The discovery of new things about myself, my life, and the roads I travel never grows old. All of it makes me evermore aware “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is [His] faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV). No one observing my life sees the things I see or knows the things I know. Even those who know me better than most are not privy to the deepest parts of my soul, but then neither am I to theirs. So, what does any of this have to do with brussels sprouts? Perhaps by the end of this post, you will see something in brussels sprouts and in your life you might not have seen before. For now, let me just say whether we know each other or not, whether we like them or not...we should all eat the brussels sprouts. It might just be the most important thing we will ever do for ourselves and for those we love most in this world.
Although I do like brussels sprouts, I should probably tell you I was in my sixty-fifth year before I tried them again after many, many years of avoiding them. I readily admit to anyone who will listen how good they are. Of course, not everyone agrees with me. Before we get too far into this, you should be aware of these two things: the brussels sprouts of which I write this week are proverbial, and I will not be force feeding anyone anything. God placed the idea of writing about this particular vegetable in my heart this week. That is not as strange as it might sound. I did eat brussels sprouts this week. I always say, "God speaks to us in ways He knows we will hear." So, why not brussels sprouts? He understands what I mean when I say, "Eat the brussels sprouts." And, hopefully, you will too.
The reality of your life and mine…some things about us only God knows. From the simplest to the more complex, He knows every part of us. I realize that pegs the irritability meter for those who have life all figured out without God's help. It might also cause a bit of anxiety in others who would rather no one know anything about them, most especially God. For me, having the all-knowing God living right here, right now among us leaves me in absolute awe. He never discovers anything new. Our omniscient God has always known and will always know everything about me. That means the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly. He created me to be in a relationship with Him. "By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything" (1 John 3:19-20). Diving deeply into His Word we become aware of the central role biblical wisdom plays in our spiritual growth. Not only does God know us, but He desires that we know Him and His Word too. "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:12-13).
When my heart condemns me, God knows. As for my thoughts...though I might conceal them from others, which might at times actually be the better thing...that is not the case with God. We might deny Him or ignore Him telling ourselves He does not exist; nonetheless, there is nothing we can withhold from Him (Job 42:2). What He knows about me, He understands. Personally, I realize how differently life looks when we rely on those who think they know us and understand us to be our guides. There is no one better than God to direct our way. I am thankful for His divine guidance, care, and control. I choose Him over every human thing, idea, or plan. God's promises remain far above all the empty promises the world and those of it might make.
Some find choosing God and Christianity a distasteful choice these days, detested and despised really by the many promoting the cultural norms of our day and the rhetoric of a society gone mad. Evil no longer hides itself. It stands in the forefront. Satan desires our full attention. Although I am wary of him, he will not be getting any of my attention. He gets quite enough of it from the world and those doing his bidding. Using the world and the many following him quite adeptly, he is cunning in the ways he taints truth. Of course, we should expect that from the angel of darkness, the prince of lies. Those who buy into the deceitful worldviews and schemes he places out there seem unaware his agenda is purchased at a great price. That price...life.
Allowing the subjective narratives of the world to feed our lost, lonely, anxious, fearful, and confused hearts, minds, and souls, the people God created us to be fade away, and we easily become one with the world and those of it. “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?” (James 4:4-5)
Choosing the road leading into the world, we fight against the spirit God placed within us from the beginning of our lives. The freedom we seek evaporates and our lives end. “Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves here husband, so you have been treacherous to me, O house of Israel, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 3:20). Satan desires our lover be him, that our choice be idolatry and immorality. God, however, allows turnarounds, U-turns, and detours. He knows us. He sees us. He loves us. He understands us. He speaks to us through His unchanging Word today just as He spoke to others all those years ago. He provides every opportunity for us to choose differently. He sends the Holy Spirit to help us in every battle of temptation and sin we fight. The world wants us, but God jealously does too because of who He is and who He created us to be. Unlike Satan and those of the world, God always does what He says He will do. “God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?” (Numbers 23:19, NLT).
Some adamantly say, “Yes.” Some doubt the reality of God, some His righteousness, some His goodness. Today many find the truth of God's Word an unpalatable form of wisdom. I liken that to my own childhood experiences with brussels sprouts. My parents did not force feed me anything, especially brussels sprouts. That was one vegetable I was not going to eat no matter how it was disguised. It was and remained for many years completely unpalatable in my opinion. As a child, my mom and my dad made it clear to me I did not have to eat the brussels sprouts even though eating them would be good for me. Good for me or not, it took me an extremely long time to eat them both literally and figuratively.
Today, we, like children, refuse the things that are good for us, the things that make us better, the things that create in us healthier hearts and minds and souls. In fact, we go to great lengths to avoid anything that goes against our created reality and our subjective truths. We hear God’s Word is not palatable, that the Bible is irrelevant in today’s world, that its ancient words must be re-written to align with the cultural norms of today. In our stubborn, childishness, we believe every falsehood the world and those of it peddle. We call ourselves spiritual, but not religious. Identifying that as the better label, we attempt to edit God or remove Him completely from our homes, our families, our relationships, our institutions of learning, our government, our culture, our society. You name it, we want Him gone though we tell ourselves and everyone else that is not what we are doing. Even our churches find themselves infiltrated by a deceptive presence that beckons, “Come, follow me.”
Whomever or whatever it is keeping us from seeking truth and finding nourishment in God's spiritual food…self-sufficiency, self-righteousness, self-will, ignorance, sin, our friends, our family, an ideology, an agenda…somehow misses this absolute truth—it is impossible to edit God and to silence the truth of who He is. We can hide from the truth of God and His Word, lie to ourselves and to others. We can ignore God, even deny His existence because that is certainly a more comfortable way to go through life than to accept personal accountability for ourselves and the way we are living. There, however, will always be something in our hearts, our minds, and our souls pointing to the God who created our inmost being. He is not going anywhere, and whether we like it or not, whether we believe it or not--God is the foundation of all truth. So, while the forces among us attempt to knock us off balance, normalizing sin, blatantly disregarding God and the unchanging truth of His Word, there will always be an undeniable pull toward Him. Accepting that and seeking absolute truth, our yearning leads us to Jesus Christ. Those leading others through the wide gate always find willing participants, but that path, while extremely broad always leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13). No one remaining there ever wins.
The time is upon us to eat the brussels sprouts. God is patient, but He will not wait forever. Spiritual nourishment is found in the unchanging, infallible, inerrant, Word of God. Diving deeply, we taste and see the Lord is good, and find ourselves with feet firmly upon the narrow road that leads to everlasting life. With God there is no compromise.
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
I sought the Lord, and he answered me and
delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and
the Lord heard him and
saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil and
your lips from speaking deceit.
Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
Psalm 34
Coming Soon:
Deep Satisfaction, Where Are You?
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