"How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God follow Him, if Baal is God, follow him". ~Elijah 1 Kings 18:21Sometimes when I'm at a loss for what to say to God during my quiet times, I just pick up His word and start reading. I quietly ask him to bring to my attention whatever he wants to talk to me about and I just keep reading. Today, this verse in 1 Kings seemed to scream at me. I was especially interested in the words "waver", "opinions" and "follow".
According to the Strong's Concordance, the word used here for "waver" in Hebrew means much more than just waver. Pasah means "to be limp, to become crippled; to worship in a limping dance".
Just reading that more descriptive definition led me to picture this verse in a whole new light. I see His people (including myself) not just being wishy-washy, but being crippled and unable to worship fully.
When I looked up the word for "opinions" in Hebrew- my picture became even clearer. Seippin is not just a picture of divided opinions but also considered a figurative extension of hobbling on crutches.
I began to picture us using God as one crutch, and the world on the other side. This posture has us "leaning" on 2 things. We feel justified because we are technically "leaning on Him", but the truth of the picture is that we are leaning on 2 crutches. When that happens we aren't RELYING on God at all...
The more I "saw" this picture, the more I realized how crippling this posture is. If you're like me, and you've needed crutches before, you probably know that when you fully lean on both crutches.. it begins to hurt! You become "limp" and you actually end up feeling weaker than before all over your body. I picture myself on these 2 crutches, leaning on 2 things to support me, looking down, feeling the pain, feeling myself get weaker... and this is not the picture of relying on God at all!
In this posture of "wavering between 2 opinions" it's difficult to lift my eyes up to the heavens, it's hard to worship, it's impossible to lift my hands in surrender and praise, and my worship becomes a "limping dance" instead of a joyful one.
However, if you get rid of the "crutches"... you stop "wavering between 2 opinions" and FOLLOW GOD.. there are no more crutches in the picture. The word here for "follow" not only means to follow but also to pursue. Pursuing Him strengthens me... pursuing Him is what it looks like to rely on Him fully. I picture my pursuit of God like a healthy image of a runner in training... strong, focused, and determined. Head able to be held high, eyes on the ONE that I pursue..... and I am spurred on by passion and desire for the ONE that encourages me from up ahead.
I love it when His Word comes alive and gives me direction. :)
