From Frying Pan to Fire … to Joyful Noise

S - Psalm 66:1-4, 8-12, 20 (NRSV): "Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise. Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you. All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name." (Selah) … Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip. For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs; you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place. … Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me."

O - The presence of burdens, fire and water, which do not cease at the first prayer or two prayed bring with them the threat and fear of rejected prayer and the threat and fear of being a rejected person (the removal of his steadfast love). While it is true that these fears and threats fly in the face of God's impeccable character and his unfailing love, they seem confirmed by our circumstances and intensified by our emotions. The initial 'Why is this happening?' gives way to 'Why is this still happening?' What purpose does it serve? Why does the Lord let this go on? I find it painfully interesting that the two things which are most transient on this earth, viz. circumstances and emotions, call into question the two things which never change, viz. the Lord's character and his unending, unflickering love. The psalmist likens the experience to silver being refined … something which requires continuous and intense heat for a protracted period. Clearly, the process is in fact a process which requires time. Of course, we prefer the role of silversmith and not of silver. The truth is we're never the silversmith and always the silver. The smith understands the process and its purpose. The silver does not. What the silver (in this psalm) can understand is the difference between the temporary and the permanent, the facts that the process is purposeful and that the end is very good. It is described as a spacious place (NRSV), a place of abundance (NIV), a place of great abundance (NLT) and a wealthy place (KJV). The Hebrew, Latin and Greek all convey the same concept … a place of wonderful saturation. What begins under the threat of a starkly impoverished condition ends in the exact opposite … I guess the psalmist got it right 'How awesome are your deeds!'

A - It seems that I have been giving huge amounts of energy to the wrong things. While my desire to learn and to grow is good, there are some situations where this optic cannot and will not be helpful. If my desire to understand inflicts doubts and accusations at the Lord's person and character growth really is not so much the issue. Control or intellectual dominance may be. The problem is that these belong to the smith and not to the silver (control is never really mine and intellectual dominance allows me to console myself with information rather than with the Lord's presence). So, when the purpose is hidden, when the process is painfully long, the place I am called to occupy amidst fire and flood is to rivet my focus on the Lord's character and steadfast love and to trust him to a conclusion which is wonderfully saturated with his goodness. This is not always easy but is always possible. This is why we pray and don't give up (cf. Luke 18). This is where presence and not information, child-likeness (trust in the parent) and not childishness (tantrums based on emotions and circumstances) is lived out and will carry the day. This is my assignment and the assignment for all who follow.

P - Dear Lord and King and Silversmith,
I admit that I have been long in the struggle and short on the response you both deserve and require. I know that you understand it all and I rarely understand the real issues. Thank you for not rejecting my prayers, my person nor withholding your life-giving, life-sustaining, better than life love. While I am very ready for the heat to be turned down I choose to remain, to yield, to welcome your will and to stand expectantly for how long you deem the process to be necessary. As long as your goodness and glory are being served, then please keep the heat on. I also ask that as soon as you are no longer served I be released from the process. I'm sure this is already in your heart but I'm attempting to pour out mine. The day you have made lies ahead. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth and in me just like it happens in heaven. I will offer my best and diligently train in the reality which is -- you're the silversmith and I'm the silver … hi ho silver ... away,
Steve