Fresh Oil Pt. 2

"...for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. " Hebrews 11:6b

Last time we talked about ways not to get a fresh anointing from the Lord*. This time it gets a little more personal.

In order for us to move on from the sunken state we've found ourselves in, we must do one thing. We must settle the matter in our hearts once and for all that the fault is with us, not with God. This is nothing more than unbelief in the character of God and His goodness, and cannot be entertained for a second if we want to be set free. 

This is not to say that "wrestling with God" doesn't have its value (see Genesis 22:24-30). We all have times of doubt, "wrestling" with God, and may even curse God to His face (I can remember doing this many times as a new Christian struggling with depression - His grace is unending!).

However, some of us need to stop wrestling and move on. We have "circled this mountain long enough" (Deuteronomy 1:6). It's time to believe God's promises, and enter His Promised Land.

Some of our hymns and church culture refer to the Promised Land as our heavenly destination, but this is not the case. The Holy Spirit-breathed Word is very careful in its symbology,  and we can see from the fact that there are enemies to overcome in the Promised Land that it is not our final  heavenly resting place.

No, the Promised Land is entered after being delivered from the bondage of punishment of Egypt (sin) by the precious blood of the Lamb (see Exodus 12:1-30). After this most of us "wrestle" with God in the wilderness as we discover what it means to be a Christian. When we (and God) decide we've "been at this mountain long enough", we are ready to cross the Jordan, when we have faith to believe the waters of our sinful nature have been (and will continue to be) cut off at the city of Adam by the work of God (see Joshua 3).

As we discussed in the previous devotion, there is no formula to get "there". But when we look back at our lives, God willing, we will see the stages of the journey of the children of Israel in our lives. May those of us who have been in the wilderness "long enough" be willing to take that step of faith to enter the Promised Land: a land of dynamic faith lived out as well as much-needed rest from laboring in our own strength (see Hebrews 4:1-10).

* Most of you probably know this, but it may be helpful to some to point out that oil is a symbol, or type, of the God's Holy, or "set apart" Spirit (ruach qodesh, Heb.)

Fresh Oil Pt. 1

"But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil." Psalm 92:10

When our faith gets stale and we aren't "feeling the Spirit", one of the traps we can fall into is to try to manufacture the emotions we were having at a time when we enjoyed God's presence. Perhaps we will remember a particular conference or concert we went to when we were touched by the Holy Spirit, and we will pull out tapes or CDs and -voila!- we are right back in that moment and we feel those emotions again.

Although we are encouraged to remember God's past faithfulness in our lives throughout the Bible (cf. Psalm 42:6), when our remembering becomes sentimentality and trying to relive the emotions associated with that experience, we will soon find ourselves in a rut.

We may also deal with spiritual low points by relying upon formulas which have worked for us in the past (which at the time weren't formulas at all). This also may work for a time and succeed in bolstering our emotions, but we will soon find it falls short, producing spiritual staleness. As we become more and more in tune* with God's Holy Spirit (Heb. ruach qodesh, or "set-apart spirit"), we will immediately begin to sense we are on a "dead" path, and need a "fresh" anointing from the Lord.

The lessons the Lord is trying to teach us through these experiences are nothing more than patience and reliance upon Him. Fortunately for us the Word is filled with saints that have experienced the same spiritual darkness:

"You who have shown me many troubles and distresses will revive me again, and will bring me up again from the depths of the earth." Psalm 71:20

   

"Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant, who walks in darkness and has no light, yet trusts in the name of the Lord and relies upon his God" Isaiah 50:10

Brothers and sisters, let us not be satisfied until we have received that fresh anointing from the Lord, not relying on past formulas, but always looking forward (cf. Philippians 3:13-14) 

"...let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth." Hosea 6:3

* see God's Frequency