Contronym — a word with multiple meanings where one meaning is the reverse of another.
The second: overlook (v)
Overlook. To monitor or inspect.
Overlook. To fail to notice or choose not to emphasize
On one hand, I overlook the progress of something, perhaps I keep a close eye on how something is developing. On the other hand, I overlook the failings or shortcomings of myself and others, I choose to not see how something fails to develop!
Too often I find it easier to look closely at how something progresses or fails to progress and keep a record. Rather, I want to develop the ability to overlook the progress of something and look instead to the heart of the person involved. After all, it is the heart that our Father sees.
4Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
I learned a new word last week. It was completely by accident while reading a beach novel with very few redeeming characteristics. But I learned a new word. Actually a word that categorizes many words.
Contronym.
Contronym is a word with multiple meanings where one meaning is the reverse of another. There are many examples in the English language. It seems to me it makes learning the English language quite difficult. Although, it is quite possible that other languages contain the same difficult words.
We are on vacation this week so I thought it might be interesting to consider some of these words.
The first: BOLT
Bolt: to fasten one object to another with a metal fitting
Bolt: to make a sudden escape
Consider your present situation. In what way are you bolting? Are you securely fastening to Someone with greater strength and stability? Are you making plans to flee suddenly without looking back?
13But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again.14The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”
I challenge you to insert your own circumstances in place of “The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again!” Can you “bolt” yourself to the Lord and watch him fight for you?
32That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. 33The whole town gathered at the door to watch. 34So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons. But because the demons knew who he was, he did not allow them to speak.35Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. 36Later Simon and the others went out to find him. 37When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”38But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.”
It is no secret that Jesus didn’t look like the Messiah most people expected. Many believed the Messiah would reign on earth, deliver Israel from their enemies and set up an earthly kingdom. In the passage above, the disciples thought Jesus ought to go back to town where the people were looking for him. Imagine what they might have been thinking. This might be the moment…
But Jesus said no to the invitation for acclaim and recognition. He knew he wasn’t going to set up an office in town, live in one place with a magnificent following, set down stakes.
The disciples weren’t the only ones who had expectations. Recall his encounter with Satan in the wilderness. Three times he tempted Jesus to fulfill his mission through a stunning miracle, a real crowd pleasing event. Jesus said no to that kind of fulfillment.
Jesus’ first miracle was performed at a wedding and at the insistence of his mother. Later, his family decided he was crazy and more than once taunted him to make public appearances. Scripture records that his mother and brothers came looking for him to take him home. You know, like an intervention. Jesus said no to living according to the expectations of his family.
It is so easy to forfeit God’s call when my identity is not firmly rooted in what Jesus says about me. I am tempted to compromise, play to the crowd, win favor with the popular kids. I certainly don’t have it all figured out, but I am moving in that direction. I feel the pull to change course at times; sometimes the pull is quite strong. And then I remember Jesus. I listen for his still small voice. I remember that it is okay. It is okay to be me even when others don’t agree.
In what way are you drawn away from your purpose by the expectations of others?
David spent many hours as a young man in the fields tending sheep and listening to God. Evidence of knowing himself was displayed in his first interactions with King Saul when he volunteered to fight the giant, Goliath. Yesterday I highlighted his choice to forego the armor Saul offered because it wasn’t him. He knew who he was and he knew who God was, enabling him to make a difficult choice.
Near the end of David’s life, his son Absalom, plotted to overthrow him as king and claim the throne for himself. David, and those loyal to him, fled Jerusalem, seeking refuge outside the city. On the way, they encountered opposition from a man from Saul’s clan. Thinking David’s reign was coming to an end, Shimei spoke out against the Lord’s anointed, spewing hate previously held in check. Notice David’s response to the accusations. I believe the choices he made his entire life to walk in his true identity as God’s chosen enabled him to respond with humility and acceptance.
5As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, from the same clan as Saul’s family. 6He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him. 7“Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. 8“The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!” 9“Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. “Let me go over and cut off his head!” 10“No!” the king said. “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the Lord has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”
Absalom’s attempts to overthrow David did not work and ended badly for Absalom. As David and his men returned to the city, Shimei approaches them again. This time in a much different frame of mind. He fears for his life, realizing that his rash behavior may not go unnoticed now that David is returning to the throne.
As the king was about to cross the river, Shimei fell down before him. 19“My lord the king, please forgive me,” he pleaded. “Forget the terrible thing your servant did when you left Jerusalem. May the king put it out of his mind. 20I know how much I sinned. That is why I have come here today, the very first person in all Israel to greet my lord the king.” 21Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said, “Shimei should die, for he cursed the Lord’s anointed king!” 22“Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah!” David exclaimed. “Why have you become my adversary today? This is not a day for execution, for today I am once again the king of Israel!” 23Then, turning to Shimei, David vowed, “Your life will be spared.”
Once again, David rose above the situation. I believe it is because he completely identified as deeply loved and chosen by God. He didn’t need revenge; he didn’t need to prove anything. He knew who he was and whose he was.
I want to be this kind of person. I want to know deeply who I am and whose I am. When tough decisions need to be made I desire humility over pride, love over revenge. That will happen when I spend the necessary time in stillness and solitude with my Lord, listening to his voice, identifying with his truth, exposing the lies. It is consistent, hard work but the benefits are out of this world!
How about you? What kind of person do you want to be? How will you get there? Are you on the road to becoming the best of who you were created to be?
Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”38Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. 39David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.“I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. 40He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.
It is when I try to adopt the tactics of another that I fail. David volunteered to fight Goliath but when Saul offered his armor as protection, David was wise enough to say, “This isn’t me!” He took what he knew and slayed the giant. He was prepared exactly right for the task in front of him.
Are you looking around, thinking you aren’t enough because you don’t have what someone else has? Do you disqualify yourself before you even get started? Go with what you have and let God take care of the rest. He has equipped you with exactly what you need and it is enough!
The book of Judges records Israel’s spiral away from God, showing that without a sovereign leader, humanity moves away from God, not toward him. Eventually, the Israelites ask for a king so they can be like their neighbors. Saul is the first king of Israel. He looks like a king (1 Samuel 10:23), he is gifted for his position (1 Samuel 10:9), but he doesn’t connect with his identity as God’s chosen, and fails to live up to his calling or walk in obedience to God’s commands. It ruins his life.
Initially, Saul was victorious in battle. He fought against the enemies of Israel, defeating them wherever he turned. One day Samuel came to Saul and told him it was time to settle the score with the Amalekites. (For the background story, read Exodus 17:8-16). Saul is commanded to completely destroy them. He mobilizes his army, but fails to follow through. He captures King Agag and “kept the best of the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs–everything, in fact, that appealed to them.”
After the battle, Samuel looks for Saul. Upon finding him, Saul greets Samuel cheerfully saying, “I have carried out the Lord’s command!” (1 Samuel 15:13) But the sound of animals bleating and lowing comes to Samuel’s ears. “What is this noise?” Samuel asked. Saul’s explanation goes like this:
15“It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.” 16Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last night!”
“What did he tell you?” Saul asked. 17And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king of Israel. 18And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ 19Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”
Saul did not connect with his identity as God’s chosen, appointed leader. Even in his explanation to Samuel, he said he was going to sacrifice to the Lord YOUR God, not to OUR Lord or to the Lord OUR God. He excuses his disobedience by blaming others (1 Samuel 15:24). He wants the honor of the position without the responsibility. (1 Samuel 15:30)
Honestly, I wonder how often that has been true in my own life. Do I understand what it means to be chosen and appointed as a child of God and a friend of Jesus? Do I live out of that identity? Or do I, like Saul, think little of myself? Do I want honor without the responsibility of obedience?
The remainder of Saul’s life was miserable because he failed to connect with his identity, live up to his calling or walk in obedience. I don’t want to make that same mistake. What about you?
The book of Judges is written during a time when Israel had no earthly king. God was to be their king but that required them to obey and follow his commands. The people rarely did this well. They failed to drive out all the inhabitants of the land, as they were commanded (Judges 1:19, 21, 27, 29, 30, 31, 33, 35) and these people were trouble. The Israelites not only worshipped foreign gods, but were later oppressed by these strangers.
The Lord summarizes it like this:
“I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I swore to give your ancestors, and I said I would never break my covenant with you. 2For your part, you were not to make any covenants with the people living in this land; instead, you were to destroy their altars. But you disobeyed my command. Why did you do this? 3So now I declare that I will no longer drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.”
10After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. 11The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. 12They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord. 13They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth.
This gives a pretty clear picture of Israel’s troubled state of affairs. When they were oppressed by their enemies, they cried out to God and he delivered them. These deliverers were called judges. Gideon is the sixth judge God raised up to rescue Israel from their oppressors.
At this time, Israel has been reduced to starvation by Midianite invaders who took all their animals, stripped their crops bare and left the land desolate. Gideon was threshing wheat in the bottom of a winepress in an effort to keep the food hidden and avoid starvation. The angel of the Lord came to him and said:
“Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”
13“Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”
Gideon’s response hits at the core of the issue — he feels abandoned. Where is God? Why isn’t he delivering us now? It seems when life gives us lemons, the temptation is to accuse God of abandonment. The Lord’s response is a beautiful affirmation of Gideon’s true identity as well as the continual promise of God’s presence.
14Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”
15“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”
16The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”
Gideon was afraid, disappointed and weakened. It’s beautiful that God invited him to go with the strength (resources) he had — he didn’t need to be anything else. He was enough, even if he didn’t know it.
Gideon said, “I am the weakest link, the runt of the bunch!”
God said, “You are a mighty hero!”
Who will you believe? Perhaps you are questioning God’s goodness in light of your current circumstances. Is God asking you to move forward with what you have, even if it seems inadequate? Are you believing lies that formed in times of desperation or are you willing to step out of the winepress and grasp God’s hand of strength, provision and truth?
Here is a song new to me that is absolutely powerful in its message of God’s passionate love for you!
A common malady of humankind is living from a false sense of self, not having an identity grounded in truth. Our identity is not our uniqueness. Identity is the foundation on which we build our uniqueness. Jesus said we are loved, chosen, called his friends and appointed for a purpose. Paul, in his letter to Galatia, said it like this:
4But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
Most of us begin by giving details about our jobs, families of origin, spouse, accomplishments, degrees, positions — the things that we can do. Very few would begin with this statement:
I am a redeemed child of God, adopted into His family, filled with His Spirit, an heir with a place at the table.
This week I want to share some examples from scripture of people who didn’t see themselves like God did and how that impacted their life. I will also share examples of those who did and how that changed how they lived their life.
For today, who do you say you are? What words run through your mind as identifiers? Who’s voice are you hearing? If it isn’t Father’s words that identify you, are you ready for a change?
For an example of adoption with no rights as a natural born child, dig “It Takes Two” out of the archives and watch the Butkus family scene.
…and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
This pruning part — I want to rush over it, pretend it isn’t necessary. So many questions arise when I ponder the pruning process. But it happens and it’s necessary. Let me tell you about my grapes.
For many years, we lived on three acres and had a pseudo-farm. It was a miniature version of the farms where Dave and I lived as children. He wanted grapes so I willingly planted them and learned to prune them. One year, life just got away from me. It was late April and I still hadn’t pruned the vines. I attempted to, but the sap was already running and a helpful neighbor said the plants would “bleed to death” if I pruned them so late. I didn’t want them to die, so I left the plants alone.
Soon the vines bloomed and clusters of grapes developed. It seemed there were going to be more grapes than I knew what to do with. Maybe pruning was just a hoax! The grapes grew over the summer and soon fall arrived along with grape harvest. The vines had produced lots of clusters but the grapes within the cluster were not evenly ripe. The grapes were small and not as healthy as I expected. My yield was not good even though the fruit seemed plentiful.
The next year I was out pruning in March. And I pruned! The pile of branches I discarded was much more than what I left on the vine. It looked like I cut off anything that might produce fruit but I wasn’t going to have a repeat of the previous year.
Soon the vines bloomed and produced clusters of grapes. While not nearly as many clusters as the previous year, these grapes were larger and more uniform in size. As they ripened, they all ripened together allowing for very little waste. At harvest time, I cut off a bumper crop of beautiful, evenly ripened, juicy grapes. Pruning really did make a huge difference!
My experience in life has been the same. I hang on to things far beyond the point of usefulness. I look to the wrong things to fill my core longings. I fill my schedule with activity that isn’t life giving.
The promise in the scripture for today gives me so much hope. I attach to Jesus who is the Vine. As the Master Gardener, Father keeps the branches (me) healthy by pruning away unnecessary or harmful growth (activity) so I can produce the very best kind of fruit. If he wouldn’t, the fruit I produce might look plentiful, but it isn’t healthy or good quality.
I don’t know about you, but I want to produce the best kind of fruit in my life. It isn’t easy to submit to the pruning process, but in the end, it is worth it. Personally, the last few months have been a pruning process for me. It has been an opportunity to evaluate my activity and determine what is life giving and what is not. Not only that, but the last few years have exposed in powerful ways the attachments I have held that are not lasting or secure. I have been forced to take a long look at who I am and where I am going. It has been painful at times, but ultimately so rewarding.
So, I ask again, what or who are you attached to for fulfillment of your deepest longings? Your Creator longs for you to make an attachment to him so he can reveal to you his deepest desires for your unique life. He is thrilled with you and what he put you together to accomplish. Will you trust him for that today?
10When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!
These verses play on repeat in my mind. I am what I attach to and my attachments determine my outlook. Jesus gives quite a promise in these words. Let’s review to reinforce the truth.
Jesus loves me with the same intensity that Father loves him. Because Jesus is attached to Father, he obeys his commands. Attachment results in obedience. When I attach to Jesus, I live in obedience and obedience brings deeper attachment resulting in deeper relationship. The end result? Overflowing joy!
5But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”
Jesus’ obedience to Father resulted in great joy. I believe our attachment and subsequent obedience brings great joy to Father as well.
I have only to look at my granddaughters for a living example of this principle at work. I love them with an intensity I cannot describe. They fill me with joy as I watch them learn, grow and develop. My love for them also fills them with joy. I can see it in their faces. The other day I was holding one of the girls and she was playing with something. Every few minutes she would pause and lean into me to snuggle and then sit up and resume playing. It was an act of sheer adoration. A few days later, Dave and I were sitting on either side of our oldest granddaughter watching a few minutes of a movie. She was all snuggled between us when I saw her look around the room at her parents and her grandparents and I heard her quiet little voice whisper, “This is my family!” Oh, the joy that filled my heart as I observed the intense loving attachment she experiences.
This is exactly what Jesus offers. Deep love that results in overflowing joy. The desire to sit quietly and snuggle into his arms knowing that “this is my family!”
Out of the Chaos 