Exodus 40:1-16
This has been a very interesting summer.
First of all, I've had a bit more income, but it keeps finding ways to fly very rapidly out the door. Yesterday it was a long-overdue vet appointment for one of my two elderly cats. Her thyroid levels are off the charts, but at least now I know what's wrong and how to treat it. The day before, it was another car repair -- phase two of an unexpected brake repair I had done in July. ...You already know about the plumbing thing (if not, it's best not to ask). There's more, but I'd rather not think about it.
That's part of what has made it an interesting summer. Other things have happened that rushed in like raging floodwaters, leaving me watching helplessly as people I care about struggled with deep issues I couldn't resolve.
I've had a lot of work to do, and didn't keep up with all of it, so I am now sprinting. This happened partly because of the above distractions and partly because I've never learned to work systematically. Distractions too easily disrupt the days, which wasn't a big deal when I was younger. I did my most focused work in the evenings and in the wee hours of the morning. Now, well. I'm old. I'm having to learn a new way.
If you're waiting to see what this has to do with Exodus, here goes:
Recently I've done a lot of quoting of Oswald Chambers. This is because the Lord has been doing surgery in me. Come to think of it, I doubt anyone regularly visits My Utmost for His Highest for a lark. The Lord likes to use it as a surgical tool. This speaks volumes to me about Oswald Chambers' credibility as a completely yielded vessel of the Master.
One of the statements I quoted recently is this, from the August 6 My Utmost devotional:
"When prayer seems to be unanswered, beware of trying to fix the blame on someone else. ...You will find there is a reason which is a deep instruction to you, not to anyone else."
Yes, this is the essence of the surgery. The Lord wants to be released as fully God into every minute of my day. This means I have to stop letting distractions throw me off-course; but how? Quite simply, by unquestioning obedience and childlike trust. The power of God is released into my life as I obey and trust Him. I surrender, He directs me, I listen, and it works. Not perfectly yet, but I'm beginning to learn.
The other morning, God dropped me abruptly into Exodus 40. At first I thought I was at the wrong address, but then I saw this (verses 12-15):
“...Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. You shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest to Me. You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them; and you shall anoint them even as you have anointed their father, that they may minister as priests to Me; and their anointing will qualify them for a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”
Now here's the thing about me. I can know intellectually that something is the right thing to do, but it's only when I begin to do that thing for love that I will take hold of it with all my heart, mind, and soul. This passage was to me like the other shoe finally dropping. What is God's ultimate purpose in having me walk in His way? Yes, He is God, so it's necessary. But at the very heart of it is His own heart. It's not only about having me learn obedience and trust. It's not only about getting me to do what He wants me to do. It's about bringing me surrendered before His lovely heart.
He brings us to the doorway of His kingdom and washes us with the blood of Jesus; He places Jesus' holy garments on us; He anoints us and consecrates us... that we may minister as priests to Him. Our anointing will qualify us as a perpetual priesthood throughout all eternity. We have been chosen not only to be cleansed and made whole, but to forever minister to Him.
This insight has put wings on my desire to obey and trust Him. Yes, I must obey and trust Him simply because He is God. But knowing that this obedience and trust minister to Him has turned my will to do what He asks of me into a joyful dance.