IT'S NOT A FORMULA

Tonight's Read: Mark 10

"Our hearts have been described as a 'zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears, and a harem of fondled hatreds'." - Max Anders in 30 Days to Understanding the Bible

The bible tells us that "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure" (Jeremiah 17:9) and I find this to be very true for myself. As a part of my natural personality, I have a difficult time wading through my own feelings and emotions and understanding them. Because of this, I tend to get easily weighed down by my heart. I find it difficult to discern what is just my heart and what is the Holy Spirit speaking to me. Of course there are some times when the voice of God is very clear. But more often than not, I get lost in my feelings.

When this happens, I find myself coming to the Lord looking for answers. I prayerfully ask Him to show me they way, to give me the discernment to sort through my feelings and come out on top, led by His spirit. While I don't believe this prayer is inherently wrong, The Lord has shown me that sometimes, it is not necessary. Sometimes, I need to just seek Him. Not seek Him to find a way, or to answer my questions, but just to be with Him. And likely, whatever question marks I have in my heart will fade in the face of Him. My questions will lose all meaning and significance when I am reminded of who He is.

Tonight I was reading in Mark chapter ten. In this section of scripture, different people ask questions of Jesus regarding how they should live. They ask questions about proper protocol for divorce, paying taxes and tithes, and pursuing life as a disciple of God. In the heart of each question, seems to be a desire for a 'formula' to follow so that the asker can act accordingly and go on about their life. These people are basically asking Jesus for a play by play plan for how to live their lives appropriately. Jesus' response to each question seems to be a repetitive "There is no formula. There is no exact plan to live by. There is no simple, direct answer to the questions that you ask."

The heart of Jesus' response can be found boiled down in his answer to the rich man who wanted to follow Him. (Mark 10:21) In this verse, Jesus, out of his love for the man, tells him to forsake ALL that He has and then follow after Him.

When I read this tonight, I believed it was Jesus' response to me as well. I have been asking Him questions about the muddy waters of my heart. I have been asking Him to reveal to me rules to follow and steps to take. And His answer to me is: "There is no plan. The plan is come to me and cling to nothing else"

He drives a hard bargain. He doesn't say come to Him and then, with baby steps, let go of other things that you hold dear. He says let go of everything that you hold on to and then come to Him and cling to Him. Doing this takes great faith. I know the sorrow of the rich man when Jesus asked him to sell all his wealth. My 'wealth' is not monetary. But regardless, I know the man's sorrow. It is scary and it hurts to let go of the things you cling to. But that is the way. There is no formula. The only formula is to cling to Him and nothing else.

Lord, what you ask us to do before following you is truly difficult. I pray that you would give me the wisdom and the conviction of heart to pursue you in this way. You have pursued my heart relentlessly to win me over. I pray that I could, in return, pursue you wholly, loyally, and completely. I pray that you would give me the strength to cling to only YOU. You are my stronghold, my portion and my cup. You are ENOUGH for me. I pray that you would gently remind me of this sweet truth.

Pslam 119:28 "My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word."
Isaiah 40:29 "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."