Level Ground

“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” -- Psalm 143:10

If you set out walking or running on level ground and then after a period of time you come to a big hill you have to run up, you are going to have to labor harder to cover the same distance due to the elevation change. Likewise, if you come across a big hill that you have to run down you are going to have to labor harder to keep from picking up too much speed and hurting yourself. Moving across level ground is the easiest way to get from where you are to where you are going.

I talked a couple of days ago about teaching vs. admonishment. There is definitely a time and place for admonishment, but the level ground of the Holy Spirit is reached by learning from God's teaching. If God were so focused on reward and punishment, we would spend a lot more of our time being admonished than we would being taught. Plus, why would God reward those who skirt the rules and ignore His teachings while many of us who diligently obey are seemingly made to suffer? It just doesn't make any sense no matter how you try and slice it. The counter, of course, is the old 'Well, God works in mysterious ways!" Yeah, He sure does...but there is a big gap between mysterious and backwards.

No, God just loves us the way any loving, caring father would love his children. Even if one of my kids was so far down the wrong path that they refused to believe in God I would love them just as much and pray for them just as much. How much more, then, do you suspect God loves us and wants desperately for us to 'get it'?

God loves us, all of us, unconditionally...but in order for us to receive the good Spirit and be led on level ground we have to give ourselves completely to Him. We can't do it just on Sunday or just when we are hanging out with friends who believe in God and then turn around and act like a fool the rest of the time. We can't do it completely in one area and not in another. To not be thorough about results in us having to climb yet another hill wondering all the why God would let that happen to us. Until we throw all of our pride away and seek first and always to obey what He teaches us, we can't be completely broken and ready to His will.

But once we do that...then we become absolutely unstoppable warriors for God. Through God we will do more good than we could ever know. It may not always be painless for us, don't get me wrong, but a painful day in God's will is better than a thousand painless days without it.