Belonging

Do I belong? Do you belong? This question must be answered daily, since daily we  may doubt it. The question of being acceptable, measuring up, meeting the criteria; haunts us — but why?

For me, the inquiry can lapse into an obsession —  one which draws me back to the days when I asked the same question — but looked for answers in another way and place. You too?

Indeed, we relied on mirrors, facial cremes, designer clothing, hair gel and so much more.

Then,

We may have entered a segment of time where we shirked the caring — it was too much — too hard — much too time-consuming.

Indeed, the self-consciousness cramped us and slowed us down. It made us feel like fish out of water, unable to focus on the task at hand, or have just plain hypocritical, phony, disingenuous feelings. We wanted to be real. Yes, diverting focus from ourselves helped us live more “in the moment.”

But,

We were stuck with only a concept of “real” — A self-fabrication — a dream. — (passion for, love for, adoration of, desire for, fondness for, feeling for, regard for, devotion to, penchant for, preoccupation with, obsession with, fixation with, craze for, mania for, addiction to.)— Dictionary  google

The Psalmist found answers to the dilemma — he writes these words:

“Jehovah, my heart hath not been haughty, Nor have mine eyes been high, Nor have I walked in great things, And in things too wonderful for me.  Have I not compared, and kept silent my soul, As a weaned one by its mother? As a weaned one by me is my soul. Psalm 131:1-2 Y.L.T.

Charles Spurgeon comments on this weaning:

“The weaned babe has given up what it loved. By nature we hang on the breasts of this world, and only sovereign grace can wean us therefrom, but when we give up self-righteousness, self-confidence, the love of the world, the desire of self-aggrandizement, when we give up trusting in man, trusting in ceremonies, trusting in anything but God, then has our soul become like a weaned child.

Now Isaiah helps here:

“Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.” Isaiah 28:9

So the weaned child can be taught how to think, yes, think with God, (ie. doctrine).

In summary,

The current culture coddles babyhood — And so dependence on it — un-weaned, we must have mother’s food and nourishment. Our culture reinforces lower soul function — emotions ruling, conscience seared, mammon worshiped. We tolerate childish relationship problems, We scream and cry when we can’t get our way.

But God has a better way . It’s the way of love , It’s the way of friendship , It’s the way of intimacy with Himself , It’s the way of thinking from above, which elevates our soul into its highest plain of existence. We become men and women.

In closing:

To be weaned from mother-culture, we must find our Father. This Father is for us , He Is on our side, His gentleness makes us great . There is forgiveness with this Father, His mercy is new every morning , and his compassions fail not.

This Father loves at all times, Is born for adversity, He shepherds us through the Valley of the shadow of death, He advocates for us when we sin,  He does not impute sin unto us, neither does he reward us according to our iniquity . He has blotted out our transgressions, He will not remember our sins  — As far as the East is from the West, so has He removed our transgressions from us.

This father pities his children and In all of our afflictions He is afflicted. This Father is touched with the feelings of our infirmity.

Friends, God’s way is a way of wisdom. When our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart. As He comes down to us, let’s rise up with Him. lov ya