It occurred to me, that I have come alongside a lot of people in the “what should I do?” seasons with a similar tension. Is it me choosing and God blesses my steps or is it that I need to lay my life down and wait for God to direct me? God loves dichotomies because He’s never one for rules I think. It comes down to heart postures which is why hearing God for yourself and having peace with decisions is key.
To consecrate an area of our lives to the Lord is like a gift of allegiance from a friend where there is strife. It means the intentional cleansing, preparation, and removal of impurities; so what is given becomes a holy gift to the Lord.
It occurred to me, that I have never considered strength to be something to consecrate to the Lord.
David consecrated his heart so that he could gaze on the face of the Lord all his days. David had a friendship with God so intense that one day, in his coming and goings he realized that God didn’t yet have his dream, a place to dwell with men.
I wonder if in denying David’s request to build the Lord a house, it was an act of intimacy much in the same as telling Moses he could look at his back after he passed by the cleft in the rock God had placed him in. Maybe denial of some bold acts of worship are protecting us from things like pride, arrogance, and independence.
My heart matters more to Him
I have lived my life in a tick list of responsibilities and achievements. It’s easy to pride in these results and their impact yet forget that blessing, favor, open doors, closed doors, ideas and creativity that all flow from the Lord. In consecrating my strength to God, it is a form of boot camp so that I build with power and intention where it pleases Him and stop spending my strength sporadically for the building of my own name. I’ve chosen to yield what I can do, build, and achieve, even the good things, because I love the Lord and I get that my heart matters more to Him.
Maybe this was David’s revelation too.
Love that is pure has no hidden agenda. It’s not narcissistic and self-serving. Purity encompasses having clean hands, a pure heart, and not being double minded. The Bible describes a man who found a pearl of great value buried in a field and sold everything to buy it. Perhaps this is the heart posture God is looking for above all else?
I listen to a lot of my students who having been raised in Christian homes talk as though they are exhausted of religion, fake people and their standards. I thought about how I wandered down that path for a long time. I have asked the Lord if each student had to experience their own walk through all the doubts and factors involved with relating to God? For all the pain I went through I have a why behind what I believe. Is this process beautiful to Him or is it needless?
Had I been Noah, knowing my heart, I would have been super jazzed God picked me to do something no one else has done. I would have built the ark, but as the relentless questioning and commenting on my craziness continued, because everyone around me doesn’t hear God or desire to walk in his ways, loads of sorrow and a daily drive to not take offence at people could have spoiled the process and my sacrifice. I would have questioned God and myself. But when the rain started…I would have been relieved.
We sacrifice purity when we choose to blend in. To blend is to weaken, to grow tired of the reckless pursuit of God, to grow tired of wrestling with the questions, and to choose to place more value on culture than on what God has ascribed as pure, holy, and good for us. Blending leads to compromising.
Consecration
Consecration must be done out of love and it must be more than just surrender, it is a process as strict as strength building and isn’t for the uncommitted. Can one person’s faith and loyalty turn into a community commitment that shapes culture? It did for Martin Luther King Jr.
My point is powerful, healthy communities are built on people with the same values. There’s loads of trust that each member together produces a unified front.
Have you ever noticed how the moment one person’s doubt gets shared suddenly everyone’s eyes are opened and on alert?
I think a lot of what the struggle with God is actually because of community and personal compromises. I think we’ve painted consecration like rules rather than a loving no to preserve connection, intimacy, and unity. A lot of my doubts were wiped away when I started relating to God myself. I learned of His kindness and it changed the tone through which I heard him.
Kalli Hendrickson is a Press Service International young writer from Brisbane and now in the USA.
Kalli was born in the beautiful State of Montana, USA. She works doing freelance Graphic Design, and is a teacher studying to gain school counseling licensure.
Kalli Hendrickson is a Press Service International young writer from Brisbane and now in the USA.
Kalli was born in the beautiful State of Montana, USA. She works doing freelance Graphic Design, and is a teacher studying to gain school counseling licensure.