Times of Perplexity

~~[i]~~And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;[/i] Eph 4:23

~~[i]~~Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.[/i] 1Pe 4:19

We know some things.

The refrain keeps pulling itself up into the conscience. This undergirding of spiritual understanding that despite everything seen, recollected, challenged, ~~[i]~~felt[/i] keeps defying the pull and drag of this worlds life. It is of the same substance I suppose of that which kept Job defiant until the end; ~~[i]~~Yet will I trust Him, though He slay me[/i].

~~[i]~~And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.[/i] Mat 26:39

Find it exceedingly difficult to draw too much by way of comparison from these tremendous incidents, these historical, monumental, space and time altering moments. More inclined to see present difficulties as but ~~[i]~~light afflictions[/i] difficult as they may be. If it is just the kernel of shared anguish how much more the possibility of full bloom? In other words, certainly it could be far worse and that is a very good recognition to keep before us.

But there are times of perplexity, seasons it seems, where the Lord will allow His own to be set off into suffering without any explanation nor with any particular comfort. The praying turns difficult if not impossible. One feels barred on the left and on the right. All doors of answer are closed. Even the slight manifest presence as I am wont to call it all but taken away.

But, we know some things.

Not cheap things or imagined notions, but deeply in-grated truths, understandings. The Lord has not left us, ultimately, but it may feel that way. There is the paradox that simultaneously longs to be delivered from the perplexity and yet recognizes the necessity of allowing it's penetrating work. It can and often is just pure ~~[i]~~anguish[/i]. What is the trouble? Non-descript and consisting of many things it may seem. No one solitary item. Those of us attuned enough to the great exposure that is wrought by capitulating to the Lords dealing first search our own souls for those sins that lie hidden, those omissions and admissions, those subtle signs of pride and compulsions of the flesh. Knowing some things and recognizing that even this is not enough for we know something of ourselves and the trickery we are capable of, we seek the Lords searching, that madness of honesty that must have what it knows will be costly. Do it anyway! The soul cries, all things, and every thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, no stone left unturned. That soul embraces repentance as pure love and knows also that failure on these lines is what grieves both the heart and the Holy Spirit that measures and extracts all things contrary to the will of God. So we submit ourselves to the great Surgeons scalpel, endure the painful extractions, defy the fleshly aberrations and it's uncanny ability to trump over that which we long for (Romans 7:15) and do that one thing that we have conditioned ourselves against;

Suffering.

This world has no true friendship with suffering and is built by and large on it's complete avoidance. Entertainment with it's own place and small measure of weight is over exaggerated and has become even the great snare of the church in this day. It is to treat most everything lightly by it's inherent distraction. And lightness is needed lest we become too overwhelmed with excessive sorrow. The problem that many of us recognize is that it has become a replacement, has risen too high up in the order of import, been granted an unchallenged status that only is met with rebuttals of extremes, defenses and taunts of legalism. To give it an inch here seems ill-advised in a world distracted to the point of escapism, for many, to pull the electrical umbilical cord would be a suffering in itself.

But, we know some things.

We know that the truth of the matter is that we cannot sit still in the fire of infliction even if in that knowledge somehow we perceive that this is indeed a suffering according to the will of God. We stop just short of the committing of the keeping of our souls to Him and continue on with well doing despite it all. We would just as soon bemoan and receive our award by letting everyone know of our 'fasting', if it has reached that point, by disfiguring our faces, subtly drawing attention and\\or sympathy to our plight. This may be as unforced and unrecognized as it is unintended. Certainly it is natural to be relieved of discomfort, to desire empathy and freedom from distress. What are we to yet do with the Lords cry?;

~~[i]~~ O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me[/i]

But we are not natural people any longer and therefore answer in like fashion, "nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt".

So what is there to derive from the benefit's of suffering? Everything. Heard it said recently that nothing in this life of Christ is really of any worth that has not been born of some measure of suffering. What proves us more than all the admonishments to do the exact opposite of what the flesh desires. To not retaliate even if it be an evil perpetrated against us? To love our enemies? To be misunderstood and even go further and allow the misunderstandings to be left alone, to suffer that. Bitterness, pride, resentfulness and retaliation having no place in our makeup, the end only forgiveness at the ready. To be purposefully forgetful of any measure due our wounded psyche.

As He walked

~~[i]~~He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.[/i] 1Jn 2:6

Pardon the interruption as coming back to this some many days later now there has been an interruption and a great gleaning of thinking. How foolish we can be and how foolish and stupid this one is. Get the tense of this. Am not speaking of some self effacing, poor creature, esteem tweaking malady. The colossal blunders of the natural man and his mere man notions. The flesh ~~[i]~~is[/i] enmity against God.

~~[i]~~Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?[/i] Gal 3:3

Ever grow weary of that inner voice that is saying "~~[i]~~Oh, I just don't know![/i]"? Well, there is that along with that which we do in fact know. Some things. But then comes the capitulation ... the ~~[i]~~wrong[/i] way. ~~[i]~~Having begun ... by the flesh[/i]. They are antagonistic forces, incompatible, at odds with one another. We grow impatient waiting on the Lord and take matters into our own hands. The fire of the furnace too much, the battle too costly, the answers too slow, we seem to be ignored, offended, set off as insignificant and we revolt. (~~[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=3196&forum=34#24727]~~Blessedness of the Unoffended[/url]).

So how did Jesus walk? The thoughts reel back to the seeming frustration of the Lord, which are quite a bit different than our exasperations;

~~[i]~~ For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.[/i] Mat 13:15

Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?
O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

~~[i]~~Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?[/i] Mat 16:8

~~[i]~~ Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief:[/i] Mat 17:15-20

As usual, the thought's are trying to make expression in 20 different fashions at the same time, a bit more of this free course and see if I am capable of tying it all together somehow. Was struck by something here that has logged itself as such an eminent truth;

~~[i]~~Over a period of some years I was a frequent visitor in the home of a leading theological bookseller in the United Kingdom whom I had taken to be a very placid man. Then one day he called me indicating he was going to visit the United States and would like to spend some time with us in our home. We were delighted to be a part of his American itinerary. Upon my next visit to his home in England, I inquired concerning his impressions of this first visit to America. I was astonished at the vehemence of his response. In no uncertain terms he declared his great disappointment in not hearing a single preacher in American, albeit he had visited numerous churches in widely scattered areas. While he acknowledged hearing many teachers, he adamantly insisted he had not heard a single preacher. When I quietly asked, 'What, in your opinion, is the difference between teaching and preaching?' I was amazed at the vigor with which he insisted, 'It is not a matter of my opinion! It is a well established fact! To teach is to inform! To preach is to move! I heard all kinds of teaching in America but I was never moved from where I am to where I ought to be!' [/i] ~~[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?viewmode=flat&order=0&topic_id=15688&forum=34&post_id=&refresh=Go]~~Richard Owen Roberts[/url]

~~[i]~~Moved[/i]. Seems that even all this can be nothing more than a study in futility if the result is just more information or that of a nodding of the head, agreement\\disagreement, a force for more chatter and opinion making, conversation. Why are we not more jostled into ... ~~[i]~~movement[/i]? The great factors and spiritual substance that is taken in, does it lay just dormant somewhere, free floating in these days of information overload, contending with a thousand other pressing concerns? That great expression, ~~[i]~~~~[b]~~"O"[/b][/i]. How much meaning and definition from that. The preface before the continuation. ~~[i]~~"O ye ..."[/i]. What is back of these expressions of our Lord, what is it that seems to be coming forth? Little faith. Unbelief. Another telling word; "Why". Why is a question is it not? The great summation underneath seems to be one of ...

Where is our patience? In suffering. In faith. In capitulating back unto ourselves. Walking ~~[i]~~after[/i] the flesh. Cannot shake this guttural understanding of the collision of the natural and the spiritual. It comes up as a inevitable constant. We know these things and yet ...
The blunders. Committed one even last night. Rather than appeal to what ~~[i]~~I know[/i] inwardly, truthfully, that capitulating to the natural mind of enmity, the words escaping with such ease ... ~~[i]~~the tongue is unruly, who came tame it[/i]? It is truth! The sheer folly realizing it is of no use, little effect other than to crowd in on what God Will's to do. Stinking opinion is what it is. Sure it is coupled with frustration, exasperation ... concern, love even. But the whole great magnificent point isn't 'was it necessary' but is it expedient. More over, ~~[i]~~the Lord's[/i] expenditure. And the real truth of the matter is there was no appealing to the Lord but the reaction of the flesh, plain and simple.

The reason why we have such compulsions is because we are in need of patience and we have so little patience because we will not allow the needed suffering of so many things to gain it.

~~[b]~~For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.[/b] Heb 10:36