Pettiness

P 2730 SSSSSSHHHHHH!

/ DVH

Psalm 91:1,2. RSV.“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”TPT.“When you abide under the shadow of Shaddai, you are hidden in the strength of God Most High. He’s the hope that holds me and the stronghold to shelter me, the only God for me, and my great confidence.”

Here we have two different versions of the same two verses. This psalm is my all-time favourite one – many people love it like I do! These verses tell us where we can live – they point to a place of great safety and security.  Absolutely everything else that is in this fabulous Psalm hangs on those two highlighted words. “Dwell and Abide.” We can learn to be spectators, protected by God’s shadow over us, and nothing can touch us there, unless He gives it permission. 

The bible has some of the best kept eternal secrets known to man. Forget Indiana Jones … that’s a whole lot of made up rot! These verses are about a real treasure, a place that belongs to YOU and me. Nobody else can keep us from this treasure because it hinges on our own choices.  It is our birthright! When we live there we allow the Saviour to rule absolutely every aspect of our lives. He is no longer an after-thought, or even a place we like to go that blesses us and makes US feel good … instead we have fallen so much in love with Him, we want HIM to know how much we love HIM… so we keep nothing from Him.

Christians don’t have to live subject to this world anymore, we can live our lives safe and secure in His secret place. No more struggling with the pettiness, greed, vainglorious ideas, rage, and strife because we have a place to live permanently, and Jesus died to give it to us. No-one else can take this treasured secret place away from us — however we can forfeit our rights to live hidden, if we undervalue His Presence, His will, His way. Jesus Himself lived in that place while He walked this earth, and … He voluntarily gave it up, when He chose to come out of that safety and contentment to fulfil His calling. BUT! He went right back in there FOREVER when He had finished His appointed mission. He’s there now, waiting for us.

These two verses are not metaphorical. This is a real place, and not many people find it, and choose to live there. To live like this we must choose to die to this life and all it seems to hold, and live for Jesus’ sake instead. That means we go wherever He takes us and let Him take away whatever He likes. At the same time He will give us whatever He thinks is best for us. I call that way to live – TRUST.  We allow Almighty God Himself to be our only security and safety, and spurn this world’s idea of comfort etc. And so we choose to live this life, the only one we have! … His Way. The Way the Holy Spirit describes in the bible.  

We leave behind the grabby, spiteful, greediness, and vanities of this world to live in a place where we care more about other people’s needs than our own. Some of us will die fulfilling that calling — it is a very serious choice —  choosing to live this life dead to what we want and alive to what He wants! However, this is a place of absolute safety – nothing happens there unless He allows it – so we know we will walk through the difficulties with the Lord by our side.  We can no longer be tossed about by the winds of doctrine or change. Like the Apostle John, who was put in a pot of boiling OIL — he simply prayed… When they fished John out again, there was not a mark on him!

Why? He was a spectator, not a participant!  He was safe in God’s secret place. However, he WAS put in that oil and if he had taken the time to notice that he would have been burnt to death. THE MAN’S FOCUS WAS ELSEWHERE.  He simply walked with Christ and that was enough. “He loved not his life unto death …” Just like Jesus did. That’s what following Jesus really means – we choose to die and He lives through us. We choose to love our enemies and that drives them crazy … or it changes them.

Sometimes the darndest secrets are hidden in the bible. You read it and think …’well blow me down, who knew that was in there?’ It’s not an ordinary book. If someone tells me that God told them that He was going to make them rich … I smile politely and walk away laughing inside. I am rich already. My money is in His bank! Nobody can pinch it there. I give where He says I should without blinking. If I need something, then I ask my Heavenly Father, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills –  He’ll just sell a cow!  

Living in the secret place means we are hidden in His strength, learning to roll with life’s punches because He is protecting us, and we trust Him implicitly. Ssh! The secret is out. Who wants to be a spectator, who wants to live to do what He wants? 👋 

P 2568 The day between.

/ DVH

At 4.30am this morning the Lord woke me up with these words. THE TOMB. And then He said this: There is a space between the cross and the resurrection – it is called the tomb. That tomb is the place between something that has happened to you, that will test your faith … and the ANSWER. The tomb is a place of HEAVENLY SILENCE.” Saturday is the day of helplessness, hopelessness, and all seems lost!

There is no hope in that place. Hope has died. There is no faith there either. Inside the tomb, there is nothing alive at all. Decay happens in the tomb. To get out we must be resurrected!! It is the place where the pain of betrayal washes over us. Can it be the King of all Glory has betrayed our faith? At the same time, all seems lost for everybody on the outside too, while the person inside it is locked in – gone. Hopelessly grieved over. The worst bit is you are not actually dead – you just wish you were! Life is standing still for you – you are held hostage to something you cannot control.

Remember Mary and Martha? Lazarus was three days dead. They told Jesus when He finally came – ‘you can’t get him out of there, he will smell!’  Everybody knows that dead is dead. But not to Jesus – dead is not dead to Him. Dead is merely a possibility for God, His heavenly Father to be glorified. Dead is the place where we will learn to let everything go, and rest. Nothing else is important when we enter the tomb of waiting, and that huge stone closes the gap behind us. Arguments, money, pettiness, dreams, visions, prophecies, all disappear. The question becomes – is there going to be a resurrection? It is a place where new things will open to you – if you will stay dead until He comes to you.

Lastly, there is no light in the tomb. It is not like the pretty pictures streaming with light we see on Easter Sunday. It is deathly dark and quiet. Nobody can babysit you in there – they can’t reach you anymore! You pray and your prayers seem to disappear in front of your eyes. You’ve asked others to pray and … nothing happened. Easter SATURDAY is a reality in a real faith test. It is a place where the things we thought mattered, are gone. New homes, new cars, new jobs, vanish in the reality of the tomb – the place where there is no time, because time squashes the life out of you.

That tomb is the place of ultimate surrender! Job knew it. “Even though He slay me yet will I trust Him.” Lazarus even died waiting for Jesus to come! Paul learnt it as he walked with the Lord. There is no life without Christ. Everything else we grasp at is just an illusion. A child’s story told to calm and soothe us. The tomb is the ultimate NO! The place where prayers and passion seem wasted. Let me tell you this: FOR HIS LIFE TO COME, THERE HAS TO BE A REAL TOMB – A REAL DEATH. Not a ‘nearly dead’ but all dead. Like it was for Mary, Martha and Lazarus.

This is the place where we will learn to let go… even though we are secretly hoping He’s going to do something! And even if it seems like Jesus lied … we decide to trust Him with our last ounce of strength. It is a place where HE MATTERS MORE THAN THE ANSWER. That place is where whether prayers are answered or not, it no longer matters. What we think matters is just so much dust on the floor in comparison to losing Him.

It is a yielded, surrendered and still place. Jesus Himself found that place in the garden of Gethsemane after praying in agony three times. He found peace in the place of acceptance. “Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”Matthew 26:45-46. Please note, everyone else in His support team fell asleep – people will let you down when you are stuck in the tomb.

That tomb becomes the place where you no longer care if your answer is yes or no … all that matters is finding Him. And you die to self waiting for Him to come. That place between Friday and Sunday is temporary – whether the answer is yes or no – He will come. Even though the tomb is fastened tightly shut … …Jesus will always come for you.  No stone can hold you in! He died to prove it. 👋