In Which We Give All to Get All : Guest Post by Anita Mathias

Dear Friend,
I'm honored to have award-winning author Anita Mathias as my guest today. Anita has been blogging through Genesis and Matthew on her blog since June. Here she shares her reflection on Genesis 35. You can find more of her insights at Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

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So Jacob has an amazing vision of a stairway between heaven and earth,
and angels ascending and descending on it. And at the top was the
Lord, who promises him the land, fruitfulness, blessing, protection,
his presence and his favour.

The context?

Jacob is fleeing the brother whom he had effectively disinherited and
deprived of the blessings of the first-born through deceit.

Hardly the best place to meet God and be promised his blessings,
wouldn’t you say?

But God is gracious and compassionate, full of mercy and abounding in love.

* * *

So after Jacob’s sons Simeon and Levi disgrace and endanger him
through slaughtering every male in Shechem and then looting it, Jacob
is on the move again, back to the place of blessing.

God suggests that he returns to Bethel and settles there, building an altar.

In preparation, Jacob commands his household, “get rid of the foreign
gods you have with you, and purify yourself and change your
clothes(Gen 35:2).”

When they do so, and bury all the foreign Gods, and the rings they
wore as amulets or charms, God gives them safe conduct. “Then they set
out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that
no one pursued them.”

And at Bethel, God blesses him, and promises him fruitfulness and the
land, Eretz Israel.

Getting rid of foreign gods was a precursor of protection and blessing.

* * *

Why was this so important?

Because we can only be in one place. We are either in the waterfall of
God’s goodness and favour, or we are not.

We are either relying on God, or on our own strategies for success,
for wealth, or getting our own way, for example. (Nothing wrong with
strategies. Strategy is fun--and strategic action is obviously more
effective than random action. However, we have to continually ensure
that our strategies either originate with God, or have been run by
him, and have his approval.)

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen
those whose hearts are fully committed to him (2 Chron. 16:9).
Somehow being wholly committed to God, wholly in the river of his
love, is necessary to being able to wholly access his ideas, and his
inspiration, and to experience his undeserved blessings. Selling
everything to buy that pearl.

All I have is yours, and all you have is mine, Jesus says. They are
correlated. Perhaps all we have needs to be His, for all He has to
become ours.

Our lunch must be handed over to Jesus for 5000 men to feed on it.

* * *

How do we reach this level of surrender?

Reaching total surrender to God and totally experiencing his
blessings, ideas and provision, like everything else in life, is a
matter of one step at a time, one step of obedience at a time.
Practice, blow it; get up, practice again.

I have not reached total surrender, alas, though I want to--because I
think living in Jesus is a more exciting place to live than following
my own whims and strategies.

Here are some areas I am working on: turning to Jesus rather than food
when in a low mood; not worrying about my work, but entrusting it to
him and asking for his ideas; doing my fair share of house-running
stuff.

But the real battleground for me is within. Forgiving and praying
blessing on those who injured me. Blessing those I feel envious of,
and asking God to bless me indeed, instead of lingering in envy. Not
dwelling in the negative, but turning my thoughts and words to the
positive. Praising and thanking God when I do not feel like doing so.

Tweak, tweak, tweak, until I am aligned with Jesus, and living in Jesus, with Jesus himself living in me.





Anita Mathias is the author of Wandering Between Two Worlds
(Benediction Classics, 2007) and blogs at Dreaming Beneath the Spires,
 anitamathias.com.

Anita lives in Oxford, England with her husband, Roy, and daughters,
Zoe and Irene. Visit her at Facebook at Dreaming Beneath the Spires or
on Twitter @anitamathias1.

Silent Retreat: Part Two -- How to Use a Labyrinth as a Prayer Tool

Dear Friend,
If you missed my last post, go here. I'm writing about my first experience at a silent spiritual retreat. I left off at the point were I had just settled into a quiet spot by the river and I was checking out the labyrinth handout that our director had given us before the retreat began.

The labyrinth is described here as "a defined path, a physical journey inward to a sacred space." I've re-written the rest of the instructions to show you how it works step-by-step:

The goal: To discover your deepest, truest self while encountering peace and rest in the company of your ever-present God.

1. Pause. Breathe slowly. Begin when you are ready. Trace your finger along the path.

2. As you enter, leave distractions behind.

3. As you move forward, embrace what God brings to you. Pay attention to any words, thoughts, or feelings that come to you.

4. When you reach the center, linger there with God. Meditate on "Christ in you, the Hope of glory." as He reveals Himself to you.

5. The way out is the same as the way in -- just follow the path. The return journey offers space for reflection as you move back toward the exterior world, transformed at the core of your being. Carry with you the peace of Christ, which is with you always. 

"Meditation is not so much concerned with thinking as with being. And in contemplative prayer we seek to become the person we are called to be, not by thinking about God, but by being with Him." ~John Main

After tracing the pathway on the handout with my finger and entering into a moment of pure stillness in center of the labyrinth, I felt an urge to pick up my pencil. I recalled our director's prompting: Ask God for one thing.

I wrote that one thing down.

Mercy.

Because I feel overwhelmed

And hopelessly flawed.

I can't live up to my own ideals;

I'm weary of trying to get it all just right.

I ask for mercy

Because I've let others eclipse Your Light. 

When I look to them for approval,

Your Light appears dim

And I wither.

But here, Lord, Your mercy is washing over me,

Making me feel brave.

I am Your little child, drawing scribbles on this pretty paper -- do You like them?

I kiss Your hands and touch Your face.

Here in Your presence, 

I'm safe and free! 

During the next hour by the river I read various Scriptures and devotional materials. Each time I was struck by a passage, I wrote it down on my labyrinth. My copy-work curved all the way out of the labyrinth and into the white space beyond. This helped me to reflect on the experience and carry the peace of God with me into the exterior world. 

"The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service, the fruit of service is peace." ~Mother Teresa 

I hope you will make some time for meditation today. Perhaps the labyrinth will help you go deeper in prayer than ever before. In my next post, I'll wrap up this series with some photos from my prayer-walk around the Spiritual Center property.

Peace & Joy,
Adriana