“The Battle” + Dust, Not Gold
THE BATTLE:
There will be a battle for you to establish this habit.
You will fight your flesh and the enemy, because this is no ordinary habit. This is a habit that will literally change, transform, and heal you from the inside out. Therefore, you will have to fight for it! (We will be discussing PROOF for this habit next week!)
1. Distractions
a. Make a list as thoughts/to-do’s come to mind
b. Your IPHONE!!!!!!
2. Sleepiness
3. Excuses
a. I’m bored by it
b. I don’t understand it.
c. I don’t know how to do it.
4. The Accuser:
a. Unworthiness
b. Regret
c. He accuses them before the throne of God day and night. (Revelation 12)
PUSH PAST THE EXCUSES. FIGHT FOR THIS HABIT. Sacrifice for this habit. Be willing to get less sleep to incorporate this habit in your life. YOU WILL NEVER REGRET IT.
Dust, Not Gold.
This morning, I drove to church in silence, and as I drove, my reading from Genesis 1&2 was circling through my head. As I was musing, verse 7 came to mind, “And the Lord God formed man from the DUST of the ground, and God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
God’s highest, most valuable creation came from something with no value. God’s chief and primary creation came from dust. Dust is not even “soil” or “earth,” because there are 2 different Hebrew words for “dust” and “ground.” This is proof, again, that God’s ways are not my ways…I would have not chosen dust…but He does things differently than I would expect.
Just a few short verses later, after we read about God’s tender, personal creation of man and His placement of man in a garden He planted (Genesis 2:8) with plants He grew (Genesis 2:4-5), we read that other precious elements were readily available nearby. Verses 10-12 mention rivers that flow into the surrounding lands “where there is gold; and the gold of the land is good: and there is bdellium and onyx stone.” Gold? That seems far more suitable, far more precious and priceless than dust. Bdellium? Thayer’s defines it as “some precious article of merchandise mentioned in Genesis 2:12 amongst the gold and precious stones. Possibly a fragrant resin.” In my mind, that seems preferrable to dust. Onyx stone? That seems far more strong, far more enduring than dust. But thought these substances were available nearby, God chose DUST. It wasn’t default because nothing else was available; it was His choice.
WHY DUST?
I certainly don’t have all the answers for that, but a few things come to mind:
1. What has already been stated: dust has no value. Life and value came into man when “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” Dust on its own is nothing. The dust of the human form needed the breath of God to animate it. The human form did not hold intrinsic value from the material from which it was composed, but rather from being “made in the image of God,” and that form being made alive by the breath of God. This reminds me, in so many ways, of the words Jesus spoke: “Apart from me you can do NOTHING.” No real value, no real, lasting impact on our own.
Dust has no value.
2. A vessel of dust is a fragile vessel. In the creation of man, God was not intent on making a strong, self-reliant vessel. If He was, certainly He would’ve used the nearby gold or onyx stone. But He was desiring to create something moldable, shapeable, tender, and fragile. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7) This verse reminds me in turn of 1 Corinthians 1:25-29: “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.” He chooses foolish, weak, base, despised things that are deemed as nothing, so that ONLY His glory will be displayed. His strength is strongest in the weakest vessels. His value is preeminent in dust…in the fragile container of an earthen vessel.
Dust is fragile.
3. Dust can do nothing on it’s own. (This ties in a little to #1, but it’s different.) While God had the ability to form the dust INTO something, the dust, on it’s own, could ONLY “be” dust. It had no power, no creative ability to “be” anything other than what it was. Full dependence on God’s creative force was required for the dust to become something.
Dust is incapable.
Dust has no value. Dust is fragile. Dust is incapable. I would consider all of these to be disqualifiers, but God sees these as the very things that QUALIFY us for His grace, mercy, strength, and creative power. HE CHOSE DUST and the more I identify with dust; the more I recognize my dusty condition, the greater ability He has to work in and through this fragile frame.
As we walk with Him, He often bring us to places where we are brought face-to-face with our dust…places where we clearly see our fragility and incapability. Places where we see as He sees… “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are but dust.” (Psalm 103:14) It is in this place with a realistic view that He becomes all.
It is not “our value,” “our strength,” or “our capability” that He seeks. Rather, it is our humble dependence on the One who chose to breathe His breath into DUST.
“There’s nothing left in me but the dust you made me with.” –Jacob Mueller
The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. (Psalm 34:18)
Contrite in this verse literally means “dust.”
If you are crushed in spirit…if you feel like dust…this is the birthplace of dependence. This is the birthplace of relationship. It is HERE that God will knit your heart to His.
We don’t have to be strong. His strength is perfect in weakness.
Thank you for joining me for this journey. I look forward to meeting up with you again next Friday!
Go grab your Bible and your journal! Looking forward to the power of this habit in YOUR life. This is Unedited. This is for U.
Happy Friday.