The Place of Nothingness

My sister sent me this.

Do you find yourself in a place of nothingness? There is a time and place in our walk with God in which He sets us in a place of isolation and waiting. It is a place in which all past experiences are of no value. It is a time of such stillness that it can disturb the most faithful if we do not understand that He is the one who has brought us to this place for only a season. It is as if God has placed a wall around us. No new opportunities - simply inactivity.

During these times, God is calling us aside to fashion something new in us. It is a place of nothingness designed to call us to deeper roots of prayer and faith. It is not a comfortable place, especially for a task-driven workplace believer. Our nature cries out, "You must do something" while God is saying, "Be still and know that I am God." You know the signs that you have been brought into this place when He has removed many things from your life and you can't seem to change anything. Perhaps you are unemployed. Perhaps you are laid up with an illness.

Many people live a very planned and orchestrated life where they know almost everything that will happen. But for people in whom God is performing a deeper work, He brings them into a time of quietness that seems almost eerie. They cannot see what God is doing. They just know that He is doing a work that cannot be explained to themselves or to others.
Has God brought you to a place of nothingness? Be still and know that He really is God. When this happens, your nothingness will be turned into something you will value for the rest of your life.

It's this part,

It is a place in which all past experiences are of no value. It is a time of such stillness that it can disturb the most faithful if we do not understand that He is the one who has brought us to this place for only a season. It is as if God has placed a wall around us. No new opportunities - simply inactivity.

that is causing me stress. I'm ADHD...doing something is what I am; created that way on purpose by the One who created me and has now put me in a place of "nothingness".

I applied for and interviewed with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville, Tx. on the 16th of July. It went well and I was told I'd be notified one way or the other in 10 days or the first of this week. It's Wednesday and I'm impatient. I hate being impatient because it means I'm not trusting God. I even went so far as to schedule another interview, this one in Nashville, TN., even though I really don't want that job. Such a dork. For truly, if I am to get the job in Texas, it will have to be a God thing.

You see, I think the interview went well but it went fast! 20 minutes in and out. They asked mainly questions about being a manager/supervisory pilot and a little about my flying career from Day 1 to today. While I mentioned the gear up on the application, it didn't come up in the interview. When I called back to explain, the guy had left on vacation and I was told the pilot had been chosen and that they'd notify me "Friday or early next week". Then a call back to HR (different person) said the position was still pending. They called a former employer/friend of mine for employment verification and he said "nice things" about me to them. All signs point to "good to go" and yet I'm still waiting.

In nothingness.

Unsure.

Of myself. Of the job.

The worst thing is my wife is on board for the move but it may not happen. Crap...I can't think that way. I have to stop thinking and typing about it and just sit here in my nothingness and wait for it to

be turned into something you will value for the rest of your life.

Eric

Satan's a Loser

It just dawned on me this morning as I was beginning my prayers.

Satan is a loser.

Here's what I mean:

Satan is known as the Tempter and the Accuser. As the Tempter, he dangles those little temptations at you. You know the ones; they look good on the outside but you know (probably from experience) they ain't so good on the inside. And so you move through your day, brushing aside those temptations, "resisting the Devil" so to speak and you're doing pretty well.

Until,"... each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire" comes along.

Then you stumble. You fall. You make a fool of us all to quote D.C. Talk.

If you're like me, you realize, sometimes with horror, what you've done and you immediately run back to God. You fall to your knees at His throne and repent, begging forgiveness. You fall into His arms as He grants you mercy and forgiveness. You willing accept the consequences of your sin.

But what of the devil? He's right there, encouraging you to sin and when you do, he's oh so very happy and smug. He then turns on you, going from "it's alright just this once, all the kids are doing it!" to, "you scumbag! How could you do that as a Christian. I would hesitate to call you a Christian after what you did. I'm telling God!"

And there he is, at the throne of God, right next to you, pointing out your hypocrisy, your sin, your downfall and the fact that this is probably not the first time you've done this.

But what's in it for him? I mean, come on, you just crawled back to his arch-enemy...God! Jesus! The Father! You fell for a moment but your eternity is still secure. You've just returned to Christ and His cleansing blood. You may have caused others to stumble but Christ is right there with forgiveness and love and mercy and grace for those who repent.

It's stupefying really. Unless the Devil gets some perverse pleasure in a useless gesture. It's like the kid that knows that teasing his sister is going to get him spanked and yet he does it anyways for that one moment of perverse glee. And when he's sitting in his room, butt burning from the paddle, he is torn between having teased his sister and the pain in his rear.

That's some twisted stuff my friend. But then again, no one said Ol' Scratch wasn't.

I think for me, this realization, just took the sting out of the guilt of accusation. It put into a whole new perspective the temptation to sin. It's a lose/lose scenario for Satan and a lose/win scenario for me. I lose to the sin but I win that it brings me closer to Christ. Which in the end, is a good thing. The road (sin) isn't the best way to get there but it will help point us to the straight and narrow.

My 2 cents...

Eric


P.S. Add a couple more albums to my previous post....

Derek Webb - The Ringing Bell
Jars of Clay - Long Fall Back to Earth and Good Monsters
Third Day - Revelation

Eric