them to bring judgment on his people.  Men, don’t allow  preconceived notions of God, prevent you from seeing what God is doing in the earth.  He is not inactive, but is in control of human events. Be attentive to his voice, then secondarily to the latest new cycle.

Thirdly, Habakkuk’s response.  He did not understand, but he trusted God.  “O Lord, are you not from everlasting?  My God, my Holy One, we will not die” (1:12).  He was ready to face the crisis, even though he was perplexed.  He would wait. “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint” (2:1).  Men, our most important activity in these trying days is  watchful prayer, helping us to respond in a godly manner.

Fourthly, God’s command.  God asks Habakkuk to write down His answer so other understand that justice will prevail.  “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it….Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay” (2:2-3).  God helped Habakkuk to see the difference between the ungodly and the faithful.  “Look at that man, bloated by self-importance – full of himself but soul-empty.  But the person in right standing before God through loyal and steady believing is fully alive, really alive” (2:2 – Message).  Through a  series of five woes, God shows how judgment will come.  Men, justice will prevail for those in right standing before God.

Fifthly, Habakkuk’s prayer.  Habakkuk started asking God to  “do something” and ends up praying for God to show mercy.  “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord.  Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” (3:2).  He trusted in God.
“Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us” (3:16b), while he was praising God, “yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (3:19).  Men, in the midst of the cultural chaos, cry out for mercy as you worship God.  It will change our perspective.