I owe you an apology.
When I get on a soapbox, I like to warn people ahead of time. And in the last post, I sort of forgot.
That said, (and apology accepted, I hope), it’s important to me that people learn to take the truth of God’s word and apply it to the many facets of their lives. So I thought I would show you how I approach that. In the previous post I shared 12 specific areas of application. Today, as advertised, I want to show you an in-the-raw, unedited example of how I used those 12 areas to apply spiritual truth to my life two days ago.
(Disclaimer: I don’t go into this level of detail every single time I crack open the Bible. But if I want to get the most practical benefit and direction, this is what I do.)
What follows is straight out of my journal. You’ll see a couple of observations from a familiar passage. That’s important, because you can’t apply truth you haven’t yet focused on. Then you’ll see how I applied it.
What is important is not my details, but your process of discovery and application. This is just an example. But for what it’s worth, in the next post I will take what I have applied to my life here and turn it into an article that hopefully applies it to others.
Okay, here goes…
+++++++
Mark 10:35-40
James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” 36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “ Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. 40 “But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
Asking for the Audacious…
Observation
James and John start their little dialogue with Jesus with an interesting request: “We want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.”
Hey, at least they were honest.
But wait a minute. Hadn’t that been exactly what Jesus had promised they could do? If they believed and asked in His name, couldn’t they ask for anything?
So they asked.
I doubt if either of them would dared to do it alone, but there is strength in numbers.
Jesus replied soberly: “You don’t know what you are asking.”
Isn’t that true? Audacious requests sometimes lead to a harrowing journey to see them granted. (A minor example: If I ask God to make me a doctor, I believe He can. He would also insist that I drink the cup of and be immersed in Medical School, and now Obamacare.)
I find it intriguing that James and John didn’t back down. Jesus asked them if they could drink the cup and be immersed in His immersion, and with all the bravado they had, they said yes. And even when their cohorts got huffy about it all, they didn’t crawfish about it.
Also note that Jesus answered what He could in the moment: “You ask to sit on the right hand and left. Okay. I ‘ll see to it that you’re put on the right hand and left hand pathways. The rest is up to you and the Father.” Sometimes when we make an audacious (or other) request of the Lord, rather than a direct answer He gives us a pathway answer. Pay attention to the pathways, especially the hard ones. They may just be answers to your own desires.
Oh, and an important footnote: James died as the first martyr. John died as a very old, isolated man – the only one NOT to die a martyr’s death. He had to walk it out. Both had to drink the cup in his own unique way. An important reminder that my pathway may not be the same as someone else’s.
Application
Spiritual: I need to have the courage to ask for the audacious, especially since Jesus plainly encouraged me to do so. But I also need to recognize that answers to such prayers sometimes to call for pathway to walk – “cups to drink” and “immersions to experience.”
Mental: I need to see today’s challenges as pathways to prayers that I myself may have prayed.
Emotional: I need to remember that that joy of the Lord is my strength, and guard against emotional whims disguised as prayer requests.
Volitional: I need to recognize that God has set before me today certain choices – choices of life or death, blessing or curses. I must be willing to “choose the cup” if He presents it to me, and regardless, to choose to love Him.
Physical: My body is His temple, and as long as I am on the earth, whatever happens to me is housed in it. I need to beware of any hindrance to the fulfillment of God’s promise or my requests because of a lack of physical care.
Self-image: I need to recognize the amazing, grace-based position I have to come into His presence with the craziest, most whacked requests possible… and know that my Father doesn’t laugh me off as ignorant or stupid, but takes every childlike (and childish!) request soberly and lovingly.
Familial: I need to pray audaciously for my family – especially for my children – and yet recognize that the Lord loves them far more than I ever could. I also need to trust Him and encourage them when He insists they walk through one of those “drink the cup” seasons.
Professional: I need to trust that the Lord knows more about my career or ministry than I ever could – and that His grace applies just as much there as anywhere. So I need to pray audaciously (and be willing to drink deeply of His pathway-answer).
Interpersonal: I need to be a voice of encouragement to E, J, C, and B that the way out is the way through… that they’re on His pathway, and His road truly is leading somewhere.
Communal: I need to be connected to a larger community to encourage me to pray and to receive prayer and encouragement from them. I also need to pursue opportunities to give and serve beyond my own personal needs and interests as a pathway to what I most want from the Lord.
Financial: I need to move toward financial freedom, so that money is never the reason I can’t walk joyfully in the Lord’s answer to my prayer.
Adversarial: I need to recognize the enemy’s attempts to thwart both my faith and the Lord’s pathway to my answers. He will discourage, try to distract, or try to intimidate me from trusting God, from praying, and from drinking the cup.
++++++++++
Okay, now you try it. Observation is the process of going through the Bible. Application is the process of letting the Bible go through you. Pick a passage of scripture, and ask the Lord to speak to your life through it. Write down an observation or two as the Holy Spirit shows you. Then ask Him, in those 12 areas, how that truth can apply.
The next post will stand on its own. But reading what you just did will give you the back story of how I got there. And more importantly, I hope it will help you find the connection between picking up “spiritual rocks” and offering up “spiritual diamonds.”