IKEA has scarred me for life. But how can you really argue with the product. It’s modern, sleek and well, priced very fair. But…assembly is required. My last experience with Ikea was 2 large buffets that Margie fell in love with. We ran over and picked them up, threw them in the truck and headed back to the casa. I mean how bad could it be, these boxes were heavy, but they were pretty compact, right? I’ll never forget carving up the box with a boxcutter and eventually in the sea of white foam, finding the instructions packet. About 12 pounds of random metal connectors and a ream of paper neatly sealed in a plastic pouch. Chaos held in order by only a thin layer of plastic. Now I’ve never read Tolstoy’s War and Peace but at 1,225 pages, it was probably shorter than the directions to assemble one of these buffets. Have you ever been in one of those places in your adult life where you see the task that is clearly before you and you just want to lay down in the floor and cry like a 3 year old? Ikea takes me that place. I can look back today and laugh about Ikea assemblies, but let’s move on and look at another very different kind of assembly directions, the assembly directions for life.
It seems there are two methods for delivering a large set of instructions . First is to have all of the directions delivered up front at one single time. The problem with this method? Overload. You are completely and absolutely overwhelmed. This delivery system will have you repeating that pre-school floor tantrum regardless of the fact that you’re 45. This method can also lose people quickly in the journey. Some will simply not engage the task because of its impending pain. Others will get lost along the way, their interest waning in the monotony of repetition. In this life I’ve learned that most people are just not gifted with high levels of tenacity.
The second method of delivery is to have the directions supplied to you just as you need them. You know, complete one step and then I’ll give you the next set of instructions. This process avoids the many pitfalls of the first. You miss the overload and shock of taking it all in at once. This method allows you to process the pain and deal with it only as needed. But the main problems here? Patience and control. You see if I have all of the directions before me, even though it may scare the living daylight out of me, I know exactly what I’m in for. I can either attack the directions and complete it quickly, kinda life ripping off a band-aid, or I can stretch it out and make it last an eternity. The choice is mine, I’m in control. But this method, the learn as you go method, takes great patience, attention and tenacity or you’ll lose your way, you interest and the sight of you eventual goal.
Folks, God deals with us in the second method.
Today in Deuteronomy 2 we see a flashback of sorts as Moses recounts the Israelite nation’s 38 year journey from Kadesh-Barnea back to Zered. (Deut 2:14) Recall that Deuteronomy means “second law” and that Moses is kind of "retelling" many laws and stories of the prior generation to the current generation. You see, God speaks a lot but much of it is repeat material. There is nothing new under the sun when you’re dealing with the sinful hearts of men and the righteous laws of God. (Ecc. 1:9-11) If God were a parent today, He’d constantly be saying, “how many times do I need to say this?”
But as we cruise through chapter 2 you see the pattern. God gives out his assembly directions one day at a time. God appeared to the people as a pillar of cloud above the ark of the covenant during the day and as a pillar of fire at night. The people could merely glance towards the temple and see the actual presence of God. When the pillar stayed, they knew they would be camping for the night. But if the pillar moved, the people immediately packed up and started moving with God. It was a daily ritual that was repeated for 40 years. Directions that were given that day and to those that were close to God.
As they continued to journey, the bigger decisions were given directly to Moses by God. Just go back through the books of Moses and start counting how many times it says, “and the Lord spoke to Moses” occurs. I’ve underlined every occurrence of this in red in my Bible and when I flip back through it looks like a chicken walked through red ink and then tap danced in my Bible. It’s everywhere. God gave Moses the assembly directions only as needed.
When they were to fight, God sent them directly into battle without prior notice. When they needed provision, they asked, and God provided them bread, daily. When they grumbled and became disobedient, God corrected in the moment. You see, God provides all of the assembly directions for life, but He does so only as needed. You must complete the assembly step you are on before He will give you the next set of instructions. He operates the same today in 2020 AD as He did with Moses in 1400 BC.
Seems pretty simply, huh? Well, here’s where it gets a little sticky. If you are to get new instructions every day, then of course, you need to be tuned in every day. You have to be listening to the source that will dole out those valuable assembly directions if you hope to stay on track with the project. This logic brings up one single question. Are you tuned in and listening intently to God every day?
I’ve learned this valuable principle through many hard lessons the last several years. You see the world will tell us that God will not subject us to or require us to deal with any hard situations. And folks, that is a bold lie. I played football for 6 years and you do not get better by practicing easy, playing easy and preparing easy. I broke bones, I painfully conditioned my body and I cried in the bitter defeat of realizing my good was not good enough. But through the process, the hardships made me better. No pain no gain. God puts us through hardships, pain and struggles to only make us better. An entire life lived in ease and simplicity will not show the growth of one lived in adversity, conflict and pain. You see, just as gold is heated with great fire to separate the pure gold from the dross, God purifies us with fire to create a pure servant that can serve Him to the utmost.
“See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” Isaiah 48:10
And just exactly what is the point of this refining process? To create in us the patience, tenacity and faith it requires to follow God daily and wait on His next step of assembly instructions.
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces patience. And let patience have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4
You may be frustrated today, waiting on the Lord to deliver His next set of instructions to you. Don’t. He will deliver the next set of instructions to you once you have fully completed the step you are on. It’s part of the process. Notice that the refining flames and various trials will test your faith. And what does that testing produce? Patience. Patience to wait on God.
I pray today that you are walking with God daily. That you are near to Him each and every day. Draw near to Him by studying His word every single day. Tell God your thoughts, feelings and concerns by being in constant prayer all throughout your day. Seek out blessed fellowship and be strengthened and encouraging by the like-minded believers God has carefully placed in your life. Serve God daily by serving others, there is no better way to get perspective on your current situation than by getting out of yourself, stepping back and getting the external perspective of God. As you combine all of these, God will speak. And in that communication, He will clarify His assembly directions for your life.
Wait on the Lord and as you do, know that He is doing a great work in you.
“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6
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