Bible Study: Psalm 139

Ends and beginnings have a way of stirring all of us. But if you’re ‘stuck’ in life or if you struggle with shame or not seeing your worth, or if you are at the end of your rope –or the end of yourself with nothing to cling to, you may not know how to pull THROUGH those transitions. If that is you, I ask you to please check this out.

I’ve always heard that Psalm 139 was the greatest Psalm but I didn’t understand why. –That is until it carried me through the hardest season of my life. This video is a line by line study of this chapter (along with a mixture of prayer, poetry, testimony, and reflections about oysters that also became significant to me during this time.) I want nothing more than for you to feel ‘relief’ so that you can truly have a ‘Happy’ NEW year, and to ‘SEE’ things a little differently. After all, 2020 = PERFECT vision. May we all be blessed enough to receive. There are a LOT of notes because I have to write them out first. So you can basically see the written version of this video, with links, here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1u_LTKci3rgTOk3lIg96s4o9CNKu4rQaD

The Samaritan Woman

First, I’d like to pray. Father God, you know where each of us sit. Why someone has tuned in and why I had something to say. How you have worked that out, and will work that out, in each of our lives. This is a long message, and so I pray that the whole thing is a prayer and that the words wash all the way down. –And that you do what you do best, and rearrange things to that they do what they need to in each of us. Amen.

The Samaritan Woman is one of the more well-known chapters in the Bible. If you haven't heard about her, grab yours now and follow along with me in John 4. I’ll do a quick recap while you find it.

She was an outcast because of her race and because she is a woman.

So, let me give you a little background on the race part. I am going to read you the commentary from my Life Application Bible.

When the Northern Kingdom with its capital at Samaria fell to the Assyrians, many Jews were deported to Assyria, and the foreigners were brought in to settle the land and help keep the peace (2 Kings 17:24). The intermarriage between those foreigners and the remaining Jews resulted in a mixed-race, impure in the opinion of Jews who lived in the Southern Kingdom. Thus the pure Jews hated the mixed-race called the Samaritans because they felt they had betrayed their people and their nation. They set up an alternate center for worship on Mount Gerazim to parallel the Temple at Jerusalem, but it had been destroyed 150 years earlier. The Jews did everything they could to avoid traveling through Samaria. But Jesus had no reason to live by such cultural restrictions. The route through Samaria was shorter, and that was the route that he took.

Jacob’s well was on the property originally owned by Jacob. It was not a spring-fed well, but a well into which water seeped from rain and dew collecting at the bottom. Wells were almost always located outside the city along the main road. Twice each day, morning and evening, women came to draw water. (During the cooler parts of the day.)

 Switching back to my notes.

The Samaritan woman also had a past, and her current lifestyle played a role. And when most women travel to the well in the morning and evening to draw water, she went at noon to further avoid the crowd that you would expect to find her in. – Adding to her ‘differentness.’

One of the biggest things that I want to point out here is that people will always have something to say about you and your life. People didn’t like her for all of the reasons above. And you know as well as I do that there are things that happen to each of us that makes us want to avoid the crowd or hold ourselves back. There are also things that we do to take care of ourselves that cause separation. And things that happen to us that force it.

People will condemn you and persecute you for any of these things. So, it can be hard to believe in a God that simply wants to love us and let us know him. But is exactly what we see that in this example.

While there she meets Jesus at the well and they have a very short discussion, and she comes to believe in him. She then goes back to tell the people in the town about her experience, and others come to believe in him also.

The conversation is SO simple that it’s hard to see how that can change a person. Yet the text, at least for me, in this chapter, is SO hard to follow and understand. (You may even want to take a moment to read it before I begin.) But it spoke to me, and I want to share it with you because it really is ‘that easy’ and it’s that important. The more that I learn about it this story, the more I love it. Please tune in.

Let's begin

The first six verses in this chapter talk about Jesus’s journey to the well. So, I'm just going to jump right into verse 6 where Jesus is already at the well when she arrives. In verse 7, the dialogue starts with him asking her for a drink. “No hi, how ya doing.” He asks her to give him the very thing she came after.

There is a little irony there because many times throughout our faith journey, the thing that we are seeking –or NEEDING rather, will lead us to the very place that we meet God. And sometimes we are also asked to ‘give it up’ or ‘let go of it’ first so he can give us something else instead.

Whether or not she is socially unacceptable, she further changed her schedule to avoid dialogue with others. Now here is this man asking her for something.

So I’m going to guess that she is startled by the conversation. Instead of granting his request, she replies by describing her unworthiness.

“You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans).

Now stop right there- 

Women are particularly guilty of this. We're either putting ourselves down or reminding others of our past, status, or limitations. “I can’t do that because I don’t know how.” “You wouldn’t want me because I am no good at that…” (And I have been guilty of this myself.)

Regardless of whether or not he ‘should be’ talking to her, it didn’t stop him. And He only asked her for water.

The conversation seems a little cryptic because Jesus replies to her question in verse 10 “If you knew the Gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 

I mean what does that have to do with the well? Didn't he just ask her for a drink? He didn’t even answer her question.

But it’s not cryptic at all. He’s responding to who she is in that moment when she asked the question. She's the one who pointed out her issues. I think what he’s really saying, is that if you knew the gift of God, you wouldn’t struggle with feeling less than and you wouldn’t worry about what you can’t do. You would be able to rely on me and have confidence about where you’re at. And the last thing that you would be worried about is race, rules, or what everyone else thinks.

Never once in his sentence does he mention her Samaritanship, or her gender, or any of those specific things that she might be worried about.

In verse 11, she reminds him again of another limitation. “You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?” Then in verse 12, she asks him if he’s greater than Jacob, who built the well. 

He replies, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in them a spring of water, welling up to eternal life.”

My commentary reminds us that you can learn more about the references to Jesus as a fountain in verses like:

Psalm 42:1 that describes our thirst for God- As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

Isaiah 55:1 Where God tells all that are thirsty to come to him.

And Jeremiah 2:13 that reads: “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.  – What a reference to our ego and our stubbornness, trying to do things our own way, without God.

And in Psalm 36:9, God is called the Fountain of life- For with you is the fountain of life; in your light, we see light.

So he’s telling her, yes, you do have a physical need for the water from this well to satisfy your fleshly thirst. But something else is parched... Is it your mind, because you stay up at night wrestling with thoughts? Is it your spirit because this life just seems too complicated and too hard? Is it your heart because it's too worn out from trying or numbing? If you can just come to me, the water I will give you will become a spring of water bubbling up to eternal life. You might still have a physical thirst, and you might still have problems, but your spirit will be satisfied. You will get rest. You will feel refreshed. Not only that, but what I tell you will become a story that you will want to share many times to encourage others. …welling up, bubbling over… and many times what you and I memorize in scripture or study privately on our own, will bubble up later on when we need it most – and GUIDE us, just like it said in that last verse, in your light we see.

Who doesn’t like the sound of that, right? So, in verse 15 she asks him where she can get that water, but you can tell she’s not quite getting it because she is still thinking about how this well for the real water, makes her keep coming back for more.

Then he says in verse 16, “Go call your husband and come back.” To which she replies, “I have no husband.” 

He continues, “You’re right when you say that you have no husband. The fact is that you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you said is quite true.”

Now you might read that and think, ooooh snap- he just called her out! And in a way he did. -But not to condemn her. If he was going to do that, he would’ve done it when she first questioned why he, a Jew, was talking to her if she was a Samaritan. He wanted her to know; he sees her. He knows her name. He knows who she is and her private thoughts and what she’s been through. And all of this living water that he’s been talking about is for her too. He knows who he’s talking to. 

Of course, you might wonder why he called the 6^th guy her husband if he wasn’t… Why would he do that if he knew her…?  Personally, I think he was trying to be courteous to her. --To give her dignity by not calling her out. He lets her confess it to him. THEN he lets her know that he already knew. 

And if God sees hearts, who’s to say she hadn’t already married him in her heart. But either way, again, he is the gentlemen. He accepts her status and acknowledges her where she is right now.

And have you ever had one of those encounters, either before you have committed your life to Christ or in the early days of your faith, where you bump into someone that brings up church or God, and it makes you squirm and or straighten up a little? You may want to acknowledge your experience with it. Maybe you talk about your parent's faith. Maybe you talk about why the church doesn't work for you. Yet, you either don't know the details or you don't want to get too deep in the conversation, so you try to change the subject a little.

Well, I think that's exactly what we see in verse 19 when she says, “I can see that you’re a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 

She's making a statement. She’s heard of him and had some family that “went to church.” But is she also asking a question? Where do I worship?

I mean speed up to our time. Is it this church or that one? -This denomination, or service, or ritual? WHERE can we find this God and what are we supposed to do?

He responds to her by telling her that one day she won’t be in any of those places to worship. As for right now, none of that really matters. You’re going to a church and going through the motion, but you’re missing the whole point. You don’t know what you need to know. –or who you need to know rather. BECAUSE-

If you don’t know God (and his gift), you won’t really be able to fully worship him anywhere. And if you do know God and his gift, then you can worship him everywhere! -On the mountain, in Jerusalem, and at the grocery store!

He goes on to say in verses 23-24 that we should worship in spirit and in truth. What does that even mean? 

Well let me tell you, it took me the last five years to figure that one out. But it’s huge. So please hear my heart.

You can go to all of the church services you want to. You can listen to podcasts. You can memorize scripture, write it on sticky notes, and hang it on your wall, read your affirmations and tell yourself that you’re going to do better, or be better. But if you don’t listen to that internal voice, whether it’s your intuition, or feeling your feelings, or being really being honest about who you are, and where you’re at, and what you need, speaking your truth, then you are only ‘following the rules’ and your legalism will BIND you.

You have a spirit so that you can have a one on one, personal, relationship with God and others. Don’t get me wrong. We need religion. We need the Bible. ‘The rules’ are there to show us the things that cause us harm and hurt others. But we can stick so close to ‘the law’ of things that we dismiss how it impacts the spirit of those involved, causing greater harm.

Your spiritual practice or cultivation (whether that’s meditating on the word, or still meditation, journaling, talking to God, or listening to God, or feeling your feelings, etc.)—Whatever your spiritual practice is, it is JUST as important as knowing what the Word of God says. Let me clarify. I don't believe that there is anything more important than knowing God. But if you don't know who you are, how can you be honest or transparent with God about anything? And because he does know you, if you don't, you may not accept the guidance that you hear.

Not only that but if you don't spend time alone, in spiritual practice, or getting in touch with yourself, you may become too comfortable doing what everyone else is doing. And friend, you weren't meant for that!

As for the 'truth' part of that statement, John 14:6 says that HE (and only He) is the way, the TRUTH, and the life. 

John 8:32 says that the TRUTH will set you free. Whether that is the truth of your confession or learning His truth. Both can set you free.

You must worship and practice your faith in both ways, in spirit, and in truth, because what is born out of the center of those two, is the personal plan, direction, and will for your life!

Balance.

I cannot tell you how important that is… Please spend some time pondering this – at your own well. Ask yourself about some of the things that you are carrying. Take a moment to look in your pot. Pull the junk out. Ask yourself is there any ‘truth’ in it. And if there’s not, what can you change to get it in there?

Just the same, if you’re trying to do all of the things that you ‘should be doing’ you will be filled with so much shame if it doesn’t match what is in your heart. It will be so binding, blinding, and exhausting. That is living out of fear and codependency, not from a place of love.

Isaiah 61:1 says that he comes to bind up the brokenhearted and to set the captives free and to release the prisoners from their darkness.

Your time at the well with Christ, should be acknowledging and liberating you or healing you in it.

In contrast, if you haven’t even considered the law, or what the Bible has to say, maybe that’s part of the reason that you keep getting hurt. You need some parameters in place and better boundaries. And the book ‘Boundaries’ by Henry Cloud is incredibly refreshing. There is so much scripture in that book but explained in such a healthy honoring way. You and I are made to be vessels that carry refreshment to others, and if we aren’t taking care of what we’re given in our own physical stamina, then it will be so difficult to deliver what is needed or hold on to the strength and peace that God offers.

Oh, I hope you heard what I wanted you to know.

But back to our passage. He just told her to worship in spirit and in truth.

In verse 25, we see that she doesn't know either side. She's still talking about him. Not to him when she says “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

She’s heard of him. She just doesn’t know him personally to be able to recognize or identify him. 

And let me tell you, you can experience so much condemnation over this whether it's from yourself, the devil, or even others that and you might be tempted to give it [this faith thing] up because it’s just too confusing. But can I tell you something? 

Even Mary –his own mother- had trouble recognizing Jesus after the resurrection because she was so consumed in her grief. (See John 20) She didn’t expect to see him. 

What about us - we also have struggles? Sometimes they consume us and distort our perception as well. Do we expect to see God? Would we recognize him if we were at that well with him? Would we even give a little credit to that whisper in our heart and test it – Just ask God if he’s really there?

So WHEN she starts thinking about the Messiah coming, what he might do, you know what happens…? See verse 26.

He makes himself known. 

Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Gosh, and there is such timeliness to that. I mean consider it. If he announced that he was the Messiah when they first met at the well, she wouldn’t have given him the time of day. 

I mean, she’s avoiding everyone else because of her weakness. She would have run as fast as she could, either because he was a crazy man or because who wants to let God see all this stuff. 

So, he does as he always does. He meets us where we are. He acknowledges her “junk” first and then introduces himself. She won't have anything to be ashamed of after she finds out who he is. Because he already knows it!! But he doesn’t reveal himself until we start to give him a little possibility.  <3

So then, in verse 27, the disciples come back. If you have your Bible, look at verse 28 with me because there are a few more things that I want to point out. 

"Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, "Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

The first thing that I want to point out is that she left her water jar. I mean, did she even fill it up? What he had was so good; her other needs seemed less important ...kind of what like he promised, right? 

Then she went back and told people that the man “told her everything that she ever did.” 

What struck me about this line was that he only told her about six relationships of hers. Something personal. Something that she was most likely ashamed of. Something that made her feel separate or not good enough. Ponder that thought for a moment. 

I know part of me thought; gosh we’re so dramatic at times. "That was everything...?" 

But look deeper. 

How many things do we let define us and be our everything? This can be good or bad. Is it past sin, failures as a parent or partner, accomplishments, what others say, being the one to fix everything, etc.? God sees everything about us, but his gift goes to work, right where we need it most! In our heart. In what we hold and what others may or may not know. 

Second, let’s just talk about transformation. Not only did she leave her jar at the well. –The thing she came after was suddenly not as important as telling others about him. But this is a woman who avoided people. And suddenly she couldn’t help herself from going back to tell others.

If you continue reading, in verse 39, the chapter says that many came to believe because of her testimony. All she said was, “He told me everything that I ever did.” Don’t we worry that we have to have the right words or the correct answers or some crazy, profound experience to talk to someone else? Especially when it comes to our faith! We don't! We just get to talk about what he means to us and how or why we got there, etc. No embellishments. No grand finales. Simplicity. The truth… He does the rest.

But I do believe that God does want to be crazy profound with each of us! And isn't there a little bit of the Samaritan woman in each of us too? 

If you circle back to the very first verse; their dialogue started when God asked her for the very thing that she was after. [the place of her struggle].

What is it you are after? What is it that you need—that keeps you up at night and causes your anxiety or worry? What is that you can’t seem to stop carrying?

Well, it starts by first letting it go. All of it.

Don’t over-complicate this. It is exactly as it sounds. Remember verse 28 said she left her pot and went back to town.

You and I will find a thousand ways to hang on to a little bit of something, either because we don’t understand or because letting go can be so hard. And part of the struggle is our human need to be in control and to know the next step. Part of it is the way that we’re raised and what we believe. And sometimes what God tells us to let go of doesn’t sound at all like what God would say. –Maybe it seems too odd, or the thing doesn’t even seem like it’s that big of a deal or something God would even care about. Other times we’re addicted, or we don’t even know that there is another way because we’re doing the best we can with what we know.

You don’t have to know the reason or even how you will accomplish it to let it go. If God is pressing something on your heart here, I encourage you to pray, journal, fast, look for confirmation, rest, talk with others that have experience here – and spend some time in prayer. Just you and Jesus at the well.

If there is something that he is asking of you, it may be unusual, or difficult, but trust that it may be a life-changing experience and the greatest testimony that you’ve ever had.

I continue my prayers here for you. May God bless you, richly for any step you take toward him.

Thank you for listening.

**Note: This post was originally written in 2014. I began updating it in 2018 but there were a lot of changes, so I just rewrote it for this post.  Unfortunately, the originally post isn’t exactly the original but here it is anyway, for the record. ;)

The Pillar of Salt | A Story About Lottie & Bart

In this post, I'll be sharing a little testimony but also a little instruction from the lady who became a pillar of salt and a blind man named Bartimaeus. If you’re struggling with change or wondering why you can’t move forward, or if you’re not making the progress that you’d like, check out this post. I hope it helps and encourages you wherever you are.

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First—know that if you haven’t read it before, Genesis 19 it is a disturbing chapter. (This is the chapter where we see Lot’s wife. Sadly she isn’t named. So, I may just call her ole Lottie.) We can look at our TV’s and talk about ‘how bad the world is getting’ and see plainly that even before television, there were corrupt people. We can also see that a lot of potentially innocent people may or may not have been at the mercy of the wicked ones. I am not going to delve into that chapter now but you do need to at least know that ‘some stuff went down’ before Lot’s wife became a pillar.

Lot happens to be the main character in this chapter. You can read more about him in chapters 11-19 of Genesis. Here in Chapter 19, he ran into two angels in town and invited them into his home so that he could feed them and show them hospitality. The scene turns ugly when some people from the town find out about Lot’s visitors. This led the Angels to blind “the bad guys” and then they help the Lord destroy the place. –As in the little town known as Sodom and Gomorrah.

[Insert Map]

But first, the Angels told Lot to get all of his family, his wife, and their sons and daughters, and get out of dodge. This is where Lot’s wife comes in.

Verse 16:

When he [Lot] hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back and don’t stop anywhere in the plain. Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away.”

Lot persuades the fellas to let him go to another location that was closer to him so that he might be able to reestablish himself in. –But in verse 26 good ole Lot’s wife, just can’t resist the urge and- 

“Lot’s wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt.”

Well then…

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Commentary in my Bible suggested that she turned back to look at the smoldering city. Clinging to the past, she was unwilling to turn away completely. Then it asks you to consider what might be holding you back?  You can’t make progress with God as long as you are holding onto pieces of your old life.

I don’t know about you but personally, in my own life, I can tell you that there were some things in my past that I only wish that I could burn up. -Like things from high school or middle school. Many of them haunted me for years. There was unforgiveness, hurt, and embarrassment. You know- those crazy things we did when we were younger. (Gah).

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Here we see that Lot and his wife are offered a transition or a way out but instead of moving forward she is forever preserved with the label ‘stuck in the past’.

Sadly, that is all that we get to see about her. The rest is left to us to piece together.

But there’s a little bit of her in all of us, isn’t there? Here are a few things that I see from my own life that have caused me to stumble the same way.

The first thing that I see is fear.

Being too afraid to step out and try something different. The truth is, I didn’t even know I was afraid. I relied comfortably on my own life experiences as facts. If I hadn’t been something before, then it didn’t quite make sense that I should become it now. Only, I didn’t realize that’s how I was adding things up. But if you know me, you know math ain’t really my thing.

But aren’t we all a little like that. If there isn’t first proof of something… then why should we suspect otherwise? I guess that’s why they call it faith. You know, believing in what you cannot see.

Poor old Lot’s wife is looking in the wrong direction and not necessarily because she wants to hang on. I mean, sure it could’ve been her comfort zone, even if it was a pretty uncomfortable place to be; But maybe this whole ‘looking back’ is simply because it’s the only thing that she knows. She doesn’t know any better or any different. She’s spent a significant portion of her life there. She may not be trying to ‘look backward’ or hang on.

Whether it’s her identity or her heart, it’s a part of her. She might not know how to separate or disconnect.

If you pause for a moment, doesn’t this image help you see why leaning on our own understanding is so dangerous?

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Or what about this-

The second thing that I see is pride and insecurity.

When the angels tell Lot that they’re going to destroy his home, they tell him that it’s because “the outcry against the place is so great.” Somebody is praying for God to intervene!

Could the ones praying be Lot, his family, or even his wife? Who knows?

Sometimes we know the situation that we’re in is bad too. We pray about it. The Lord brings a solution and then we’re like “Nah, I’ll wait to see what’s behind door number two.”

-You didn’t have any food to eat and a neighbor invited you to dinner but you weren’t feeling social or you didn’t like what was on the menu. So you stayed home. Hungry.

Or you got the job but it wasn’t the one you wanted. So, you pass it all up and keep struggling along.

Then you’re mad because God didn’t answer the way that you wanted.

And insecurity—well, I talk a lot about that already on my blog and my own personal struggles with it. It doesn’t matter if it’s self-doubt, false humility, or how ‘you’re just being honest with your lack of x, y, z …’ it’s related to your ego. It’s on the pride spectrum.

But remember Proverbs 16:18 says that “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

When the good Lord asks you to step out and do a new thing and you pull back then cover it up because it doesn’t match what you believe or who you’ve established yourself to be – that’s pride and that’s a sin.

Don’t be afraid. Just believe. –Mark 5:36 

Third, what about rubberneckin' (sometimes also mixed with comparison)?

Aren’t we all rubber-neckers to some degree? I mean you can’t drive down the road and pass someone pulled over on a shoulder, let alone having some sort of intervention, without at least glancing at it. Sodom was where Lot’s wife lived. Shouldn’t she be interested in what was happening to it?

Sometimes, we’re just too curious about things that aren’t or are no longer our business. –Like people’s opinions of us. You might feel the Lord leading you to do x, y, z but first, you have to check with ‘so and so’ to see if that really makes sense and if it doesn’t make sense to them, then maybe it won’t for you either.

When God tells you to move on, and you’re still hanging around, checking in, it can burn you.

Remember that verse ‘Love of the world leads to death’. We may intend to be obedient to the Lord’s calling, but if we can’t break out of our comfort zone because it’s uncomfortable- or if we don’t do something because someone or something ‘in the world’ is holding us back. – It’s sin.

Both ways [love of your way and love of the world’s way] lead to death.

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Fourth and last – how about simply not paying attention – or not being present?

What if she suddenly remembered that she forgot something? The Lord didn’t tell her that she could take anything but maybe ‘reflex’ turned her head around. –You know like ‘Oh crap, did I leave the iron on’? –or did she forget the pictures?

Do any of you have reflexes or reactions? They just kick in before you even have time to process? You really have to be ‘alert’ to override your reflexes. (This means not getting so far ahead of all of the things that you have to do-- that you aren’t paying attention to where you’re at. It’s a critical moment. Tune in!)

Romans 8:6 tells us that “The mind governed by the flesh (maybe that incessant worry or to do list) is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit (trusting in the present) is life and peace.”

That might be my own emphasis but ouch! – We’ve all got reflexes, right?

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Whatever her reason was, she was not obedient when it came the appointed time. Even though she may not have been trying to be ‘disobedient’. The Lord gave one tiny little command…

and she became a pillar…

Like a monument.

Not a pile of salt or granules blown or ‘swept away’ like the Angels promised. A pillar. I think that’s interesting because scripture tells us in Isaiah that the Lord will wash every single one of our sins away. All of them.

But our example? –It may become one that is used to show others how not to be or what consequences will come, for eternity.

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Okay so you get the sin and the pillar part but why salt? Why didn’t she return to the dust of the ground or simply drop dead like we’ve seen others do before?

Well, here’s what I know about salt:

·       It gives things flavor and makes food taste better by bringing out the better qualities of the other ingredients.

·       It can make us thirsty or whet our appetites.

·       Many believe that it has healing properties, whether it’s consumed or by simply being near it.

But also, look at what Matthew 5:13 says:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again. It’s no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

I think the use of the word 'salt’ here embodies the promise of who we are to be called to be- [the salt of the earth].

·       Light and encouragement, loving and kind, serving and helping – essentially making things better for others, and glorifying God.

·       We are encouraged to whet appetites so that others want to drink from the word of God.

·       Both of those bullets get better as we spend time with him and get to know God personally; growing in our own faith. That is where the healing part comes in.

If you’ve tuned out, please hear this-

By that ‘monument that she’s made of salt’ – I think it stands as a reminder that by looking back (regardless of the reason), you’re not only dissolving your future but dissolving the better part of it and what the Lord has promised us in His Word.

Bam, right?

I mean think about it. So many of us struggle with a lack of confidence, shame, guilt, regret, grief, insecurity, etc. You name it. We let it slide because it is so overwhelming that it must be bigger than us. It must be who we are or how we were made to be.  –Like that thorn that was never removed from Paul.

But that’s exactly how a stronghold looks and works in our lives. It is something that has a ‘strong hold’ and keeps you from looking ahead, from believing, from moving forward. If the devil can get you to stay there, then he might keep you from the victory that lies ahead.

I can’t think of any hold stronger than to be forever preserved as a pillar of unfulfilled promises.

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Now let that settle for a minute because I’m going to jump tracks show you how to move forward, using the example that I see in Bartimaeus.

Alright, you ready? (Feel free to pause if you need more time.)

In Mark 10:46-52  we see a blind man named Bartimaeus that encounters Jesus. The text reads:

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

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I repeat: “Go. Your faith has healed you.” Then immediately the man received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

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In many ways, my faith has also healed me. But doesn’t it come in increments? I can tell you specific areas where I have been healed but there is ALWAYS something that we are blind to. Like the blind man, the only way to receive that spiritual sight is with a little ‘come to Jesus meeting’ of your own.

Allowing ourselves to ‘be present’ sitting and waiting on the Lord. Ready to engage! This will also require that we’re willing to get really honest and to the point about what’s going on with you. Then moving forward from that place. (And sometimes no matter how ‘honest’ we are with ourselves, we’re still blind to our own personal truths. It’s a good thing Jesus can come to us. And he’ll lay it on ya when you’re ready.)

What I love about this image is that verse 50 says “He threw his cloak aside”. Basically, you’re going to have to let some things go.

Is it the things that you hide behind or under? Is it the things that others identify you with, like your reputation, or is it the things that bring you comfort? – You might need to give something up in exchange for the thing that you’re asking for.

The very next line is – He jumped to his feet.  He took Action. He tried something not really knowing how it was going to work out.

Isn’t ironic that it’s the one with vision that had to have someone take them BY THE HAND and lead out of the city? Yet it was the blind man that was able to jump and go…

That’s not really all that surprising though is it? How many things do we think we know because of our experience, or our religion, or our education? It’s hard to ‘unknow’ something! –Yet, we’re more blind, with what we know, than someone who’s never had the experience. It’s a lot easier to learn something for the first time than to unlearn it another way first.

Anyway-

Can you imagine with me for a minute if you will, what that might have been like for him now that can suddenly see? So check in and go slow with me…

·       He’s still going to have to practice some new interactions. –He hasn’t left the place and he’s not technically a different person.

o   It’s the same with any habit, like quitting smoking – you may not be able to have that cup of coffee in the morning, or sit with your spouse outside to rehash the day because that’s where you both smoke together.

o   When you quit drinking, you may not be able to go to some of the places that you used to go. Even if it’s your dearest friends house.

o   When you join a recovery program, you might have to turn the whole world off and be alone a lot more, to get to the heart of those truths and learn your why and how to heal them.

o   Practicing faith, leaving a job, starting a hobby—ANY CHANGE will require you to do a new thing when you leave the old, even when it doesn’t ‘feel’ right or feel like you. But that feeling is only temporary. Give it time.

·       Another thing that might be awkward for him is that he may not recognize someone or something just by what it looks like.

o   He’s going to have to introduce himself to people that he already knows in order to adjust himself.

o   He might have to study things that he’s accustomed to working with in order to recognize what they look like by sight alone.

o   He might see something for the first time that he has never even been aware of before and then learn what it does, for example, like the sun or clouds.

o   Just the same for us, sometimes, our transition, whatever it is, is going to require a lot more study time than what we’re accustomed to. Even when we think we have a pretty good idea.

o   I mean, can you just imagine how ‘hungry’ Bartimaeus would be to see everything now that his eyes are opened? –Or how exhausting that might be because everything he’s known will have this whole other layer that he now has to get to know.

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Either way, Lottie and Bart both had instructions. He followed. She did not. He was healed. She was kept and even preserved in that place of destruction and un-fulfillment, forever.

So let’s recap what we see from Lottie and Bart

She had a dozen reasons that she could not have been looking forward. Any single one of them could leave us turning out like her with a permanent example of what not to do. But if you want to be like Bart, gaining sight, healing, or even a testimony of your own, then you’re going to have to do things like he did.

1.      You’re going to have to learn to sit and wait, (Study time and having an encounter with God or learning to be present).

2.      You’re going to have to let some other things go.

3.      Ask for the revelation or instruction.

4.      Take action (jump to feet).

5.      And follow…

If you want victory in your life, you’re going to have to be willing to ‘give up your life to gain it’ so to speak.

Yep, just like we’ve heard a thousand times….

Trusting all those verses that you’ve heard before. That the God who sees hearts and knows you at your core is the same God who came to save (not judge) and says that ALL of your sins are forgiven, and ALL of your wounds are healed-- You’re going to have to walk away from that moment and believe it. No matter how you think, or how you feel, or how the world around you is shifted in response.

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If this post speaks to you and you feel like you’re stuck in an area, I encourage you to reach out to a Christian Counselor, and to others. Someone who can pray with you specifically in the areas that you need that can offer your personal guidance.

A testimony to top it off:

I do not consider myself to be a preacher or even have some ‘special calling’ in regards to sharing the Word. –The things that I write are sometimes reflections of my personal life, my prayer life, and my Bible Study, all rolled into one. They are my notes from my quiet time studying alone, and how I might apply them. (Kind of like Bartimaeus sitting and waiting to have that interaction with Jesus, even if it’s ‘only words on a page’, and what you imagine from that encounter and then research to back it up.)

But what you need to know is that I wrote 98% this post back in March of 2017 and just didn’t finish it. I even told a co-worker, that I felt like these two stories belonged together but that there was something that I was missing… I asked God to take me deeper but eventually, I put it aside and let it rest.

The end of 2017 came with a lot of blows that left me ‘forever changed’. In the beginning, the post made sense to me from previous victories. Yet, I was still blind to other areas that God was dealing with me in that season. Heck, I was blind to what I thought that I knew about myself…

It wasn’t until I started picking up pieces and working through them, that I realized that this post was guidance (prepared in advance) for me through that incredibly difficult ‘journey’.

I believe that he wants to do the same for you…

Deuteronomy 11:18 tells us to ‘lay up these words in your heart and in your soul.’

Psalms 139:5 tells us that the Lord hems us in – before and behind – like a stitch all the way around us. He knows where we’ve been and he’s already ahead of where we’re going.

You might decide to finally sit down with God and give him a try. In your efforts, you may even feel like he passed you by. You got nothing personal out of that time. I’d like to encourage you to do it again but here are a few things, I’d like you to remember ahead of time.

First, be like Bart – ask him to reveal it to you. You may not experience anything profound ‘immediately’ like Bartimaeus. But hold onto anything that sticks out or catches your attention. Maybe even make a note of it (like hiding it in your heart) or dig around the detail no matter how small it seems. You may be surprised when or where it surfaces again in the road up ahead.

And sometimes, again like Bartimaeus, you’re going to have to rely on other senses, like what you hear’ and in this case, just take my word for it.

I’ll be praying the words of Isaiah 30:21 over you: “Whether you go to the right or to the left, may you hear him behind you saying this is the way, go in it.”

Again, I can't help but find the irony that this post will be released at the beginning of a new year! I hope that it is a happy, profound, NEW one for you!