Posts Tagged God’s will
Building My Own Tower
Posted by Dave Kirby in Challenge, Encouragement on December 1, 2011
A Little History
The historian Flavius Josephus, in his work “The Antiquities of the Jews” sheds some interesting light on what we call the Tower of Babel. If this starts out a little “history heavy” it’s for a reason. Stay with it and get the point.
The great flood was sent by God to destroy all the inhabitants of the earth, except of course for Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. After the flood had subsided, God gave the command that man should go and inhabit all of the earth, be fruitful and multiply. According to Josephus, God’s purpose for this command was that they might enjoy the fruit and prosperity of their own lands, scattered far enough from each other that they might not fall under tyranny. But Noah’s descendants were hesitant to leave the mountains, fearing that God might send another flood.
As they finally did begin to descend into the plains of Shinar, instead of scattering and inhabiting the whole earth, they clumped together, disobeying the command of God. It was Nimrod, the grandson of Ham, who incited the rebellion and established himself as earth’s first dictator. This is mentioned in Genesis 10:8, where it is said of Nimrod, “he began to be a mighty one upon the earth.” By disobeying, man got exactly what God wanted to prevent: tyranny.
At the leading of Nimrod, the people rebelled against God and began to build a tower. This is the interesting part to me. According to Josephus, the purpose of this tower was to build a structure tall enough that, should God ever decide to once again send a flood upon the earth, the people would be able to escape God’s wrath. They built it of baked bricks and mortared it with tar, so it would be waterproof.
Did you get that?
The Tower of Babel was built as man’s attempt to insulate himself from God’s punishment. “We’ll show you, God! We’ll build a tower so tall you can’t kill us again with a flood.” Instead of just being obedient to God, man chose instead to build a structure that would give him another option besides obedience to God.
This is the beginning, the spirit, the essence of Babylon.
To create another option besides God. To hedge our bets. To look for answers outside simple obedience to the Father who only wants what’s best for us anyway.
We’re still doing it today. At least I know I am. God makes promises and I’m not really sure they’ll come true. God gives commands and I’m not really sure I want to obey. So I begin to hedge my bets, to create a system of my own security, just in case God doesn’t come through.
I’m betting you’re thinking of areas in your life where you’ve done the same. Maybe it’s that job you keep because you’re afraid God won’t provide. Maybe it’s that relationship you know you should break off, but you’re afraid of being alone. Maybe it’s forgiving or letting go of some past hurt that is holding you back. Maybe God has given you a dream, vision or command and you’re just too afraid to follow through for fear that it will fail.
Or maybe, like the descendants of Noah, we just don’t want to obey. We want to do things our own way, and we’ve built up what we think is a pretty clever system to prevent God from having His way.
And maybe, like those early founders of Babylon, God has sent confusion and chaos into our lives. Not because He wants us to suffer, but because He wants us to obey. Not because He’s mad at you, but because He wants to bless you. Like this passage in Isaiah 48,
“ I am the LORD your God,
Who teaches you to profit,
Who leads you by the way you should go.
Oh, that you had heeded My commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
Your descendants also would have been like the sand,
And the offspring of your body like the grains of sand;
His name would not have been cut off
Nor destroyed from before Me.”
So what’s your Tower? What’s your “other option”? What system have you build in order to avoid what you know is right, what you know God wants you to do?
Where is the confusion and chaos that God wants to use to push you into doing what He has said? That tower is taking a lot of emotional and physical effort to build and maintain, isn’t it? Are you tired of the struggle? I know I am. It’s not too late. His grace extends to our rebellion and disobedience today just like it did the day we accepted Christ.
I’m thinking obedience is a whole lot easier than building a tower.
Well, that wasn’t what I was looking for
Posted by Dave Kirby in Uncategorized on August 24, 2010
In Luke 17 Jesus has an interesting discussion with His disciples. The followers have pretty straightforward request, “increase our faith.”. And Jesus responds rather straightforwardly,
“If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
Simple enough. Even a small amount of faith has great power. But then Jesus takes somewhat of a left turn:
“And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”
Huh? What does that have to do with the disciples request for increased faith? Actually it has everything to do with it.
If you are like me, you have no trouble believing that God can do anything. Part the Red Sea, water into wine, raise the dead? No problem…in theory. But I stumble over believing it enough to actually act on it. I’m selfish, and I want God’s will without sacrificing my own. I want Gods plan without having to give up mine. It’s not that I don’t believe God CAN do it, it’s that I’m afraid He won’t do it my way.
- I believe God CAN heal my finances, but I want the quick fix, not the pain of budgeting and sacrifice.
- I believe God CAN deliver me from addiction, but I don’t want the embarrassment of openness and accountability.
- I believe God CAN keep His promises to me, but I’m afraid to step out into the danger of the unknown.
I want my cake and I want to eat it too. I want Gods way and my way, and the two cannot coexist.
Jesus is saying to the disciples and to us, “Faith is not really the issue. Even faith like a tiny mustard seed can accomplish much. The issue is obedience. Do you BELIEVE enough to ACT? Do you believe enough to do things My way and not yours?”
Until we are truly ready to be that “unprofitable servant” Jesus talked about, increasing our faith doesn’t really matter.
I’m scared to death
Posted by Dave Kirby in Uncategorized on August 17, 2010
What’s the thing that scares you most? That thing you know you are supposed to do, yet you’ll do anything to avoid it. If you are looking for God’s will in your life, that’s where you’ll likely find it.
The Bible is full of those who were afraid of what God had called them to do, even to the point of running away. I think the lesson we can take away from the likes of Jonah is that we can’t escape our calling or our destiny. By running away we only increase the pain (both for ourselves and others), and waste valuable years of our lives.
Could it be that you’ve constructed your entire day simply to avoid that thing you know you should do? Could it be you’ve constructed your entire life out of fear? Think about that for a moment! There are those whose whole lives are an elaborate evasion of their God-given mission.
Is that you? If so, remember: you can’t escape your calling, only prolong the process. Don’t waste a single day longer on avoidance and fear and regret. The days and years add up before you know it.
Use the comments feature if you’d like to discuss. Or you can email me directly at iBelieveDave@me.com. I’m always open for questions, comments, and discussion.
Quitting Christianity 