Skip to main content

When God turns us to Himself

Image
By
"Turn us again to yourself, O God.
Make your face shine down upon us.
Only then will we be saved."
Psalm 80: 3, 7, & 19



If you have houseplants, you may notice that they often stretch their stems and blossoms toward the brightest source of sunlight.  For them, this is survival.  They crave the nutrients of the sun and will stretch themselves to absorb as much of the source as possible.  

In Psalm 80, this is also the scene.  Israel is compared to a small grapevine cutting that was brought from Israel and transplanted into fertile soil.  God's people "took root" and flourished.  Filling the land, spreading its branches far and wide, providing shade and protection and strength.

God's people grew strong because their branches were stretching out far to receive the nourishing light of God's love and favor.  They pulled the nourishment down into their roots and became a strong people--deeply rooted in God.

But something happened.  The author says on three different occasions, "Turn us again to yourself."  The picture that I see is of my houseplants.  If there is a different, brighter source of light anywhere close by, they will stretch their stems in the other direction.  

This happened when I was in college.  I had three beloved houseplants that I nurtured, fed, watered, and talked to on a regular basis.  One of the plants was a cutting from my great-grandmother.  I kept them on the windowsill until a roommate moved in and I had to move them to the opposite side of the room.  I noticed that over time, they no longer reached for the light streaming through the window but began reaching for the bedside lamp, which was closer and brighter.

This Scripture makes me curious about what was causing God's people to reach elsewhere for nourishment.  Something was drawing their attention.  I wonder.  
Yet they realized after a while that the "nourishment" that they were receiving was a poor substitute for the rich, warm sunlight.  

Like a little houseplant.  When she realizes that the light she is reaching for is just a bedside lamp. She cries out for her owner to turn her around.  
Turn me back to you.  That my branches and stems may reach for the sun.
That your face may shine down upon me.
That I may see your smiling face, O God.
A face with no anger, no disappointment.

He does not shame us or condemn us for reaching out to other sources.  He is patient.
He gently turns us around again.  And again.  And again.
Only then can we receive what we need.
Only then can we be saved.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What it means when a narcissistic pastor says, "I love the church"

By
I ran across this article while going through a rough place in my life.  It had profound meaning for me in dealing with some of the individuals in my life that have narcissistic traits. The article highlights the fact that when a narcissist says, “I love you,” he really means that he loves the way that you (fill in the blank): take care of his needs, focus your energy on him, submit, etc. Individuals that have been in relationships with narcissists often admit to feeling crazy, not recognizing the abuse while it was occurring, and to keeping secrets to cover for his abuse, infidelity, etc.  I wonder if this is what many people are recognizing in the #exevangelical movement.  Because as I was going through this article again, I began to realize that many of the narcissistic traits could be applied to the many pastors and men in church leadership that I have known through the years. Being in church ministry for twelve years, I became proficient at silence and lies to cover the behavior…
Post a Comment
Read more

To "speak the truth in love" does not mean "reprimand"

By
"...speaking the truth in love..." Ephesians 4:15
Notice the "dot, dot, dot," before and after that phrase?  But how many times have you heard it as a full sentence?  Speak the Truth in love.  As a full sentence, it loses all context.  And how often is this phrase used as an excuse to reprimand another "in love" and tell them about their multitude of sins?
The New Living Translation has a completely different take on this phrase.  It states, "we will hold to the truth in love."  Now, that changes it a bit, doesn't it?  That makes the action about me and not about me acting on another.  
In context, Ephesians 4 is talking about the Body of Christ and how we must work to grow up and mature in the Lord.  "Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe..."  The work is for each of us to grow up and cling to the Lord's love.  
And what Truth are we clinging to?  It is the truth that we are d…
Post a Comment
Read more

Trauma is like a bee in the sand

By
My professor was teaching on the power of language- the power words have over us- when he used the example of the beach. He told us to remember the last time we were at the beach. The warm sand, the relaxing sounds, etc...

It took me back to Mazatlan. I left the resort pool and walked down the small steps to the beach where vendors were selling dresses, sunglasses, jewelry. The sand was warm on my bare feet and I walked quietly through the dry sand, my face to the sun, the wind in my hair... When a pain shot up through the ball of my foot into my ankle. I looked down to see a bee still stuck in the flesh of my foot. I was immediately angry. I looked around to see hundreds of bees in the sand. They had built a nest nearby in the base of a rock and a hotel worker was trying to kill them by covering them with sand... Not a great plan.

As I thought about this in class, I remember that it felt offensive. I was enjoying the stillness, the relaxation. True, I stepped on the bee so technical…
Post a Comment
Read more