Treading on MY High Places

Mike Leake

    Though the fig tree should not blossom,
        nor fruit be on the vines,
    the produce of the olive fail
        and the fields yield no food,
    the flock be cut off from the fold
        and there be no herd in the stalls,
    yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
        I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
    GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
        he makes my feet like the deer’s;
        he makes me tread on my high places.
    To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
(Habakkuk 3:17-19 ESV, emphasis mine)

There are few better examples of faith in all of Scripture.  Though his eyes do not see victory Habakkuk is going to keep hanging on.  And I don’t think this should necessarily be interpreted through our 21st century-everything-is-gonna-work-out-in-this-life lenses either. I think the redemption that Habakkuk is looking for is one that he will not see fully in his own lifetime.  Just like us real redemption will be found another day.

In reading through this passage earlier today I noticed something about the text that I have never noticed before.  I have not found any commentaries or any other places that have really commented on this and so I’m a tad fearful of throwing out something new fangled that is nothing close to Habakkuk’s meaning.  Yet, I will venture on because even if it was clearly shown that this cannot be proven from this verse I believe it’s sound theologically. 

Notice in the bold section that Habakkuk says he makes me tread on “my” high places.  The use of the possessive there is what caught my attention.  Habakkuk did not simply say “high places” but my high places.  Habakkuk’s high places may be different than my high places.  For some merely lifting your head in the morning and being able to go the grocery store is a great victory and “treading on my high places”.  For others their “high place” is far more lofty.

This reminds me of some very wise words by Jared Wilson in his book Gospel Wakefulness:

No two people feel the same way.  Some of us are more emotive than others; some are naturally more reserved; some are naturally more excitable…What gospel wakefulness presupposes is that wherever a person tops out emotionally, they do so at the gospel…what should move you most is the reality that Christ died and rose for you.  (147-48)

Habakkuk isn’t called to tread on my high places.  Gospel-infused faith causes him to tread on his high places not necessarily mine. 

We have to minister to people where they are and not necessarily where they ought to be.  For some people growth in grace might mean working up enough nerve to make a phone call to order a pizza.  For others such a task is nothing close to a definition of treading on high places.  Both ought to be celebrated as blood-bought faith! 

Why Thorn Removal Is Not the Goal (Part 2)

Mike Leake

Yesterday we considered the testimony of the man with no arms and no legs.  He is an inspiration to never give up.  In many ways he is a model of what this entire series is about; namely, rather than spending your entire life trying to   remove the thorns enjoy the rose as it is, prickly and yet beautiful. 

Yet at the outset I must confess that I, and I doubt I’m alone, almost wish that my “thorn” was an obvious physical malady.  I say that because nobody rightly expects the guy to “get it together” and grow himself a pair of arms.  Nobody (at least nobody sane) believes that he is this way because of personal choice and sin.  It’s not so clear cut with someone who has bouts with a dark melancholy and deep seated shame as their thorn. 

While it is true that some depression, anxiety, and shame are a result of things that we really ought to be shameful for, and things that really ought to cause grief, it is also true that some of it stems from things that have happened to us.  The lines between real shame and guilt and that which is false are often blurry.  This makes the prospect of thorn removal tricky.  In as much as our “thorn” is the result of rebellion and pride it’s removal is not an option, it is mandatory. 

Yet, what if there is an element of our melancholy that is not a direct result of personal sin but merely the results of living in a fallen world? 

What if melancholy is part of our lives because this is the painful method the Lord has chosen to use for His glory and our eventual good? 

What if, like Paul, we pray and fight and labor to be done with this demonic thorn and all we hear is, “My grace is sufficient for you”? 

It is understandable and right to long for and pursue redemption.  It’s not wrong to pray that the Lord removes this thorn.  But it is sinful and wrong-hearted to be unsatisfied in grace and to be fixated on thorn removal.  And that is my point. 

There must be a place within the Christian faith for those that limp around with a life-long thorn and yet keep a white-knuckled grip on the cross of Christ.  And that place is not necessarily one that is to be relegated to the back of the bus, quarantined off from the smiley-faced believers that are “good” witnesses to redemption. 

Tomorrow I want to consider how the “prosperity gospel” and the many forms that seem to have been swallowed by American Christianity offers a hope for the depressed but actually ends up wounding tremendously. 

Today in Blogworld 7.25.12

Mike Leake

Chick-fil-a and the Irony of the Tolerance Police

Denny Burk writes on the vitriol aimed at Chick-fil-a from the tolerance police.  I’m just curious how those boycotting Chick-fil-a will deal with their addiction to the awesome chicken sandwiches and lemonade.  Suit yourselves. 

Preventing Heresy in Your Small Group

Sam O’Neal, guest writing for Trevin Wax, helps small group leaders prevent heresy.  These are really great tips to follow to prevent false teaching spreading through small groups. 

The Rise of the Roman Catholic Church in a Nutshell

I bet you didn’t know nutshells were being infiltrated by Roman Catholicism, did you?  Well they aren’t.  This excellent summary about the institutional arm of the catholic church that eventually became the Roman Catholic is worthy of your time. 

You—Shut Your Mouth

I’m still chewing on this one from James McDonald.  Read it and tell me what you think.  Here he gives 7 points about remaining silent when destructively criticized, harshly criticized, or experiencing outright personal attack and character assassination. 

I love this song and the biblical motivation behind it:

Quick Review of As One Devil to Another

Mike Leake

Occasionally I will be sucked into watching one of those talent or singing competition shows on television.  It never fails that at least one singer will be chided for “not feeling the song”.  Though annoying because of its prevalence such advice is actually true. 

There is a way of imitating an art form that looks and sounds exactly like the original but something is missing.  That something is the passion that spawned the song in the first place or that struck the soul upon first hearing it.  Without that you can sing a song almost perfectly but not captivate the audience. 

One of my favorite works of C.S. Lewis is his Screwtape Letters.  If you are unfamiliar with this classic, Lewis addresses penetrating moral questions and pertinent topics like grace, evil, and repentance through a dialogue between two devils.  As only Lewis could do he take on difficult topics using a very interesting literary technique.  It’s a masterpiece for a reason. 

Richard Platt is an obvious fan of the works of Lewis.  In his new book As One Devil to Another it is quickly apparent that he has gotten the ways of devilish correspondence down to an art form.  Walter Hooper is correct on the front cover when he says, “It reads as if C.S. Lewis himself had written it”. 

Yet something is missing.

Just as the singers that hit every note and perform a song masterfully still get chided I cannot help but only give mediocre praise to Platt’s work here.  To me it just doesn’t seem like Platt has the same fire that Lewis had that motivated his Screwtape Letters.  His execution of Lewis’ literary technique is masterful but he doesn’t seem to do it with the same depth of insight as Lewis. (But who could?)

There are a few things in the book that had me scratching my theological head.  One is not so much what Platt says but what he doesn’t say.  Lewis took on much bigger topics.  Platt seems to leave most of his fiendish plans to using higher education to destroy faith.  It’s almost as if the devil’s biggest tool is “out there” and not what goes on in our own hearts. 

He hits on a few other contemporary topics but it never seems that he really gets behind the exterior issues.  With Lewis one imagines that he had dined with devils.  With Platt it feels more like he’s overheard a couple of guys talk about their experience dining with devils. 

Should You Buy It?

This is not a book that I would encourage someone to not purchase.  If you really like C.S. Lewis and have read The Screwtape Letters and think this may be a fun read then go for it.  There are sections in here that may be helpful and my theological qualms are not enough to make me say don’t buy the book.  Yet, I also won’t be purchasing extra copies and giving them away.  Nor will I be recommending the book to a host of people. 

If you think it’s a book that would be interesting to you then you can purchase it for $11.38.  Or you can also purchase Lewis’ Screwtape Letters for only 5 bucks more. 

—

I normally wouldn’t review a book that I consider neither damaging nor exceedingly good.  However, I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for a review and so for the sake of integrity reviewed the book.