a flick of the wrist and a fling of the Rock

i don't really want to sound more spiritual than you, but…

i actually HAVE a prayer closet.

and it's IN A CLOSET.  i know- it's pretty fab.

even more fab, i had this idea before War Room came out. 

since last summer when there was a change in roommates, there was necessarily a change in the room situation as well.  so i moved across the house into the master bed that had a bathroom the same size as my previous bedroom as well as a walk-in closet that i could actually walk into, turn around in, put all my stuff and still have space left over by the window for my "secret" little prayer corner. 

the past few months this has been something of a refuge for me.  there's a super comfy chair that is tiny but is both soft and supportive for my back.  there's a ridiculously soft blanket that the cat loves almost as much as me.  there's a bedside table just the right size and height for a Bible, notebook, pens, devotional and a little candle stand, for those particularly rough devo times when i just need some mood lighting and calming fragrance.  the newest addition to my area is a bulletin board with pens, pins and fun colors of paper to write down prayer requests, Bible verses and hymns.  yeah… i need a bigger board already.

outside my prayer closet, i have a real life.  one that has been kicking my tail the past weeks and months.  circumstances have been flung well outside my wingspan.  Type A people do not like this.  no, sir, not at all!  we do not like it, Sam I Am!!  but again and again i have noticed how those whispers i grasp for in the prayer closet reach me across town when i'm not ready. 

this week,  tuesday was spent doing some serious wigging out, along with working through some deep stuff with other seriously cool brains.  it concluded with flipping through some tv channels where we happened upon ABC's showing of "Of Kings and Prophets"- featuring the one and only David, son of Jesse. 

first impression: was that part… or that part… ever in the Bible?

second impression: woah- *THAT* was NOT in the Bible!!!!!!!!!!

just like last week, wednesday came right after tuesday and the Cubbies' next lesson was…. David and Goliath!! 

i think the fact that i'd been up all day and was operating solely with the aid of coffee was a saving grace, because my hyperactivity finally matched that of the 15 pre-K kids.  so we got our pictures colored, we said our verse -("Psalm 56:11 In God i trust, i shall not be afraid; what can man do to me?"), - we got everybody's height measured on the wall and sang the Cubby Song with great vim and vigor before sitting down to hear one of the most widely-known Bible stories of all time. we reviewed last week's lesson- David's anointing- before diving in to the tale of a young (but strapping, good looking, and nice) guy and his simple faith that takes on a vicious giant of mind-blowing proportions.

every day for over a month he'd stand on a hill facing the Israelite campfires and holler.  he'd just mock them, taunt them, humiliate them, slander them.  he'd tell them exactly what he though about them, their mothers and their God.  their God that nobody could see, hovered over some fancy box in a tent, and obviously didn't care enough to stop the conceited bragging of the Philistine.  the Cubbies stared wide-eyed at the paper where their heights and names were written, then a few feet above that where the teacher's names and heights were… and then where the wall met the ceiling- which is where Goliath's shoulders would have been.  they laughed when they heard about how Goliath was teasing the Israelite's God, calling him "stupid" and "weak" and "powerless."  really, it was just because i said the word stupid.  there is actually a Hebrew word for "stupid" and i forget what it is- but the point is that in those days,  the winning army "proved" that they had the superior deity.  Goliath had probably never lost any fight since he was out of diapers. he was the Chuck Norris of the ancient world, minus any sense of humility or human decency or deodorant; clearly their god was better.

umm, the Philistines worshipped a fish.  

his name was dagon.  i can't even capitalize that horrid, blasphemous name.

i was impressed that the kids listened this far to a story we all knew so well.  but after all the taunts and teases, the climax had finally arrived:

a handsome young shepherd stepped up, fresh from the fields, slingshot in hand.  the bestest ever part of this story is that the battle was won before the boy so much as twitched his slingshot hand.  with just a word, he announced his imminent victory. 

the kids finished his sentences, each time growing in excitement and volume:

"i don't need a sword, because i have-"

God!

"i don't need a shield, because i have-"

GOD!

"i don't need armor, or big strong muscles, or a physique of mammoth dimensions, because i have-"

GOD!!!!!!

with that, a flick of the wrist and a fling of a rock, Goliath fell down dead and that foul mouth never uttered another evil word.

growing up, i'd always heard this story explained something like this: David trusted in God and thus was able to defeat the giant facing him.  if you trust in God, you can also defeat your giant.

sounds great, until you actually have a giant.

Jesus and a very, very few other people know about the particular giant i'm facing now.  this giant has been coming against me every day for years, but it's been shouting extra loud the past month or so. it's big, and ugly and not really a fair fighter. 

all the dodgeballs are on his side. 

most of my players are on the DL.

none of the odds are in my favor.  whatever inning or down or quarter or half we're in, i'm exhausted.

i don't even have a slingshot (and if i did, it would be useless to me.  useless).

just over 3 years ago, our church started using a new LifeGroup curriculum for all the kids' classes.  instead of isolating each Bible story and yanking moral lessons out of them, it teaches the Bible as one progressive story, drawing together the pieces and unifying them.  by taking a step back and seeing the One Story as a whole, it is possible to see that there is really only One main character, and that each individual piece is about Him, too. His story starts even before creation, not with the manger. He is the main character in every chapter and verse.

by rethinking and rephrasing the story of David and Goliath, you instead get an explanation that is a bit more like this:

you are not David.

you're just not. sorry.

you're one of the ragtag Israelite soldiers, huddling with David's older brothers in their tent, crying like little girls at the hopeless situation and wondering if deliverance from the unbeatable foe could ever be possible.

ha ha!  you probably don't think that sounds better, do you?  it is.

because of who IS playing the part of David. you ready?  it's Jesus!

just in the nick of time, a humble Shepherd steps forward and ever-so quietly and calmly tells His terrified brethren that if God has stuck with Him through the past trials, God will certainly be with Him through this. His desert temptations and persecutions weren't for nothing- they were for this moment.  He sees the giant in its appropriate dimensions.  He's sized up the problem and can clearly see that the Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise is going to win and save His people. He is the victory.  not us. 

He is the Word that shouts his promised victory to every compass direction.

He is the Rock that is always right on target.

He is the unexpected hero that fits zero of their ideas of a proper champion, yet accomplishes the insurmountable task while the "soldiers" were about to wet their loincloths from terror. 

i don't know about you, but i find great comfort in knowing that i can retreat to the safety of my prayer closet and let my Anointed Shepherd take this fight.  His aim is much better.