The Normal Christian Life -- Part Two

Yesterday, I wrote about the first step in "the Normal Christian Life" -- a touch from God, a "close moment" when we know His Power and Presence and Peace in the midst of trials and terror.  It may be that this is not our first encounter with the Power and Presence of God; many of us as children knew His closeness as we grew up, or experienced drawing close to Him along the way.  But, as we grew, we also experienced our own 'power and presence' and wanted to 'be as gods' to save ourselves, to exert our own powers and to build our own 'towers of Babel."  Usually, it is when our lives have more or less fallen apart -- like the woman at the well -- that we cry out to God and experience really for the first time what He said to Abraham: Do not be afraid, Abraham, I am your shield and your very great reward (Gen. 15:1).

I remember when I first met the local neighborhood evangelists, who wanted me to say with them 'the sinner's prayer,' confessing that I was a sinner.  I was at that time still in the pride of my life, and I did not think I was "that bad."  In my own mind, I was not perfect, but 'trying to do right.'  Like most people, I had absolutely no spiritual understanding at all of what they were talking about.  I did not think I was a 'sinner.'  HA!  It took direct revelation from the Holy Spirit several years after that to show me the huge crumbling wall of my sin -- but that's another story.  Now I understand that to be a 'sinner' does not necessarily mean that we are doing 'bad things;' it means that without the guidance and instruction of the Holy Spirit in our lives, without listening to God in our hearts, we will (and do) inevitably make the wrong choices, based on our senses, our knowledge, and the 'natural man.'

The result, though we thought we were doing the right thing at the time, is what David describes in Psalm 32:  my strength (literally, "moisture") was sapped as in the heat of summer. We find ourselves and our lives "dried up," without joy, without richness.  David goes on to say, "Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found...."  and Yahweh's answer is this:  I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.  Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle, or they will not come to you.  Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him (Ps. 32 -- just read it all).

So, in the 'normal Christian life,' we find ourselves like David, with our strength sapped and our 'moisture' dried up -- and then, like the woman at the well-- we have a 'close encounter' with the Lord.  In one moment, we experience "living water" flowing through our entire being---the water of the Holy Spirit for which we have been thirsting -- and we immediately want more!

In Hebrew, there is a close connection -- almost a pun --between the word for 'blessing' and the word for 'stream of water.'  All through Genesis, we see the connections again and again -- and Jesus uses this connection in the Gospels also.  There is a direct connection between the Hebrew Adam and adamah -- the earth, the soil, the ground.  Whatever happens to man himself spiritually is reflected in the state of the earth.  This is an entire lesson in itself, but for now, let me just quote Psalm 65:

When we were overwhelmed by our sins,

you atoned for our transgressions....

 

You care for the land and water it;

you enrich it abundantly.

The streams of God are filled with water

to provide the people with grain....

You drench its furrows

and level its ridges;

 

You soften it with showers and bless its crops.

You crown the year with your bounty,

and your carts overflow with abundance.

The grasslands of the desert overflow;

the hills are clothed with gladness.

the meadows are covered with flocks

and the valleys are mantled with grain;

they shout for joy and sing.

 

This description of the land blessed by God after atoning for man's transgressions is a perfect description of the feeling, of the reality, of a life touched by God.  Its joy overflows and cannot be contained; for the first time, the person  not only cries out in helplessness and despair, but begins to sing with joy and thanksgiving for the richness of the blessings received.  Gratitude instead of despair; songs instead of cries -- this the mark of one whose cry has been heard.  As Isaiah says:

 

to provide for those who grieve in Zion--

to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair (61:3).

So, the "second step," if you will, in the 'normal Christian life' is the overflow of joy -- again, look at the woman at the well, who left her water jar and ran the mile and a half into the village to shout to those who had no regard for her as a person: "Come with me; I have found the Messiah!" 

 

Tomorrow, I will continue the pattern -- but I should warn you that I do not really know if this is the pattern laid out by Watchman Nee in his book or not.  It has been too many years since I read it.  I rather think I am using his title and my own insights, based on my own experience and the experience of so many others I have watched grow in God over these years.