THE SCENARIO: AdistaxtoS, a Christian friend, wants to live more closely tethered to Jehovah their God in the coming year. Apparently, In respect of that, God convicted AdistaxtoS to be cognizant of His place in their heart as the clock ticks out the seconds that lie before AdistaxtoS in the year ahead. Jehovah God asked AdistaxtoS to be cognizant of His place in their heart in some very specific ways, as the gift of those seconds, rife with opportunity to live more closely tethered to God, one-by-one pass. One tick, and He reigns on the throne of AdistaxtoS’ heart, two ticks, He still reigns there, three ticks, He still reigns there, four ticks…
In the outworking of this scenario please consider, alongside AdistaxtoS, the following seven heart-tether resolutions that AdistaxtoS will, in the coming year, to the best of their ability practice, as motivated by a thirsting love for their God and a hunger for the joy of His fellowship:
Figure 1 Going Forward: A Closer Walk with Jehovah God-Resolutions
The Living God Jehovah wants spiritual Intimacy with His friend AdistaxtoS. This of course stirred a bit of a back-and-forth between the omniscient and omnipresent Living Lord and AdistaxtoS over the issue of prayer (please bear a little sub-scenario right here): ‘…Well, said AdistaxtoS to their Lord, I’ll get more regular with my prayer schedule; you know Lord, my morning prayers when I rise, at lunch when I give you thanks, my bedtime prayers—I’ve been lax here Lord, I see what you mean—I’ll fix the prayer schedule Lord so as to please you…’ But the Living God said to AdistaxtoS: ‘…I’m sorry AdistaxtoS, but it turns out that when your schedule demands prayer, mine has me in conference with my Archangels! O AdistaxtoS, of course, certainly, I hear your prayers, but I desire for you to talk to me about every detail of your life, all the time, any time. I love your prayers, even as I love you AdistaxtoS, but I hate your prayer schedule…’ So AdistaxtoS became convicted about their prayer schedule, and decided to practice walking before their God in what His Word calls “an attitude of prayer” (Job 15:2-4, Rom 12:12, Col 4:2, 1Th 5:17). This change was not easy—AdistaxtoS somehow felt uneasy about letting go of their prayer schedule in favor of of this second-by-second free-flowing prayerful walk before their God. It soon became clear however that their prayer schedule had actually hindered the intimacy with their God that very prayer was supposed to manifest (it wasn’t the prayers per se, it was the demands of the schedule that did this, even the guilt for not keeping the schedule meticulously; spiritually speaking, schedules are heart-dead sorts of things). AdistaxtoS resolves that when first they engage their day going forward, the prayer they share with their God will but continue a blessed conversation that only ended the day prior because the God of prayer found sleep finally overcoming he AdistaxtoS.
AdistaxtoS would sure like to keep the joy of the Lord before them and embrace it, or, better said, let it embrace them, in both the ups and the downs that lie ahead. And this so that AdistaxtoS might not become exceedingly joyful up on the mountaintops or exceedingly despondent down in the valleys going forward, for there is found no close heart-tether to God—AdistaxtoS’ overarching resolution going forward—in the distraction of such extremes. AdistaxtoS knows that a close heart-tether to God will not manifest in a heart where there are thrones upon which such extremes may reign, and that in turn the joy of the Lord will not manifest in a heart that is not closely tethered to the God of very Joy. But AdistaxtoS, by seeking God’s face, this heart-tether-walk with Him going forward, will be embraced by the joy of the Lord their God by default, a joy that by its surpassing character humbles that bit of joy found up on the God-distracting mountaintops and lifts up that antithesis of joy found down in the God-distracting valleys.
We were talking with AdistaxtoS just the other day and asked them how they plan to put into shoe leather this particular resolution in the overall picture of walking closer to their God, this transfer of all trust to Jehovah God going forward. AdistaxtoS replied: ‘…Consummate trust going forward, well, I would like to do as I have been doing for many years of late—ask God first to strengthen my heart to accept from His hand that which befalls or might befall me, especially that which I cannot understand. I straighten myself in this, beseeching His grace right here first thing up front, because my trust-battles are determined right here; they are won and lost right here. Then, when He has strengthened my heart to accept any eventuality, by leaning on the occasion-specific promises of God found in His Word, I prayerfully step out in trust with anticipatory watching and anticipatory waiting…’ Then AdistaxtoS added: ‘…I know Jehovah God keeps His promises; this I know by experience, by witness, by record. It is His kept promises that further grace and quicken my trust. I know, well, I should say, I have learned, that He Jehovah God alone is always right, hands down, no matter what, though even He should choose to slay me in this life; and He alone is always righteous, hands down, no matter what, though even He should choose to slay me in this life. You see, my God makes Himself, indeed He shows Himself, trustworthy. He, His promises, can be trusted. Thus I will trust Him going forward…’
AdistaxtoS, what do you mean by “an eternal perspective,” and how does that fit into your overall resolution to walk more closely tethered to Jehovah God going forward? ‘…An eternal perspective, even mine, contemplates the existential crisis…’ What do you mean by “existential crisis”?, unfold this a little bit please. ‘…Finiteness, you know, boundedness, constraint, that… is the existential crisis. To my frustration it finds expression precisely in that one day I, mortal, finite, shall die, but, I wish not to die, and rather to live forever. This crisis frustrates me, not least because I have the capacity to grasp it, even the weight of it, and further have the capacity to contemplate very existence, death, existence after death—especially my own and that of my loved ones and friends, and so forth. In my finiteness I am in a state of negative flux moving headlong toward an unsettling terminus. I should, somehow, look about for a means to settle this crisis to my advantage such that I might not die, even live quite happily forever. But, everywhere I look, I find nothing but more finiteness. As you can see, I cannot settle my existential crisis to my advantage by way of the finiteness that is about me, though it is ever about and available for me to do so if only I could. That too frustrates me. I must somehow transcend the finiteness that is everywhere all about me, unto another domain, infinite, unbounded, indeed, eternal, and there, in that domain, fraught with infinitude and unboundedness, indeed, eternality, find the means for me to settle to my advantage the existential crisis that sobers me so in my finite domain, in my acute finiteness therein. That, in the aggregate, is my eternal perspective. Now you may say, “…it is one thing to propose a domain fraught with infinitude and unboundedness, indeed, eternality, and something else to actually discover it, and yet quite something else to attain to it in kind…” All true. In fact, it cannot be discovered, of course. It must be revealed, and this necessitates an eternal perspective, at least. And it cannot be attained to in kind, certainly; it must be imparted. Father God Jehovah, in and through the person of God the Son Jesus Christ, reveals this transcendent domain (Jhn 3:13, 16:28); and He it is that invited me to enter it, and attain in kind a nature, His nature (Rom 8:29, 1Pe 2:9), unto infinitude and nonconstraint and eternality, indeed, unto the settling of my existential crisis to my advantage (“A Letter of Invitation” for the unbeliever both as an invitation and for more background concerning the immediate context). Thus the maintenance of an eternal perspective going forward, not least the contemplation of both the negative and the positive aspects of it, convinces me of and motivates me to a closer walk with the Infinite One, the Eternal One who, manifestly in Jesus Christ, offers to settle and in fact settled my existential crisis to my advantage…’ (Jhn 11:25-26).
Isn’t it great that God Almighty considers Himself to be a Father to His people, and they in turn are considered to be His children? Jesus, the Son of God, the revealer of our Father God, indeed sent by our Father God to reveal God, even His Fatherhood, brought as from the outstretched arms of our Father both the revelation and the literal touch-contact of this exceedingly warm familial love embrace. And that is the embrace that AdistaxtoS wishes to engage going forward—let us catch up with AdistaxtoS: How so AdistaxtoS, this filial walk you mention? ‘…By walking as a child of this my Father God in my dwellings and desires and deeds (Mat 5-7, “The Beatitudes”). I’m going to give it my best, and when I stumble—now I don’t want to stumble, but I probably will—then I’m fast gonna’ get up and ask my Father to brush the dirt off me and get me back in the race I’m running for Him (1Jo 1:9), and then I’m gonna’ run that race anew, for Him, because I love Him and wish to please Him and make His heart glad…’ AdistaxtoS, tell me, why is that you love your God so very much—these words exude quite a passion for God? ‘…Well, you know, my sin debt has been settled, and that was an expensive, burgeoning load you can be sure, and so my eternity is secure—now it might not have been; He pulled me back from the brink, literally, and let me not pass without a second chance to engage His love. And it’s a bright eternity, in His presence I mean, sharing His holiness—there’s a mouthful—and all this because of what He sacrificed on my behalf. He gives and He gives ever to secure a familial relationship with me. Okay, so that should be reason enough, but the heart thumper that “gets” me here is that all of this was motivated by His love for me even whilst yet I was His enemy, quite an enemy, to be sure, and then all He really wants from me is to do something I’m quite capable of doing given He helps me, and that is to love Him! (Jhn 14:15-16, 26-29, 15:10, 15), to love Him as would a friend, a confidant, one of His Family. That’s not much to ask—it bears out how very focused He is on His familial love relationship with me; focused to see it blossom, bearing fruit going forward—all that in itself too is a heart thumper that “gets” me. So that’s behind my feeble passion for Jehovah my God who deserves all that plus that which I humanly speaking simply cannot muster…’
We caught up with AdistaxtoS again and wanted to get their take on their thanksgiving resolution: ‘…Yes, giving thanks in everything going forward. It can be done, but the heart, a broken heart, may not be fully in it in everything, at least for a time. So it is with the flesh…’ Considering 1Thessalonians 5:18 AdistaxtoS, is this a sin? ‘…Depends. Depends on the “…at least for a time…” duration, like so maybe: How long will you go on grieving, consumed, not lifting up your eyes praising God, not giving Him thanks for myriad joys He nonetheless otherwise soaks you with, trifling with His greater purposes, minimizing the eternal and elevating the temporal? (cf. resolution four, cf. 1Sa 16:1)…’ AdistaxtoS continued: ‘…God knows all about broken hearts. His has been broken a time or two. He knows brokenness’ duration, even ours…’ Life is a complex mix. What else do you see yourself on the lookout for going forward here AdistaxtoS? ‘…Well, then there is the bitter heart—bitter with God, bitter with others, bitter with circumstances, bitter with life, bitter with this, bitter with that—it is probably not predisposed to giving thanks in even just a few things. This is sin. A bitter heart is different than a broken heart. A broken heart is a bleeding heart. A bitter heart is a pus-festering heart. A bleeding heart, healed, cognizant of God’s healing—for He alone heals—in and of itself must needs exude gratitude, give thanks, in everything, from the heart; a bitter heart, pus-festering, cannot be healed while it continues to fester. It must stop festering, then it might be healed, and give thanks, in everything, from the heart…’ What else please, AdistaxtoS? ‘…There’s so much, let’s hit a few others. A boastful heart, it is into thanksgiving in just a few things, all-about-me things we can be sure. This too is sin. A boastful heart, boasting, cannot be healed while it continues inwardly focused thus to boast. It must stop boasting, turning outward, thus focused, then it might be healed, and give thanks in everything, from the heart. Thanksgiving is an outward directed sort of thing. Now take the angry heart, fuming; it is not fully with it. Again, this is sin. An angry heart, fuming, enraged, cannot be healed while it is angry—a sort of festering in its own right. It must stop fuming, then it might be healed, and find peace, the peace of God the Healer, and soon give thanks in everything, from the heart (Phl 4:4-7, Col 3:15). Let’s do another one, a prevalent one: The disappointed heart, notwithstanding, sobered, maybe flat accepting, as if from the hand of omniscient God Jehovah, may not be fully into thanksgiving in everything up front. This is not sin if indeed it is sobered and/or accepting, at which juncture thereabouts it might be healed, and exude the praise of thanks in everything, from the heart. And one more—let’s end with the positive: Is not precisely a loving heart the fertile ground out of which might spring the praise of thanks in every circumstance?—let us hear a brother, Paul the Apostle (Phl 4:9), tethered to His Lord Jesus in all circumstances, giving thanks: “…Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…” (1Cr 13:1-3, 4-8). Here is a more excellent way that leads to the praise of thanks in everything. This is most becoming of a child of God; thus even glorifying and pleasing their God in everything, making glad His heart in everything, very Heart of consummate Love…’
With this resolution you must be thinking of that which lies dearest to God’s heart, namely, the Flock, and attending to its needs must be in its own way a very special walk with the Head Shepherd, would that be right AdistaxtoS? ‘…Yes…’ This feeding of the Flock of God going forward, what burden thereto has God placed on your heart AdistaxtoS?, what do you have in mind? ‘…The burden is one of passing along clean water and food in a secure environment such that the Flock can be nourished, such that it can eat and drink in peace without reserve, and sense that in fact it is very much concerned about and deeply loved, by God foremost, who after all burdens His people thus for the sake of His beloved Flock (“Feed My Sheep”)…’ What do you mean by clean water and food? ‘…For starters, the water and food is strictly that which I hold in my hands here—you see my Bible in my hands of course; it is the Word of God. The same is passed along clean when it is passed along untainted, unadulterated…’ By what standard? ‘…That inquiry has a long history by which we may benefit, not least the early Church councils and creeds as touching the guidance and teaching of the apostles who of course were taught by Jesus, the Head Shepherd and owner of the Church. And God has given us the Holy Spirit who guides and teaches each believer personally, thus there is some rich diversity on the finer points that blesses us, notwithstanding, we are quite united in our faith in Jesus Christ upon whom the whole of Christianity turns: His eternality, that is, God the Son, the second person of the triune God Jehovah, that is, Father God, God the Son Jesus, God the Holy Spirit, His virgin birth, His ministry of Redemption unto Salvation, specifically, His death, burial and resurrection; His exaltation at the right hand of Father God even as we speak, His deity, the privileges of which He laid aside in order to consummate our Redemption unto Salvation, His impending return to establish His Millennial Kingdom, thence ultimately to usher in eternity future, a future that will unfold in accordance with the preordained intentions of Jehovah God, even life eternal in His presence, we, sons and daughters of this great God Most High, serving Him, knowing Him, enjoying Him, adoring Him, loving Him, being loved by Him, forever…’ Thank you AdistaxtoS. ‘…Christ bless you and draw nigh unto you going forward dear friend…’