Blessed Are The Flexible
By Jack W. Hayford
Last year, I received a gift, which required doing two things which
both irritated me and stoked the fires of my impatience. First
of all, I was required to read instructions and carefully assemble
this gift. That was bad enough. But to make matters worse, the instructions
were vague—and weighted with technical jargon.
Second, finding a place to put the gift required moving stuff around
in my office. I actually had to remove an item which had ornamented
my wall for a long time. It had to be put out of the way to make
room for this new object. As the process began to consume
more time than I could afford, I found myself clenched-jawed and
angry. But even as my ire rose, a still small voice inside me also
rose to speak:
You’re getting old, Jack. Old and inflexible. You don’t
want to learn anything new, and you don’t want to change anything
settled! Ouch! I winced, and stopped to talk to Jesus.
He was pinpointing a fact of my personal, mundane experience, which—He
said to me—held the portent of an attitude which could begin
to warp my spiritual life. I repented. It was good
for me.
Gently, the Lord reminded me of His words in Revelation 21:5: “Behold,
I make all things new.” As I pondered that passage, it struck
me that the Lord Jesus was not only making a prophetic promise,
He was also asserting an ongoing policy. To keep moving with a living
Body—and His Church is supposed to be that—you and I are
vulnerable to the spiritual experience of a biological fact. I am
told by physicians that the human body renews itself every seven
years. All of the body’s cells will renew themselves in seven-year
cycles—or less.
Through my years of walking with Jesus, I’ve discovered He
keeps me in a permanent state of transition. And I’ve learned
a little about the potential for joy when you allow the Holy Spirit
to keep “flex” in your soul. I don’t want
to become stodgy. Unshapeable. Inflexible. The ongoing working of
the Spirit in my life—and yours—will keep us “hanging
loose.”
Someone reminded me of those things just the other day. “Blessed
are the flexible,” my friend said, “for verily, they
shall not be broken.” I like that. I might even
have someone prepare it in calligraphy and frame it for my wall.
Even if it means moving something else. |
Jack
Hayford Ministries
14800 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA 91405-2233