I was reading psalm 125 this morning and it speaks a promise of protection and care around God’s People…
“…Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord’s wraparound presence surrounds his people, protecting them now and forever…”
And it speaks of how the evil men with evil plans will not be allowed to reign…
“… The wicked will not always rule over the godly, provoking them to do what is evil…”
It’s a “feelgood” passage if I have ever read one, but there is a caveat, and it starts with a statement of fact in verse 1…
“…Those who trust in the Lord are as unshakable, as unmovable as mighty Mount Zion!”
But here’s the thing… I am “shakable” – I am not a mighty mount Zion. Two weeks ago, my wife’s second mom passed away suddenly. Last night my aunt passed away, also unexpected… so last night my wife voiced what was in my heart: why are people & things dying that we are praying for to be alive?! Are we not standing together, gathered as believers and claiming God’s will to be what we are asking for?!
I opened my mouth and before I could say anything, my wife stopped me with “don’t guilt me with a Bible verse or testimony!”
So this is my sit-down rambling around the cactus red table… how many sermons do I listen to? how many books do I read? Workshops attended? Concordances studied and words translated and taken back to its origins? How many prophetic words was spoken and my purpose proclaimed, and Yet… I am shakable?
So My Father, who is soft and gentle and definitely unshakable spoke in my spirit and asked me: Do you hunt?
Well yes, I do…
How did this come to be?
Well… my good friend Redge tricked me…
And how did it play out?
Well… lots of looking at videos, calculating arrows, learning about kill-zones, noise, scent, and then figuring out what from all the advice is true, and what is myth…
And did all that make you a hunter?
Well… no… Even after my first animal I just considered myself lucky… I don’t even think I am Hunter now… but I have been blessed by the pursuit for many years…
So… to become a hunter, you had to take aim at a real live animal and take the shot? Not just read about it or study it? Take the risk to fail utterly and completely, even causing damage and pain?
Well… yes.
And have you ever missed? Or made a bad call?
Well… yes…
And did you stop hunting?
No…
So why are you focussed on your stumbles or falls, instead of standing up and starting again?
The warrior is not the one that doesn’t fall, it’s the one that falls seven times, but gets up eight times… and that is what you need to teach your son, and he only learns by example…
(That last part is, I think, a bit of reverse psychology 😉)
Trust in my prayer and my ability to hear God’s purpose for a place or a person or a situation comes from practicing. From taking the shot and letting the Holy Spirit guide my arrows, and letting my Father teach me but by bit.
Everything else helps my understanding, but only drawing that bow will I become a hunter. Rock steady and unshakable.
So, wherever you find yourself today, be blessed, and be the blessing God needs you to be today!
