Monday Morning Meditation #17: I Am the Lord Your God

I have now slowed to a crawl through the chapters of Numbers. Who would have thought this particular book would be so rich and interesting? In the verses leading up to 15:41, which says, "I am the Lord your God," much takes place in quick order. Israeli spies are sent, in accordance with God's instructions to Moses, to look at the land of Canaan for the purpose of possessing it; this is the land of milk and honey which had been promised to them. While the land was good, the spies found the people living there to be formidable, and, not trusting God implicitly and fully to fulfill His promise, all but two (Joshua and Caleb) became afraid and tried to dissuade the people from doing God's will by spreading lies about the land, e.g., that the land "eats its inhabitants." Upon hearing these lies, the people of Israel began to complain and back off from their forward movement, even going so far as saying that they wanted to return to Egypt. This angered God, but Moses appealed to God to forgive the Israelites yet another time, and God did. There were, however, consequences. The Israelites' punishment was to be 40 years in the wilderness, and with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, who had urged the people not to rebel against God and to fear nothing because God would be with them, only the successive generation would be allowed to enter the promised land. God then killed the lying spies by the plague, and Moses told the remaining people, who had changed their minds and now wanted the promised land, not to go up the mountain because the Lord was not with them. They went nonetheless (in the words of Numbers, they presumed to go), and, as a result, they were smitten by the Amalekites and Canaanites.

Reading: Numbers 15:41

Meditation: Part of the Lord's prayer asks that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Also, we often pray that in any given situation that God's will be done. Sometimes those are meaningful words when we say them; sometimes they are empty. Clearly, according to this passage, God's volition will be done, no matter what, but how much better it would be if we were to do it without pressure, with gladness in our hearts, in contrast to the rebellion of the Israelites. Our lives would not necessarily be easier, not less filled with sorrow, but we would have a certain peace, not obtainable any other way, in accepting, like Job did, the will of God. Recently, I was struck by the extraordinary submission to God's will evidenced by one of the followers of my blog, Debbie, who lost her daughter, Amy Dawn (who had been on my prayer list for months), to cancer. I cannot come close to describing the depth of her faith that can serve as a model for all of us, so I will suggest that you read her words for yourself at her blog: There's an Angel on My Front Porch.

What happens, however, when unlike Debbie, we do not submit to the will of God, when we disobey God? Punishment! For the Israelites, it was 40 years to be spent in the wilderness. Now, perhaps that was not a punitive response, but an instructive one. In those 40 years, they Israelites would have to learn to rely on God for there is little to rely on in the wildernesss for that number of people. Yes, the Bedouins manage fine -- I know, I spent a week with them two years ago in that same wilderness of the wandering Israelites and quite understand how easy it could be never to find one's way back out, all the sand looking alike -- but the Israelites were there before the days of modern vehicles and domesticated camels. While there have been times in the Old Testament when God's punishment has been fierce and final, in the case of the 40 years in the desert, a certain amount of "faith formation" could take place if the Israelis were, in the long run, willing. (To comment on that, I will have to read further -- although we all do know the ending of this story.)

What happens when we try to do something when God is not with us? This is another question raised by these chapters, and the answer is quite clear: we fail! When the Israelites presumed that they could fight without God, those who went to the mountaintop were slaughtered. Oh, so many times, I have made a decision at work or planned to do something without first praying about it, and likely as not it has failed. When I later pray about it, a good result ensues. I hate being a slow learner like this, but, alas, I am. One of the most dramatic cases occurred a number of years ago when an action I took -- not prayed about because I was an atheist then -- resulted in a lawsuit against my organization and me, and the plaintiff won. The organization (thankfully, a forgiving one) had to pay tens of thousands of dollars for my mistake. Then, when I had left the organization and returned years later, I found that this individual had been promoted to a collegial level, and now I would have to interact with him on a regular basis. I forgave him for that lawsuit and made it clear that I had done so; that occurred at a time after my conversion when God was teaching me about forgiveness. As a result, this person has not only forgiven me in return and become a good colleague; he has become one of my greatest fans and touts his fanhood far and wide.

What happens when someone tries to thwart the will of God? Well, in yet another lesson from these chapters, it would appear that the individual disappears. That is what happened to all the lying spies who tried to prevent the people from fulfilling God's plan for them to acquire the land of the Canaanites. Away they went, succumbing to the plague. Away, too, went an obstreperous doctor in Russia when, after I had obtained the agreement of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow that Katya (Tanya), an ill, blind orphan, deserved to be and would be issued a visa (and eventually was -- see the section on recent prayers answered in the sidebar), the doctor refused to provide the paperwork needed for Tanya to travel to the USA. Right about the time that Tanya got her passport and would need the travel paperwork for the embassy, the doctor simply disappeared and was replaced with a more supportive doctor. No one knows what happened with the first doctor, but getting in God's way was certainly not the smartest thing to do!

Similarly, when I brought dying child artist Shura to the US, I received a number of indications that I should bring him to the Washington, DC/Virginia area. However, because I wanted him with me in California -- I erroneously figured that would be easier all around -- I brought him to California. We found no medical or financial help at all. When we finally got our miraculous offer of assistance from a billionaire in New York, the condition should have made me wince: the care had to be given at the University of Virginia Hospital. And so, like others in the past, we got on a plane in obedience to God, and the end result was stunning: life-changing for Shura and faith confirming for many people.

And then there was Jonah, who refused to go to Ninevah. He got swallowed by a large fish and was thrown up on the shore. Where? Outside Ninevah! He was going to go to Ninevah because that was the will of the Lord, which outweighed in significance the will, desire, or fear of Jonah. I understand Jonah's predicament. There was a time I wanted a different job, and God would not let me have it. The job I have is the one God wanted me to have, the one He pushed me into, and the one He made me stay in. I had a Jonah experience, and I can tell you for sure that what God really wants, God really gets, and there is no question about it!

So, what is the bottom line? God is in charge, and when it is important to Him that His will be done, it will happen! As Numbers 15:41 says: "I am the Lord your God!" Indeed, He is the Lord My God.

And that is far as I can go with you on this Monday morning. I must retire to prayer to ask God to show me how to let Him always be in charge and to knock me on the head when I "presume" to ignore His will, to repent for all those times I have marched on alone without Him or refused to march along with Him, to give thanks for His forgiveness in each case and his continued lessons, and to offer praise for the depth for His love and patience for someone as unworthy as I have been.

After that, I will spend some time in contemplation, open to His guidance and His will. I especially welcome His presence right now here with me, as well as in my daily life and at my work this coming week and always. Why He never fails me, no matter how ornery I am, I do not know, but I love it!

I will now leave you to your prayer and contemplation, but first, I would like to bring to your attention a Monday morning prayer post that you might enjoy:

Fr. Austin Fleming, priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and pastor in Concord, Massachusetts, posts a prayer each Monday morning that he calls "Monday Morning Offering." I enjoy his prayers very much. I hope you also will find them inspirational. He has graciously given me permission to include a link to his blog on my Monday Morning Meditation posts.

For additional inspiration throughout the week, I would point out two sets of blogs: (1) the list of inspirational blogs that follow the enumeration of Monday Morning Meditations on the sidebar of this blog and (2) my blogroll, where I am following a number of inspirational priests and writers about spiritual matters. I learn so very much from all these people. I highly recommend them to you.

Have a good day and a good week, remembering in all things to accept the will of the Lord. May you be blessed by the outpouring of love and the stunning miracles that follow when one listens, trusts, and obeys.

If you pick this up as a weekly devotional activity, please share with me and others your own thoughts about today's reading or any other scripture that you choose for meditation. Until I figure out how to use the Mr. Linky buttons, you are welcome to copy and use the image of the mission church and share the meme of Monday Morning Meditation for starting out the work week closer to God.