In this matter may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon your servant in this matter. He (Elisha) said to him (Naaman), "Go in peace." ~ 2 Kings 5:18-19a
Not the type of statement that we would expect to hear from a brand-new believer and follower of God, is it?
"When I go back to my home region, and I am accompanying my king in his pagan worship, please pardon my actions because my heart is not going to be in it. I will be thinking about my love for the One True God - Yahweh - and not engaging in the act of bowing down to the pagan god Rimmon, even though I will be right there in the presence of others who are doing that very act of pagan worship."
Wow!
What an awkward yet accurate picture this presents about how to navigate between two worlds - the pagan world and the faith-filled world - when one is moving from darkness to light and from death to life in his or her spiritual journey. It is never really a smooth transition and is often filled with fits and starts, messiness along the way, and a less-than perfect picture of the glorious working of the Holy Spirit up to this point.
And yet, this is exactly where God's amazing and marvelous grace meets the person of new and growing faith; right there at the intersection of "I believe" and "Help my unbelief". And God's marvelous grace takes the believer through the messiness of life to create a beautiful tapestry of one's life which glorifies God, proclaims the beautiful and marvelous grace of God, and reveals the mystery of the Spirit working in radiant display.
Corrie ten Boom, whose sacrificial World War II actions and those of her family are captured in the book and the movie "The Hiding Place", often quoted a poem as her favorite entitled "The Master Weaver's Plan":
My life is but a weaving
Between the Lord and me;
I may not choose the colors–
He knows what they should be.
For He can view the pattern
Upon the upper side
While I can see it only
On this, the underside.
Sometimes He weaves in sorrow,
Which seems so strange to me;
But I will trust His judgment
And work on faithfully.
‘Tis He who fills the shuttle,
And He knows what is best;
So I shall weave in earnest,
And leave to Him the rest.
Not ’til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needed
In the Weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern, He has planned.
~ by AUTHOR UNKNOWN
May you have a blessed and God-refreshed Thanksgiving as you leave room in your life this week for the marvelous grace of God to accomplish His amazing Weaver's work in the messy tapestry of your life.
~ Pastor Sean and Tess
P.S. How have you experienced threads of God's grace being woven into the messiness of your spiritual tapestry? Send an email to pastorsean@chandlerbible.org and let us know, so that we may celebrate God's marvelous grace in your life with you.