Drippings of the Honeycomb: An Anthology of Grace

Reflections From the Broom Closet

Today, I sweep the floors and clean the toilets in the House of the Lord. There are times when the enemy of my soul would try to throw me into the pit of discouragement with thoughts like – how are the mighty fallen! But the Word says – "I would rather be a door-keeper in the House of the Lord…." Lord, give me the heart of a servant, that I would joyfully complete any task that You set before me, without regard to how menial it may seem to be.

I notice that, as I sweep the tiled floor of the fellowship hall, the residue that is left behind the broom becomes so startlingly apparent. The ball of fluff that escaped the broom’s first pass now appears to be so obvious. Then I realize that I hadn’t previously noticed that candy-wrapper in the corner. And I think – that’s a lot like our lives, isn’t it Lord? The more You work to clean us up, the more the residue of sin becomes apparent in our lives. At a cursory glance, before the cleaning process began, we would never have noticed the presence of certain sins in our lives. Now, because most of the ‘dirt’ is gone, what remains becomes so clearly evident. But Lord, may we never fall into the pit of despair, where we think – what’s the use, we’ll never be perfectly clean! Rather, Lord, may we determine to be patient with ourselves, and yielded to the ‘broom’ of Your Word as it is applied to our lives by the Holy Spirit. There will be hidden things in our lives that only become apparent as Your Word cleanses us more thoroughly. So, may the cry of our hearts be – "Search me, O God … and cleanse me from all unrighteousness".

I plug-in the vacuum to clean the foyer carpet, and wonder at the power that is behind the rushing wind that the machine creates. Lost in my endeavors, I am startled by the sudden silence of inactivity. Turning to find the cause of the momentary stillness, I instantly detect the problem. In my haste to complete the task, I have moved too far from the electrical outlet and the power cord has become detached from the wall socket. Sometimes that happens in our lives, doesn’t it Lord? We become so engrossed in ‘doing our job’, that we fail to see just how far we have become distanced from our Power Source. Somewhat dismayed, we seek the cause of the spiritual immobility in our lives, and it soon becomes apparent that we have simply wandered too far from the One who is the source of all power. Embarrassed at our lack of awareness, we ruefully reconnect to the Power, and gratefully find that, instantly we are fully restored to continue the task at hand.

I enter the nursery, and a sudden sentiment of excitement grips me as I consider the potential in each of the precious lives that are confined here each week. I see the toys strewn carelessly about the floor. The scene invokes so many wonderful memories of my child-rearing days. Children are so carefree. What we, as adults perceive to be a ‘mess’, children accept as ‘normal’, even ‘comfortable’. The need for order never occurs to them, so that when disorder is evident, they tend to overlook it. That is, until someone older and much wiser comes and says – "Oh my, look at this mess – let’s see what we can do to clean it up. Such a statement so often invokes a response of But it is clean!" Lord, thank-you for your patience with us when we’ve made a mess of our lives. When the quiet, gentle voice of the Holy Spirit suggests that we endeavor to set our lives in order, help us to see the situation through Your eyes. May we never become so content with the disorder in our lives that we become defensive or discouraged with your words of correction. Rather, let our response be - Lord, if You are willing, (and we know that is Your desire) You can make me clean!

Thank-you Lord, for the innocence of children. Children are so trusting, and, generally, so open to instruction. Doesn’t Your word say unless we become like little children, we cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven? Help us, each day Lord, to become as the children are – able to trust You to know where You are leading us. Holding that awesome reverence that Father is infallible. Willing to accept what You are doing in our lives, and listening obediently for Your words of direction.

Coming into the ‘sanctuary’, I view all of the empty pews – and I pray "Lord, may there be a day when every one of these will be filled to capacity with people who desire to praise You. Fill each one of us, Lord, with a hunger that draws us to Your house, week after week". I straighten the hand-crocheted doily on the communion table and I thank-you, Lord, that we always have direct communion with You. May it not be just a once-a-month ritual, but let it be a daily practice – to remember the great price that You paid to obtain our salvation. As I dust the pulpit, Lord, I pray that Your word would always be ‘rightly divided’ in this place, that your people would receive the milk of the word, and the spiritual meat they need for everyday nourishment and growth.

I concentrate now on the piano – an instrument with eighty-eight different keys. Each one has a unique tone, and it occurs to me that such is the structure of Your church. Whether our numbers are great or small, each of us has a distinct task to perform. When some of the keys are played simultaneously, the church is filled with sweet harmony. At other times, the concurrent combination of certain keys creates painful discord. Let us ever surrender to You, Lord, as the Master Musician, who is able to use every key, at the proper time, to create a symphony of worship and praise to Your Name. And above all, Lord, let this temple be filled with Your glory, so that when Your people leave this place, they will shine as lights to a dark world, and the world will know that we have been with Jesus.

I return the mop and the broom to the closet, and again feel the holy hush of the building. Once more, I am reminded that this is Your house, Lord, and I thank-you for the privilege of serving You in this way. It may not be the job that everyone dreams of doing some day, but it was good to spend this time with You, alone in this place, serving only You!

God – Where are You?

Such is a question that has been on the lips of any member of humanity at some time in our lives. It doesn’t take too long for the human spirit to utter that question when we are beset with the trials and tribulations of everyday existence. Whether we are new to the faith or a seasoned prophet like Elijah, we all have our moments of despair when we are totally convinced that God has abandoned us. No matter how good He has been in the past, regardless of the mighty victories we have so recently won – in that moment of desperation we develop a severe case of spiritual myopia. There are several lessons we can learn along with the prophet Elijah as we grope in the darkness of fear.

Elijah was a man who dared to stand for God when everyone else had turned to serve the devil. He had issued a challenge to the false prophets and had not backed down when his life was threatened. In the face of overwhelming odds, he had taunted and ridiculed their foolish tenacity, firmly believing that God would not let him down. Finally, in the exhilaration of total victory he had avenged the honor of his God by killing all of the false prophets in one final sweep. By his actions, he had instilled in the people of God a renewed awe in the power of Jehovah – so that they determined to dispose of the false gods to whom they had wandered in their rebellion. For most of us, it would have been heady stuff indeed. But then he received a message from Jezebel.

Jezebel, whose name literally means wife of the devil, had not taken kindly to Elijah’s victory. In her arrogance she insists that she is still stronger than Elijah, and pledges to do to him what he had done to the false prophets. The scenario so vividly reminds me of the schoolyard bully who used to taunt me as an elementary school pupil. Though I stood two inches taller than him, and weighed a good fifteen pounds more, I remember how his threats would intimidate me. I dreaded going to school some days, until I realized that, for all of his bluster, he was probably equally afraid of me as I was of him. So it was with Jezebel and Elijah.

Don’t think you’ve seen the last of me – I’m going to hunt you down and kill you – it was a threat that struck fear in the heart of the prophet. After all that he had seen God do on his behalf, now fear causes him to agree with Jezebels taunts. "God – let me die before I fall victim to a woman" Elijah agonized before God. The very possibility was so humiliating. Anyone who has spent any time in spiritual warfare will recognize the tactics of the enemy of our souls. Especially after the exhilaration of spiritual victory, along comes the enemy with his threats and bluster. Often, in our humanity, we follow Elijah’s immediate reaction – begging God to remove us from the situation. In those times, we need to remember the Apostle Paul’s counsel to the fledgling church at Galatia. Let us not lose heart in doing good, he admonishes the young congregation, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. Those are words that we need to remember and draw strength from in those hours of discouragement.

So, how do we handle the bluster of the enemy? Elijah’s experience gives us a number of options. Option # 1 is to listen to the threats and start believing that they are a distinct possibility. This will most likely lead to Option # 2 - questioning God’s faithfulness – Lord where are you? We may echo the prophet’s accusation of God’s injustice – After all I have done for You … Certainly, the most productive action would be Option #3 – in obedience to God’s voice that we go stand on the mountain before Him. There was more to those words that appears at first glance.

As soon as Elijah took his stand before God, he was assaulted three times by the enemy of his soul. The first assault occurred in the form of a violent wind that caused chaos and destruction. We can say for certain that this was an attack because the Word of God tells us that the enemy comes only to steal, to kill, and to destroy. On the Day of Pentecost the coming of the Holy Spirit was evidenced by the sound of a rushing, mighty wind. It is clear that Satan, the deceiver, has a counterfeit for every act of God – and as believers we need to be wise enough to discern between the real and the counterfeit. You may have experienced that fierce, terrifying wind in your life – in circumstances that have threatened to turn your world upside-down. You may have thought, or even been told by some well-meaning, but misinformed Christian that surely God is bringing this storm upon your life in order to teach you something or strengthen your faith. Fortunately for the prophet, he was able to discern that God was not in the wind. He had been witness to adversity and terror – but it was not God’s doing.

Scarcely had the devastating wind ceased to blow, when the earth began to tremble beneath the prophet’s feet. An earthquake is an experience that strikes terror into the mind of the most self-controlled individual. There is nothing anyone can do to control the experience – one is totally at the mercy of the elements. The very word means a rattling or shaking, causing confusion or commotion. Again, we might recall that more than once in the history of the early church, the presence and working of the Holy Spirit was evidenced by an earthquake. In the fourth chapter of Acts it was felt by the saints as they rejoiced over the release of Peter and John from the authorities who wanted to extinguish the life of the fledgling Church. Later, in the life of the Apostle Paul, it took an earthquake to throw open all the cell doors of the jail at Philippi – which led to the conversion of the jail-keeper, and the strengthening, once again, of the newly-formed body of believers in that city. Yes – God can cause earthquakes and use them to advance His purposes, but again in this circumstance we are plainly told that God was not in the earthquake. On a personal level, you may have experienced a time in your life when your whole world has been shaken by circumstances completely beyond your control. And, perhaps in the confusion of the moment, you were told that God was in the process of shaking your world for the purpose of rearranging and refining your life. Once again, we admit that the possibility certainly exists, but again comes a word of caution before we simplistically relegate any or all negative circumstances to the purpose of God effecting spiritual growth in our lives. Again, Paul exhorts us that God is not the author of confusion.

The destructive wind had ceased blowing, and the terrifying tremor had become still beneath the prophet’s feet. As he stood contemplating the previous experiences, a violent fireball erupted before his eyes. Was this the consuming presence of an angry God? It certainly was not the gentle evidence of God’s power upon His people as occurred, once again, on the Day of Pentecost. Perhaps, in Elijah’s mind it was reminiscent of the recent victory over the false prophets of Baal when God had sent fire to consume the sacrifice, and demonstrate Himself greater than the false gods to whom His people had strayed. Whatever significance this sign would have engendered in the mind of the prophet, it soon became very clear to his spirit that God was not in the fire. It is interesting to note that the apostle James has something to say about fire when he talks about the tongue and its effect on our lives. The tongue is a fire, he warns the first-century church, the very world of iniquity, it defiles the entire body and sets on fire the course of our life – and is set on fire by hell. You may have had a similar experience in your life, especially in those times when, like the prophet, you were seeking specific direction from God for your life. Then, from an unexpected source come words that seem to speak for God Himself. In their fervency, you may be tempted to accept them as divine guidance for your life in answer to your sincere prayers. In those times we need to take the advice of the Apostle John – to test the spirits to see whether they really are from God. Often such words of wisdom are nothing more than malicious gossip, and false accusations. It will soon become apparent to the discerning spirit that God is not in the fire that is kindled by the unruly tongue.

In the aftermath of the three explosive experiences, Elijah still found himself standing on the mountain before God. Although he may have been