The Spirit of Practical Wisdom

 Last time, I wrote about how close God is to us in our daily lives.  It is really hard for most of us to really embrace that idea.  It is easier to believe, if we believe at all, in a God who is in His heaven while we are on earth and that there is a great gulf between the two "places."  But all of Scripture, from the beginning to the end shows the opposite -- it reveals God in search of man, God who wants to be "closer than a brother," God who wants to espouse His people, to be part of their daily lives, to embrace them in a marital hug, to "tabernacle" with them, or to dwell in their midst.

In Exodus, we see a God who, having delivered His people from slavery in Egypt, wants to dwell with them in the desert, so He commands them to build Him a "tent of meeting," where they can go and meet with Him.  In Chapter 31, the Lord says to Moses, "See, I have chosen Bezalel....and I have filled him with the Spirit of Practical Wisdom, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of crafts -- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver, and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.  Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab...to help him.  Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you; the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Testimony with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent... and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place."

[Note:  The term 'Spirit of Practical Wisdom" is from the Living Bible, which is a paraphrase of the original text.  Most bibles read "the Spirit of God" in this passage.]  However, the translation here brings home how close the "Spirit of God" is to our daily lives.  God is not in His heaven observing our lives and behaviors; in Jesus Christ, He has willed to "dwell among us" and to enter into our endeavors --- even to directing them, if we will allow Him.  In Revelation 3, Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; to anyone who opens, I will come in and sup with him, and he with Me."  He wants to partake of our daily lives/ eat of our bread and meat/, even as He offers us His daily bread and meat.

Just now, I am preparing for a trip to Japan.  Of course, with my health conditions, I have been in prayer about the wisdom of taking such a long journey.  I am willing to go or not to go, but I feel I need direction before striking out on my own, especially now.  In the meantime, I am packing my bags so that I will be ready to go, even knowing that I may have to unpack them in case the Spirit directs otherwise.  I have a very small tote bag which fits over the handle of my carry-on suitcase.  That small case holds all my medicine, along with digestive enzymes I must take with each meal, and emergency supplies for such a long trip --- including benedryll in case I accidently ingest peanuts or some other allegen that seriously affects my body.  All of these things must be close at hand in case of emergency -- they cannot be stuffed in an overhead bin.  

The problem is that the bag I have is just a bit too small for the supplies I need immediately.  It is convenient, but not quite large enough.  On my way home from the dentist, I felt a nudge in my spirit to check out the Goodwill store on my way home.  Now Goodwill carries loads of purses, backpacks, and tote bags --- but none of them have trolley straps that allow you to attach them to your luggage, so my reaction to the "nudge" was, "No, they never have anything like that; I've looked before."  Still, the urge to stop was so strong that I gave in --- and what did I find but the perfect bag, part of a three-piece set of luggage!  The 3rd piece was exactly what I needed --- small enough to have with me on the plane, large enough for all my supplies!  I couldn't believe it!  And I almost passed it by for lack of belief in the Spirit of Practical Wisdom! 

I guess if God cares enough to supply me with the exact tote bag I need, He cares enough to guide my journey along the way!  I think that if we yield to Him on a daily basis (maybe by praying with our hands gently upturned on our laps as a sign of our acceptance of His guidance), we might begin to experience  in our daily lives His Spirit of Practical Wisdom.

How Close He Is!

 For what other nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call upon him? (Deut. 4:7)

The history of Israel demonstrates how close God is to his people, those with whom He has a covenant beyond death.  In Jesus, that covenant/closeness is extended to all mankind, to whomever will accept it. Those of us who have walked through the shadow of death have had some glimpse of that closeness, but for many people, God is just "too busy" or too remote to bother about our little lives.

There is a current youtube video now about the second pilot shot down over Iran, whose plane crashed in the moutainous region where there was no vegetation to cover him.  Exposed, without water, injured, he faced certain death, whether found by the Iranian search parties or not.  But Jesus appeared to him, saying, "Follow Me!"  Although the soldier had a crushed knee which was beginning to swell badly, he began to walk after Jesus, who eventually led him 48 kilometers, past four Iranian checkpoints, to a plateau where he could be picked up by American helicopters.  Later, when he was debriefed by Army Intelligence, his story was held to be "impossible,"  as they traced his journey from the site of the crash to where he was rescued.

 Last night, I watched a program called It's A Miracle, which tells of similar miraculous events.  One story was of a pilot whose single-engine plane was about to crash.  Suddenly, a man appeared in the cockpit, telling the pilot that he would not die in that crash.  The pilot reported an unnatural sense of peace and calm as the plane nosedived into a field, burst into flames, and filled the cockpit with smoke.  Unable to release the seatbelt, the pilot reported that the "man" with him began to breathe in his face, giving him fresh air in the midst of heavy smoke.  Someone who had seen the plane go down ran to rescue the pilot and pulled him out of the plane, which immediately exploded.  Later, the rescuer remarked that he could not understand how the pilot could have survived the intense smoke filling the cabin.

After viewing the program last night, I woke up this morning thanking God for the numerous stories like this of His Presence in the midst of almost certain death.  As I sat down to pray, I heard in my spirit the word "Sirach."  I kind of vaguely thought to myself that I needed to re-read Sirach at some point, but mostly ignored the message otherwise.  After prayer, I reached for another book which I have been reading every morning.  But immediately, I heard more insistently: Read Sirach!

Now curious, I reached for my Catholic bible (Sirach is not included in the Protestant Bible), and opened to Sirach, but for some reason, I went to the very last page of the book, where at some point, I had written the following words in an empty space at the end of Sirach:

I give you thanks, Lord and King/  I praise you, God my Savior! 

I declare your name, refuge of my life, because you have ransomed my life from death;

You held back my body from the pit, and delivered my foot from the power of Sheol.

You have rescued me according to your abundant mercy/ From the snare of those who look for my downfall/ and from the power of those who seek my life. 

Since it has been awhile since I read Sirach, I had forgotten writing those words, taken from  the last chapter of the book.  Startled to find them in my present contemplation of God's closeness to us, I turned to Chapter 51, to read the whole thing, and found these words included:  from many a danger you have saved me, from flames that hemmed me in on every side; from the midst of unremitting fire, from the deep belly of the nether world (vv. 4-5).

Slowly the feeling crept over me that the Holy Spirit had not only guided my tv watching the previous night but somehow out of the multitude of Biblical words and stories, He also guided my reading this morning.  I am in awe at how close our God is to us!  

For those who don't usually read the Bible, I highly recommend perusing Sirach, especially the last chapter.  It gives one pause....... 

 

 

 

The Inner Christ

 Blessed are they who do not see and yet believe, Jesus said to Thomas.  Was this a kind of echo of God's word to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Paradise?  For the ancients, as well as for the moderns, like Thomas, we "know" what we can verify through our senses:  she saw that the apple was good for food and pleasing to the eye.  That she knew.  What she did not "know" was the poison of not trusting God.  This knowledge is what every one of us must learn for ourselves.  We know what we've been told, but we don't believe it until we taste for ourselves.

St. Ausgustine taught that the "inner Christ" is the divine truth and light within us, closer than we are to ourselves.  In his Confessions, he argues that God is present within us, as the source of wisdom and truth.  Our inner teacher is Christ who shines on the mind to reveal truth.  Now, Thomas had, during the three years he spent with Jesus, undoubtedly come to experience Jesus as the Way, the Life, and the Truth. His failing was that he could not trust what he knew internally.  What he "knew" was what he had seen --- Jesus taken from the cross and laid in the tomb, and the door sealed.

St. Augustine's beautiful prayer "O Beauty ever ancient/ O Beauty ever new/ You, the beauty of my life renewed,/ let me find my life in You" can be found in his Confessions.  But today, it is easier to access it online --- and even better to listen to it sung by the St. Louis Jesuits, which will pop up when you google O Beauty Ever New.

It is easy for us to trust what we "know" through our senses and our reasoning.  But that knowledge ultimately leads to death until our "Inner Jesus" begins to teach us the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Most of us are afraid to simply ask Him to show us the Truth; we, like Thomas, are afraid to trust that He is real.  But "Show me!" is a prayer that He will answer.