Scripps Sunday #102- Sierras Edition

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 Anna, I'm sending this a few days early as I think it's worth chewing on all weekend long.... These are the things I wrote about from my spiritual direction time this week.  Take it for what it's worth-- I think some of this is meant for you.... 💛💛💛💛💛

  

May we come to this time to keep company with God and to learn how God’s Spirit relates to us and how our Spirit relates to God. As students of the Spirit, this is not academic knowledge we are pursuing; it’s experiential knowledge. It’s not about achieving an end to something more, but it’s for the purity of the relationship so it can be more grounded and deeper.

May we keep moving deeper into grace and love. And when we catch ourselves moving away from it, we can stop, change course, and trust, putting aside the things that are weighing us down. We can get back in step with the Spirit with ZERO shame or condemnation when we fall down. We should not be surprised that we get tripped up.  For when we forget God’s grace, we can fall into anger at ourselves and anger at others. But we have an immediate opportunity to stop that cycle and begin again. With every hook that trips us up, there is an opportunity for us to find a moment of grace and we are welcomed back into fellowship with God (the company that is).

When we get tripped up, think about how we would speak to a child who fell down. There would be hugs and gentleness and kindness offered. There would be a hand outstretched to hold and to keep on walking. Tears would be welcomed and dried, and there might even be laughter. There would be a spirit offered with grace and grit: “fall down seven, get up eight.” If condemnation entered in, there would be words of “Oh sweetheart. Thank you for sharing that with me…” and then there would be grace and love poured out because life’s too short to dwell on our broken ways. And there would be encouragement to keep our eyes on Creator Sets Free.  

May we become aware of the spirit of the enemy that comes in and befuddles that, robbing us of pure delight and the company we can keep with God.  Certainly, there are battles around us and within us, but it’s not about claiming control and strength over these things. It’s about recognizing that we are always in the company of a good God who loves us.  There’s always an invitation to deeper grace. Lord, make speed to save us. Lord, make haste to help us (as we get so entangled that we don’t always heed this invitation)!

What is at the heart of this passage in Hebrews 12? To what end are we running this race and what is the goal we are heading toward?  The goal is love and pure relationships. The goal is unity and freedom. The goal is shalom.  As we are facing our broken ways, we can remind ourselves that the goal is being in union with God. The goal is not to overcome the brokenness so that we can live in relationship with God. The goal is to live in relationship with God through it all. Period.

It’s an important shift. The goal isn’t striving for healing, better living, better life, better control. The goal is not to fix our lives. The goal is keeping company with God. In doing that, we’re able to hear what is true about God, ourselves, and others. And from here, we can stand against the enemy and our broken ways, and this means we must keep our eyes on Creator Sets Free.

The “end of the trail” is pure freedom and shalom. We are limited in our humanity and only experience pockets of this now, but Creator Sets Free wants us to experience that more and more. And the way to do that is to continue to run to Him and keep company with Him every step of the way. 




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