~The Emporer’s Old Clothes—Part C~
So there I stood: rebelliously freed from my old garment with no replacement garments in sight.
My dear reader, hopefully you are seeking the Lord faithfully enough that He has confronted you with the Truth about some area of your life. If so, I’m sure you can relate to my dilemma in that moment of Truth: realization brought the strong temptation to panic. Instead of waiting quietly before the One who obviously had everything under control, the One who had revealed this lie to me in the first place—instead of asking, “Lord, now that you’ve shown me the Truth, what should I do about this garment? How do you want to fix my problem?”—instead of keeping my eyes and mind focused upon Him, I gave in to the frantic wish to be free of my robe immediately. I had not waited for the Lord, had not sought His solution.
Because of my own haste, I was naked. Completely exposed.
The Lord’s second “knot jerking” session—a far more extensive operation than bringing me to salvation—was under way.
I did not possess the capability of creating my own ideal. I had no concept of how to look like, act like, or dress like “Me.” I discovered that I did not know how to have an opinion; in fact, I did not really know how to think for myself. But I had long believed that I should not ask for help—I would only be a burden, an annoyance. So I could not reason or develop my own thoughts…but would not make any requests of classmates or professors to teach me how. Clearly, this was a recipe for disaster. And because of my own panic, I was still emotionally naked: I had no identity.
So, did I cry out to the Lord, admitting my inability to handle the situation? No. As I mentioned before, I had long believed that I should not burden another with my problems or apparent failure to measure up. Jesus, my Savior and Lord, was not exempt from my prideful fear of being a bother. How arrogant and blind can my human heart possibly be?
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“Here is my servant, whom I support, my chosen one, in whom I take pleasure. I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring justice to the Goyim. He will not...snap off a broken reed or snuff out a smoldering wick....Thus says God, Adonai, who...gives breath to the people on [the earth] and spirit to those who walk on it: 'I, Adonai, call you[, my servant,] righteously, I took hold of you by the hand, I shaped you and made you a covenant for the people, to be a light for the [gentiles], so that you can open blind eyes, free the prisoners from confinement, those living in darkness from the dungeon. I am Adonai; that is my name; I yield my glory to no one else….The blind I will lead on a road they don't know, on roads they don't know I will lead them; I will turn darkness to light before them, and straighten their twisted paths. These are things I will do without fail....Listen, you deaf! Look, you blind!—So that you will see! Who is as blind as my servant, or as deaf as the messenger I send? Who is as blind as the one I rewarded, as blind as the servant of Adonai?’
“You see much but don’t pay attention; you open your ears, but you don’t listen. Adonai was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake, to make the Torah great and glorious. But this is a people pillaged and plundered, all trapped in holes and sequestered in prisons. They are there to be plundered, with no one to rescue them; there to be pillaged, and no one says, ‘Return them!’…But now this is what Adonai says, he who created you…he who formed you…‘Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you; I am calling you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through water, I will be with you; when you pass through rivers, they will not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire, you will not be scorched—the flame will not burn you….Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who bears my name, whom I created for my glory—I formed him, yes, I made him.’
“Bring forward the people who are blind but have eyes, also the deaf who have ears."
~Isaiah 42-43:8~
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I love the ninth chapter of John. In the first seven verses alone, the Lord provides such a wealth of reasons to praise Him! Like the blind beggar, Jesus chooses us out for healing--without our asking, and often without our even realizing the need or possibility of healing exists. He blinds us in order to give us sight. And He orders us to move: calling us to participate, to "own" our new growth and freedom. I don't know about you, but I regularly find myself feeling very, very spoiled by how generous the righteous, pure, holy Most High God is with His time and resources--toward me! I am chosen… redeemed… protected… loved. Even when I do not acknowledge my own need for His attention and healing.
In the midst of my nakedness, my blind panic and deaf rebellion, Jesus chose me. He blinded me. He called me to move forward in faith. And as I did so, He began to give me sight.
[final version of Part C--begun in 2009. Part D will follow soon!]
