Year 4, Day 281: Judges 20

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: D2,

• D₂ is the step in the discipleship process where God builds character as we begin to help in God's work.  Often it involves us taking a good long look at ourselves and seeing what needs to be cut away.  Affectionately, this process is referred to as “the pit of despair” because when we see ourselves for who we really are it is easy to despair and feel like we’ll never get it right, we’ll never be right, and we’ll never be useful to God.  The disciple needs time, vision, and grace to come out of the pit of despair.

In Judges 20 we have an unusual story where Israel comes in civil war against Benjamin.  Within this story we hear the people of Israel seek the will of the Lord, obey the will of the Lord, and find themselves stumbling into failure the first few days of battle.  In my theological commentary from three years ago, I give some really cool thoughts as to why this should happen.  You can read more about that in the post to which I link above.

To continue further with what I say there, I think what we see happening is that God isn’t afraid to use failure to build character.  When we are building character, we know that we need time, vision, and grace in order to build that character.  Sometimes we experience failure because God needs us to develop the necessary components before truly being drawn into a successful obedience to God’s calling.

That’s actually what we see here.  The Hebrew people are routed the first few days of battle.  God is teaching the Hebrew people patience and humbleness while drawing out the arrogance and over-confidence of the Benjaminites.  When the Hebrew people are properly humbled and patient and obedient, then God springs his trap on Benjamin.  The Hebrew people bring mass destruction upon Benjamin and the town of Gibeah only after God has developed character within the Hebrew people.  The Hebrew people may lose a few battles, but because God is with them developing their character, the victory of the war was assured.

I think we can really pay attention to this dynamic.  How often do we give up when we experience failure when in truth we should dig in and be patient with God?  How often do we quit when God is just getting started with where He wants us to go?  How often do we see the pit of despair in D2 discipleship and we retreat away rather than taking the time to learn the lesson at hand?

<><

Year 4, Day 233: Luke 24

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: D2, Time, Vision, Grace

• D₂ is the step in the discipleship process where God builds character as we begin to help in God's work.  Often it involves us taking a good long look at ourselves and seeing what needs to be cut away.  Affectionately, this process is referred to as “the pit of despair” because when we see ourselves for who we really are it is easy to despair and feel like we’ll never get it right, we’ll never be right, and we’ll never be useful to God.  The disciple needs time, vision, and grace to come out of the pit of despair.

I’m not sure that there are many pits of despair deeper than watching your Lord and Savior die on the cross and be buried in a tomb.  After all, human beings have a saying: Dead is dead.  It had to be pretty hard to imagine how God was going to make Jesus His Messiah from the tomb.  I feel for those disciples.  How impossible that pit must have felt!

Then God does the unthinkable.  Jesus is raised!  Hallelujah!

Jesus comes to the women and gives them grace just by coming to them in the midst of their doubts.  He gives them vision by telling them to go and proclaim.  He gives them time by not expecting them to already have it figured out.

The same is true about those disciples on the road to Emmaus.  They didn’t have it all figured out.  They didn’t know what was going on.  Jesus comes among them to help them out.  He gives them vision by explaining the scriptures to them.  He gives them grace when He reveals Himself to them in the breaking of the bread.  He gives them time by not laying upon them the expectation of having to have it already figured out.

The same is also true about the disciples back in Jerusalem.  Jesus doesn’t expect them to have it all perfectly figured out.  In fact, He encourages them to take their time in figuring it all out until the Holy Spirit comes upon them.  He gives them grace by coming among them and not abandoning them to their doubt.  He gives them vision by showing them His body so they can know that He is who they say that He is.

Jesus knows the way out of the pit of despair.  When the pit of despair comes, we need time, vision, and grace.  We need it from God.  This means we need it through the spiritual people around us through whom God speaks.  When we’re in the pit, draw close to those spiritual people and allow them to mentor you through God’s hand at work in your life.

<>< 

Year 4, Day 223: Luke 14

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Discipleship Square

• D₂ is the step in the discipleship process where God builds character as we begin to help in God's work.  Often it involves us taking a good long look at ourselves and seeing what needs to be cut away.  Affectionately, this process is referred to as “the pit of despair” because when we see ourselves for who we really are it is easy to despair and feel like we’ll never get it right, we’ll never be right, and we’ll never be useful to God.  It is easy to feel like a failure in the pit of despair.

In this chapter of Luke, we have several difficult moments with Jesus.  First, Jesus is faced with choosing between not healing on the Sabbath – and while following the Law being branded an uncompassionate man – or healing on the Sabbath and breaking the Law.  I love that Jesus chooses compassion over Law.  I love that Jesus chooses mercy over strict adherence.  I love what this story teaches us about Jesus’ character and how he models that character for His disciples.

Jesus also gives us an interesting teaching.  Don’t sit at the head of the table.  Don’t invite the wealthy around you to dinner.  Hang out with the poor and in need.  Again we get to take a look at a story from Jesus where we can see character being built.  Who among us really has what it takes to intentionally hang around those who need us all the time?  Don’t we like to hang around those who can help us out or elevate us to a new position?  Do we really have what it takes to be obedient to God in this world?

Or take Jesus’ hard words about discipleship?  Whoever doesn’t leave family for me cannot be His disciple.  Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross cannot be Jesus’ disciple.  Whoever does not count the cost cannot be His disciple.  Whoever does not renounce all that he has cannot be Christ’s disciple.  Here we see the pit of despair, truly.  How many of us can live up to that teaching?  What do I have to change in my life to make that true about me?  That’s what discipleship is all about.

<>< 

Year 4, Day 38: Genesis 39

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Character, D2

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

Joseph is an incredible man.  However, his life was not easy.  His own family sold him out just to get rid of him.  When he abides by God’s ways and does not desire to have sex with Potifer’s wife, the decision lands him in prison.  Here is a man who certainly is as godly as any man could be, yet his life is anything but free from trouble.

So, what can we learn here in this part of Joseph’s story?  Joseph is on a course to be the great leader that God needs in the future.  But he needs to learn some valuable lessons.  He needs to develop that character so that when the time comes to lead that he can lead.  Joseph finds turmoil and persecution in his life; God takes that persecution and turmoil and develops Joseph’s character.

Persecution and turmoil will come.  When we follow God, people will not understand – even people who come into worship and sit beside us.  The world will reject us.  But as the world rejects, God will use that time to develop character.  God will use that time to bring us into a place in life where we can make the correct and difficult choices when they need to be made.

<>< 

Year 4, Day 31: Genesis 32

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: D2, Character

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

Often, character is best formed in the D2 stage of discipleship.  What is the D2 stage of discipleship?  D2 is the place where instead of just learning the information about God we actually start to put it into practice.  We go out and try and make a difference.  Instead of watching God, we start to help God while He continues to work around us.

Unfortunately, this is often our time of greatest failure.  We always fail the most at the beginning.  People riding bicycles never fall as much as the first few days that they are learning.  Serious students seldom do any worse than the first exam they take under a particular teacher.  Leaders seldom make wrong judgments as often as when they just start leading.  While painful, this is true.  Who we are is forged out of our failure.

God steps into those times of difficulty and teaches us.  He forges our character out of our struggle.  It is just like Jacob the deceiver.  Jacob has deceived Esau twice.  He has fled from Esau and deceived Laban – although let’s not forget that Laban was not innocent, either.  Now Jacob comes back and he continues to put himself first as he puts several groups of human shields between himself and his brother.  His character has continued to fail and fall, so God comes and wrestles with Jacob.

What makes Jacob worthwhile in this study is that he isn’t afraid to wrestle with God.  He isn’t afraid to develop his character.  He isn’t afraid to struggle.  Out of that struggle will come a man that God can use to lead His people.  The same can be true of all of us if we are willing to wrestle with God and be humbled before Him.

<>< 

Year 3, Day 338: Daniel 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: D₂

• D₂ is the step in the discipleship process where God builds character as we begin to help in God's work.  Often it involves us taking a good long look at ourselves and seeing what needs to be cut away.  Affectionately, this process is referred to as “the pit of despair” because when we see ourselves for who we really are it is easy to despair and feel like we’ll never get it right, we’ll never be right, and we’ll never be useful to God.  It is easy to feel like a failure in the pit of despair.

We need to remember something in the pit of despair.  Romans 5:3-5 says that “we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame.”  When we are in the pit of despair and suffering, God is actually using that time to build character within us!  D₂ is difficult.  It is hard to suffer.  It is hard to endure.  It is hard to build character.  It is hard to be a disciple.  But in the end, it is worth it!

I believe this is exactly what God is doing to Nebuchadnezzar in this chapter.  Up until now, God has demonstrated His power to Nebuchadnezzar.  Nebuchadnezzar has seen God’s power and been impressed.  But Nebuchadnezzar still hasn’t let go of his pride.  He still hasn’t humbled himself before God.  If Nebuchadnezzar is going to truly be in relationship with God, he needs to take a good long look in the mirror and see his prideful self for what it is.  That’s D₂ if I’ve ever seen it.  God is building character in Nebuchadnezzar by humbling him to be like a beast so he can consider the truth about his ways.

So how do we get out of the pit of despair and build character?  Through time, vision, and grace.  We can see each of these three elements today in God’s dealing with Nebuchadnezzar.

• Time: God gives Nebuchadnezzar seven years to see himself as he really is.
• Vision: God gives Nebuchadnezzar the ability to see himself as he really is – a beast following his own passions – and know that there is a better way.
• Grace: Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan king worshipping false gods.  The fact that God continues to search after Nebuchadnezzar’s heart at all is a huge display of grace! 

<><