Mountains out of molehills
I was listening to a song on the way to work yesterday. In the verse, a thought crossed my mind which I took as a seed thought for our study today. The basics of the song inferred we stand on mountains of shame. Dare I say we do this more than we may actually realize?
When wickedness arrives, shame's not far behind; contempt for life is contemptible. (Proverbs 18:3 The Message)
Have you ever heard the saying, "You are making mountains out of molehills"? In the purest sense, this describes our tendency to respond "disproportionately" to something. We all have a tendency to exaggerate a situation once in a while. Yet, as it comes to our shame over misdeeds, I think we start out standing on a molehill and before long it advances to a mountain.
We don't have moles in my neck of the woods, but we do have prairie dogs. Those tiny mounds of dirt they push up as they burrow into the ground are certainly not very "ominous" in appearance. Yet, if you are the ground hog, those very small mounds of dirt serve some purpose.
First, they provide a barrier against the forces which would seek to invade their burrows, such as rain water. They act as small "dams" to keep out the waters. Second, they provide a vantage point for them to spy out their territory. As they perch on the top of one of these mounds, they can scout all around. Only problem - their view is limited to this very "low" perspective. There are all kinds of "overhead" viewpoints which clearly expose us. Lastly, they provide something to hide behind. They can barely peak over the top and begin to "sense" if there is safety in the immediate area. They can quickly retreat back into their hole if a threat is sensed.
Now, how do prairie dog holes refer to shame in our lives? Well, rain comes in our lives in the form of "healing" and "cleansing" rain - direct from the throne of God. We will call this "grace rain". If we build dams against the "grace rain" we never really expose ourselves to the very thing which will cleanse us! The barriers we place between us and God in the form of our walls of shame actually serve to keep us from receiving the very thing which he provides for our healing.
We also think we have a good view of our sinfulness - seeing our shame as this huge mound of guilt we stand upon. Problem is, we don't have as good of a vantage point as we think we do! God sees our shame as molehills - we see it as mountains! Silly us! Our shame looks like an impossibility to overcome - we have worked so hard to get those walls built, after all!
Last, but not least, we hide so cleverly behind those mounds! We think they cover us from view, but guess what - - it is hard to hide behind a molehill! Try it - - you will find you have very little "cover" in the scheme of the Almighty's vantage point. There is nothing which covers sin like the blood of Jesus. Whatever "cover" we try on our own will be futile.
Just thoughts about molehills and mountains today. What you do with the molehill determines if you will stand upon true mountains!
When wickedness arrives, shame's not far behind; contempt for life is contemptible. (Proverbs 18:3 The Message)
Have you ever heard the saying, "You are making mountains out of molehills"? In the purest sense, this describes our tendency to respond "disproportionately" to something. We all have a tendency to exaggerate a situation once in a while. Yet, as it comes to our shame over misdeeds, I think we start out standing on a molehill and before long it advances to a mountain.
We don't have moles in my neck of the woods, but we do have prairie dogs. Those tiny mounds of dirt they push up as they burrow into the ground are certainly not very "ominous" in appearance. Yet, if you are the ground hog, those very small mounds of dirt serve some purpose.
First, they provide a barrier against the forces which would seek to invade their burrows, such as rain water. They act as small "dams" to keep out the waters. Second, they provide a vantage point for them to spy out their territory. As they perch on the top of one of these mounds, they can scout all around. Only problem - their view is limited to this very "low" perspective. There are all kinds of "overhead" viewpoints which clearly expose us. Lastly, they provide something to hide behind. They can barely peak over the top and begin to "sense" if there is safety in the immediate area. They can quickly retreat back into their hole if a threat is sensed.
Now, how do prairie dog holes refer to shame in our lives? Well, rain comes in our lives in the form of "healing" and "cleansing" rain - direct from the throne of God. We will call this "grace rain". If we build dams against the "grace rain" we never really expose ourselves to the very thing which will cleanse us! The barriers we place between us and God in the form of our walls of shame actually serve to keep us from receiving the very thing which he provides for our healing.
We also think we have a good view of our sinfulness - seeing our shame as this huge mound of guilt we stand upon. Problem is, we don't have as good of a vantage point as we think we do! God sees our shame as molehills - we see it as mountains! Silly us! Our shame looks like an impossibility to overcome - we have worked so hard to get those walls built, after all!
Last, but not least, we hide so cleverly behind those mounds! We think they cover us from view, but guess what - - it is hard to hide behind a molehill! Try it - - you will find you have very little "cover" in the scheme of the Almighty's vantage point. There is nothing which covers sin like the blood of Jesus. Whatever "cover" we try on our own will be futile.
Just thoughts about molehills and mountains today. What you do with the molehill determines if you will stand upon true mountains!
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