Go with the Flow
Rabbi Yehudah ben
Shomeyr
We are creatures of habit and love the security
and familiarity of boundaries, routines and things that are set in stone. But
we are described in the Scriptures as water (Prov. 21:1) and clay (Isa. 64:8)
to be routed and plied in the hands of Almighty GOD. Not to say we should toss
structure out the window and go with every fleeting whim. And not to say that there
isn’t any absolutes to go by spiritually. What I am saying is that within the
bounds of structure is plenty of room for something new, for some variety in
our spiritual life, routine and our relationship with GOD; we shouldn’t be dependent
upon routine. You can still have order
and freshness simultaneously (I Cor. 14:40). Our relationship with GOD is like
with any couple, no matter how much you love each other dinner and a movie
every weekend is predictable and becomes stale and boring. We should wake up
and set about our spiritual regiment but be willing to obey and go in a totally
different direction should the Holy Spirit guide us to do so. In other words you
don’t have to pray the Amidah every day or in the same way. Maybe you will wake
up and find that GOD wants you to shut up and listen to Him for a while. We
need to recognize when this happens and be willing to toss our routine to the
side temporarily.
One of the problems is when we witness and are involved
in a mass movement of GOD like that of a Brownsville or Azusa Street Revival
and we think we have arrived and it should always be like this and when it
peters out, we become disillusioned and wonder what has happened. When this
happens, we should thank God for such an experience and look for the new move of
the Spirit on the horizon and not try to drum up or recreate an old movement of
GOD.
Isa. 43: 19a Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall
spring forth; shall ye not know it?
Ezk. 36:26a I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you
Obey, do
not quench the move of the Spirit in your daily walk (I Thess. 5:19).
