A broken shoe lace, it drives me crazy! I’m dressed, loaded and ready to go. As I tighten my shoe laces and one pops. Of course I don’t have an extra supply at home. If I have to go buy one at the store; that means time for a trip there, finding one, standing in line to purchase it, you get my point. It’s a Hassel. So I cheat. I unlace the shoe and restring the thing hoping it won’t be noticeable.
I don’t know, maybe it’s a guy thing; but I hate to waste time undoing things. Sooner or later, we all find ourselves in situations and circumstances where the undo or redo is necessary. In 2 Corinthians 6: 17, Paul instructs Christians to; “Come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean.” The Holy Spirit, living inside us, reveals things that have to change. He calls us away from things and people that make us “unclean”. Granted my shoes are pretty unclean most of the time, but Paul is getting at an issue that’s much more serious than a broken shoelace. However, just like with the shoe lace thing He wants me to do something different.
Joyce Meyer says, “It’s difficult to separate ourselves unto God, because we become attached to our attachments.” Extricating ourselves from something that we love is always hard, because it involves a tearing off of something that has become a part of us and who we are. I’m reminded of the old love song, “Breaking Up is Hard to Do.” The experience of detaching ourselves from what has become comfortable with is PAINFUL. (An experience full of pain.) When I subject myself to God’s prompting to separate, He always brings something much better, FREEDOM!
In Deuteronomy 9:21, we find that Aaron constructed a gold calf for worship that made God angry enough to destroy him. Moses stepped into the situation with prayer and fasting. He took the calf, burned, crushed, and ground it up into a fine dust, and then threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain. God was serious about idol worship. Moses knew that and interceded for Aaron. He went to great lengths to separate (or undo) Aaron from the sin. Today we have the precious blood of Christ to cleanse us from our sin; but we still need to confess our sins, and take the radical steps necessary to remove it and any idolatry from our lives. He wants our entire life to bring praise and honor to Christ.
In Joshua 3:5, we have an amazing promise from God. “Joshua told the people, consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you." Because these people were willing to sanctify and set themselves apart for God’s use; He (God,) gave them victory over the people and circumstances, which held them captive. What AMAZNG THINGS will God do for each of us if we will consecrate ourselves wholly unto Him? UNTIE YOURSELF!
