Cement. Sometimes messy. Mostly firm. A bonding agent.
When my sweet girl goes out with her friends on her own, I tell her "Stick together like glue." Common cliche but I know she gets my meaning and the importance of it.
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24
When we make an agreement, we want it to be 'cemented in' or 'like concrete' so that it cannot be violated or broken.
You don't often hear the phrase "Stick together like cement." Once things are bound by cement, they are practically inseparable. It would take a high-powered jack hammer and a lot of time to break the cement into rubble and separate it from whatever it is binding or covering.
We like the flexibility of glue and the permanence of cement. And, each are necessary depending upon the task required. And yet....
We go about our days, our busyness, trying to manage the time and resources at our disposal. We work, we serve, we play. The nuts and bolts of life. So much to do, so little time. We stress. We have anxiety. We worry. We weigh everything on our 'to do' list and wonder how we are going to get it all done. We hope to remember everything we might forget.
We remember to hope for God's intervention. We even send up a quick prayer asking for the Lord's assistance. Maybe too little, too late. We put bandages on what we can, the quick fix, and salvage the rest as best we can.
We face temptation. We ignore it, fight it with the flesh, try to fix it ourselves. We have temporary victories and pat ourselves on the back. Then it returns. It happens again. Eventually we come unglued and give into it. It rules our lives.
We do it our way rather than His. We fool ourselves into thinking that we know best. I know I do.
Too much glue. Not enough cement.
Too much busy. Too much self.
Not enough prayer. Not enough fasting. Not enough of Him.
We use glue when cement is what is needed most. Cement. Prayer. And fasting. Prayer and fasting.
Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. Matthew 9:14-15
Prayer and fasting holds all of it together. Praying and fasting accesses the only One we will ever need in a much deeper, more intimate way. It invokes intercession and the power of His Spirit. It illuminates His Holy Word imparting wisdom and discernment. Our life, our works become focused on Him rather than on ourselves. We begin to understand His will, His ways, and follow His plans rather than our own.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:26-28
As we, in earnest, seek Him, our will becomes in alignment with His. Our faith is increased, our trust is increased.
We acknowledge our weakness; He is magnified. We surrender to Him in weakness; He is glorified.
He told them, “Because of your lack of faith I tell all of you
with certainty, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can
say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and
nothing will be impossible for you. But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.” Matthew 17:20-21
In our humility, He is mighty to use us as conduits for His love and grace. It prepares our hearts to receive what He has in store for us.
Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. Acts 13:1-3
In our repentance and dependance, He breaks the ties that bind, heals the wounds that hurt, pulls out the rotten roots that run deep and does a greater work in our hearts than we would have ever known.
In our surrender, He transforms, transfigures and heals us.
Prayer and fasting. It is the conduit that brings it all together--His Word, His Spirit, His Will, His Purpose, His Glory--and bonds it together it like cement. It builds a faith that is unshakable, immovable, unstoppable.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor
things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor
anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-29
UNSHAKABLE
IMMOVABLE
UNSTOPPABLE
