“And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.” (Judges 18:9)
Oh, how this verse hurts me right now! It couldn’t have come at a more timely place in my life!
In this text we are inside the Promised Land with the Israelites. If you have read through the conquest of Canaan, Joshua led the people in after the death of Moses. They had lain out plans on what tribe was to inherit which portion of the land and were (supposed to be) in the process of unsettling the inhabitants and taking over. The twelve tribes were to help the rest, each in its turn, to conquer the Canaanites and get established in this new land. Once all twelve were settled, each tribe could then return to its own place and begin the process of living there. It was a good plan on paper, but the people suffered from what I’m suffering right now: battle fatigue and laziness.
As a good soldier, I know what to do for battle fatigue. We would periodically schedule down time for our troops to enjoy a little R and R – Rest and Relaxation. That didn’t necessarily mean laying around in our bunks all day. Sometimes it involved getting involved in a totally different exercise altogether. Like the time our commander scheduled my unit in Germany for a week of R and R. We had just completed a very rigorous inspection cycle by members of the Pentagon and, frankly, we were pooped. Our commander, being the kind-hearted person he was (?) scheduled our unit for a week of R and R in Berchesgarten, Germany. (If you have ever watched the movie “The Sound of Music”, Berchesgarten was just across the mountain range from Salzburg, Austria where that movie was based. It was a beautiful setting! We traveled by tour bus for several hours to arrive there. When we arrived, we discovered the town was having a beer-fest – a good, old-fashioned, German custom. As we exited our buses we were greeted by German women in traditional clothing and carrying large steins of German beer. They heartily welcomed us to their town and invited us to participate in the festivities. All too soon we were also greeted by our instructor for the week – that’s right, our INSTRUCTOR – Hans. His name, by the way, really was Hans! We had been, we were to discover, enrolled in a week-long class on mountaineering! We were duped by our commander. Go figure! We thought we were just going to relax and enjoy the beautiful surroundings, but NO! We spent the next week doing strenuous training on rope-climbing and rappeling off those gorgeous mountains! Oddly enough, we left that week feeling more alive and invigorated than we would have had we spent the week lying around.
Sadly, as I have mentioned before, I have lost that motivation to push myself physically (and if I were totally honest, spiritually). I have allowed myself to grow fat and lazy in both areas of my life. There is no way I could fit into my military uniform anymore – I have put on that much weight! How sad that I have let myself go this much. The same is true of my spiritual life. I have allowed myself to drift unfettered over the years. I don’t have the same hunger I used to have. I don’t have the same energy I used to have. I don’t even have the same vision I once had. God help me!
Maybe that’s how you feel as you read this. You have gotten comfortable in the blessings of God. You have allowed yourself to give up the demanding Bible study you once enjoyed. You have let slip the prayer times you used to have with God. But you know what? If I have learned anything it is this: all it takes is one small step in the right direction, just returning to those things you once looked forward to. If you will just restore one thing in your life – be it singing around the house as you do your work, disciplining yourself to start praying again faithfully, maybe doing a Bible-reading plan again – that hunger, that fire, that passion will return. And it can be greater than it was before!
Today I challenge you (and myself) to return to that place of discipline, that place of dedication. You don’t have to totally change overnight any more than I could return to the gym and pick up lifting where I left off. If I tried that I would damage my body and ruin any chance of restoration of what once was. I would have to start small – baby steps – and slowly grow back to where I once was. It is doable. It is possible. It is necessary. I just have to want it. Just like you have to want to return to the place you once were with God. He is waiting. Lovingly and patiently. All it takes is to start. Do it today, my friend. We need you to be strong.
Be blessed.
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