Enthusiastic?

Enthusiasm without knowledge is not good; impatience will get you into trouble. Some people ruin themselves by their own stupid actions and then blame the Lord. Do yourself a favor and learn all you can; then remember what you learn, and you will prosper. (Proverbs 18:2-3, 8)

Zeal without knowledge may just lead to you and I acting a little too quickly on occasion. Act too quickly and we may just charge ahead when it would have been wiser to stay behind. Zeal is the energy we put into the pursuit of anything or anyone. Too much can get in the way because it messes with God's timing. Too little can get be just as difficult to manage because it makes it difficult to be in the right place at the right time with the right resources in hand. Whenever we move into areas where we do not have personal experience (first-hand knowledge), we might do so with great enthusiasm, but what happens when our movements are just 'enthusiastic'? We don't do very well. 

Knowledge is designed to be shared, but until it becomes personal, it is of very little value to the one exposed to it. If you build Legos for a living and make all those instruction books included in the box of building blocks, you likely have first-hand experience with those designs. Until we follow the specific diagrams and examples given, we don't have either. We can only envision what our pile of blocks will look like, but if we plunge ahead without following those instructions to the letter, the instructions were just paper in the box. They were included in full color and nicely organized for our understanding - our impatience to get from a pile of blocks to a finished airplane did not produce an airplane even remotely resembling what the designer had in mind. We need to apply the knowledge we are provided.

We move into territory all the time where we have very little personal knowledge - creating many an opportunity for us to be exposed to things we'd never imagined possible in the journey. Moving without knowledge might be considered faith to some, but even faith is based on some truth. We have an element of knowledge we hang our hats on and then take the first steps forward. Beware - any steps taken without applying even the minimal knowledge we have been given may just lead to a whole lot more "exposure" than we'd like. God wants us to have passion in our pursuit of right living, but he also wants us to exercise wisdom in that pursuit.

To wrestle with an unfamiliar enemy without any knowledge of that enemy would spell disaster for anyone attempting to do so. People ruin their lives, not so much because they intend to, but because they come up against all kinds of unfamiliar enemies and have no idea how to deal with them. We might call this foolishness in action, but in reality, we have all been there. What is unfortunate is when we blame God for our failure in these battles instead of seeing the folly in our having plunged ahead without any knowledge for the battle ahead. Truth is, we are often given at least one or more warnings before heading into these battles - we just don't pay attention to them. If we'd learn to listen to the warning(s), we might just avoid the missteps. Just sayin!

Don't hide your zeal!

Zeal:  Enthusiastic diligence; eager desire; fervor.  There are two synonyms for this word - passion and intensity.  Anything which is done with great "fervor" is done with great intensity - there is a robustness to the action.  Maybe this is why God looks for a people who will have great zeal - he desires a robustness of relationship!  

For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with God), and His ears are attentive to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who practice evil [to oppose them, to frustrate, and defeat them].  Now who is there to hurt you if you are zealous followers of that which is good?  But even in case you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, [you are] blessed (happy, to be envied). Do not dread or be afraid of their threats, nor be disturbed [by their opposition].  (I Peter 3:12-14 AMP)

Thomas Fuller penned the words:  "Zeal without knowledge is fire without light."  Chew on that one a little.  Desire, enthusiasm, and intensity are one thing - to have them rightly directed so they produce something of the greatest value is another!  Thomas Fuller also wrote, "All things are difficult before they are easy."  If you don't know who Thomas Fuller was, look him up.  He was an English churchman and an author - entering college at the age of thirteen.  He wrote a book entitled "Good Thoughts in Bad Times", a book of prayers and meditations.  Maybe some of his writings got him into a little trouble, as he told things as they were, but he had some good thoughts which I honestly believe he gleaned from bad times!

He also penned the words, "A good garden may have some weeds."  This should give each of us a moment of hope!  We all desire to be fruitful gardens, profitable in every way.  Yet, we struggle with "weeds" which seem to interfere with our "good growth" on occasion, don't we?  I think Thomas had come to realize the weeds are common - the fruit requires the skilled hand of the gardener!  Weeds will grow wherever there is prepared soil - it is just part of the growth process.  It is God's intention for us to allow him the privilege of "weeding" in our gardens!

As we wrap up our 28-day journey through the character traits of God's kids, let's not forget this final trait of zeal.  God exercises great zeal over our lives.  In turn, he asks but one thing for us - be eager to embrace the work he is doing.  In our eagerness to embrace his inner work, we will soon begin to reveal the intensity of this work to those who live around us.  Intensity is something which cannot be contained.  It is like a brilliant light - it cannot be held back - it must invade the darkness.  

Peter's words to us are full of instruction and hope:

* When we embrace "right-living" (righteousness), God's eyes are upon us.  As one who needs a whole lot of "watching" in order to stay the course, I take heart in this promise!  I need to be "watched" - how about you?  

* His words are full of instruction - but a listening ear is paramount to hearing!  It is one thing to be spoken to - it is another to take action upon what has been revealed.  Zeal without knowledge is like fire without light - God enjoys our zeal, but he also wants us to have knowledge about what it is he would have us do with all that zeal!  Getting to know his Word, and listening for his voice, will ensure we don't go off "half-cocked" in our zeal.

* Being zealous for the good things in life will not keep us from problems - it just keeps us from harm!  Bad things happen to good people, don't they?  So how can I say God keeps us from harm?  Think on this one a little - God never forsakes us.  To forsake means to abandon, to quit or leave entirely.  His presence is with us, even in bad times.  His grace is what preserves us in the midst of stupid and ugly stuff.  We may quit God, but it is impossible for him to quit us!  This is counter to his character.  So, even in the midst of the problems, he is watchful over us.  

Passion, intensity, earnest desire - these sum up the "drive" behind all the other character traits.  One who seeks with intensity will not have his seeking unrewarded!  Zeal is evidence of the Gardener at work in the garden of your life.  The weeds may still grow up alongside the "good stuff", but he is actively weeding them away.  All he asks from us is the willingness to allow him access.  Do you grow brilliantly beautiful flowers to keep them hidden away from view?  Nope!  So, don't you think God will put on display the brilliance of his care in our lives?  How?  In the beauty of these character traits!  His touch becomes the change agent - his continual care becomes the growth agent - his light becomes the transforming agent.  Truth be told, we need all three.  Just sayin!