We want the I AM to instruct us

The Lord, the Savior, the Holy One of Israel, says, “I am the Lord your God. I teach you for your own good. I lead you in the way you should go. (Isaiah 48:17)

I teach you for your own good - if we are honest here, we all need a little more of his 'instruction' than we have embraced! We might be 'hearing' his teachings, but are we allowing those words to have a deep and meaningful effect in our lives? It isn't just some random preacher teaching us - it is the "I AM". The self-sufficient, self-sustaining God - the one who was and who always is - he is the one doing the teaching. Are we listening?

"I AM" is the Lord our God. He sustains us when we don't have the wherewithal to sustain ourselves. He is the one who is not dependent upon anyone else - he has been, will always be, and is right now. All manner of 'distraction' exists for us - things or individuals we might want to elevate to the place of a 'god' in our lives, but they can never boast that they have been, will always be, or are right now what they have always been. Any other source of 'leadership' in our lives will never measure up to his!

When God declares "I AM", he is declaring himself as one who desires to be known - to be in relationship with those he created. No wonder he tells us he is the one who teaches us for 'our own good'. Who would know best what we need in our lives than the one who created that life? Teaching begins with hearing the one who is instructing, but it continues when we are led in the way that teaching leads. The 'way we should go' is sometimes not as clear to us as it should be, but the "I AM" is teaching, so we only need to listen!

"I AM" is the one who is our God. We might not realize his instruction is actually happening in our lives, but he uses every opportunity to reveal something about himself we need to realize. He also uses those same opportunities to reveal something about OURSELVES that we need to realize. Whatever he reveals is worth our attention. We are often set free when we finally see what we have worked so hard to ignore or cover up within ourselves. Who better to reveal those things than the "I AM"? Just askin!

Contents revealed

Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. (Psalm 85:11)

Teaching involves the impartation of knowledge held by one to another. Whenever we ask God to teach us his ways, we are asking for the impartation of the mind of Christ. We want God to prepare us for the day's tasks - demonstrating to us how it is we are to respond to the challenges of the day. Critics of 'the religious life' will say we are asking to be 'brainwashed'. Those into spiritualism will say we are asking for 'enlightenment'. Neither is true - we are asking for God to show us his will, demonstrate how we live within that will, and to keep us safe from the attacks of all manner of untruth that comes our way.

When God grants us wisdom (the ability to apply the knowledge we have received), he does so in order to purify our hearts. His goal is to rid us of all the things that stand in the way of our total communion with him. Purity of heart is not accomplished through rituals of religion, but by the connection of relationship. God's desire for us is open fellowship. That requires trust and trust is based upon truthfulness. God shares his truth in Christ Jesus - we are asked to share our truth. As we do, we find where our heart begins to be changed. Things we held onto so closely (like our secret sins) don't seem to have the same appeal. Why? God is bringing purity into the place where pride, lust, anger, bitterness, and every manner of hurt or hang-up had existed. 

Don't ask God to purify your heart unless you mean it, though. You might be surprised at what he reveals to you that needs to be confessed, forsaken, and forever replaced in your thoughts, emotions, or even your actions. We will be asked to stop hiding what or who we are, come clean on matters we might have wanted to avoid entirely, and then allow God to replace those things with all that brings honor and glory to his name. When we begin to put God first in our lives, we might just find we go through more frequent explorations of the 'content' of our hearts. Why? God wants the best for each of us and his best is always accomplished where his Spirit dwells. His Spirit dwells in a 'clean and pure' heart! Just sayin!

Was I hungry last night?

I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. (Psalm 16:7-8)

We make a choice each day - will we enthrone Jesus in our lives, or will we take the reins and do things our way. We also choose if we will 'bless the Lord' by those actions. Do we just praise God for the things he has done in our lives, or do we choose to bless him no matter what comes our way? Tough question, I know, because to bless and exalt him for the 'good stuff' is a whole lot easier than to bless him in the midst of trying circumstances outside of our control. 

Guided and instructed - this is the reason for our exaltation. We are guided in the good and the unpleasant. We are instructed (taught) in the celebrations as much as in the trials and tribulations of life. His counsel (teaching) comes to us in the Word of God, but it is 'recalled' and 'cemented' in our lives through the action of the Holy Spirit who resides within us. He not only confirms our course, but he corrects it whenever necessary. It is indeed a good thing to celebrate this 'oversight' in our lives because we don't always do such a bang-up job with choices.

What is this 'at night my heart instructs me' thing our psalmist is speaking to in this passage? I have told you repeatedly how 'fickle' and 'unreliable' our hearts can be at times - choosing to follow the whim of our emotions rather than the sound reasoning God brings to our conscience. God gave us a conscience because he knew we would struggle with our emotions maybe more than we might actually like to admit. In the wee hours of the night, have you ever felt like your 'decisions' were kind of 'brought into the balance'? I have and I know it is the work of the Holy Spirit, interacting with my conscience - not to make me feel bad, but to help me see where my steps were a little bit disordered.

In the night hours, God speaks deep into our spirit through our conscience. Even when our 'unconscious' seems to be in control (dreamland), God's Spirit is hard at work within - teaching, bringing to mind wise choices, recalling scripture, impressing good things in our mind. Ever wake up with a scripture in mind, or feel like your spirit was just way more 'renewed' than when you went to bed? It is because God's Spirit did not abandon us to our own devices while we slept! When we take in the Word of God, our conscience will be fed the right stuff, even when we don't know we are 'feeding' upon that Word. 

If we want to be closer to God, we must begin to feed ourselves the things that will sustain us, even when we aren't aware we need to be 'fed'. Just sayin!

Ideas need motivation

God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. (I Corinthians 2:9)

Why do we study the Word of God? Isn't it because we want to get to know Jesus just a little bit better each day? We want to go 'deeper' in our relationship - not content to remain superficial in our devotion or dedication. We truly want to be disciples - ones who are taught and then who follow what it is they are taught. As I have said on numerous occasions, just being taught is one thing - actually following what we are taught is another. 

A disciple is more than a 'learner', though. A disciple is also a worshiper, servant to others, and one who is able to give witness to what God has done in their lives. We study to learn how God moves, what he desires of us, how he wants to use us, and even how to reveal his grace to others through our lives. We learn 'things about' God, but we also learn to 'experience' the heart of God. If you have ever had scripture move you to the point of tears, you probably have experienced the heart of God just a bit in that moment.

We don't find God's wisdom at some superficial level - we only find it when we dig a bit deeper ourselves. Why does God require us to 'dig in'? There is something in that investment of time, energy, and attention that happens deep within us. We begin to sense how the grace of God is changing something within - bringing us to the point of worshipers and witnesses. We are more than students (learners) at that point. We begin to be disciples of men - as Jesus put it to those he called all those years ago - we begin to be 'fishers of men'. 

Seeking hearts find deep satisfaction at the feet of Jesus. How many times have you desired something, but didn't know just what it was you wanted or needed? I can sit for periods of time knowing I desire to do something, but I am not sure what it is I should be doing. I have ideas, but I don't have the specific motivation to do something that matches those desires. It is in times of 'discipleship training' where we see our 'ideas' and 'motivations' begin to match up. We begin to walk out what we are taught. Don't forsake those times of deep searching - they are the times when God is taking your learning and turning it into movement. Just sayin!