Making The Cut

This posting is a devotional from February 11, 2011. The scripture I used might seem a little strange (when I read it, I was trying to figure out why it kept popping out at me) but once I opened myself up to hear what God was trying to say it made sense. LOL! Hope God speaks to you all like He spoke to me. “And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.” -Genesis 17:11

In this scripture God is speaking to Abraham and making the covenant with Abraham to make him the father of many nations. It is in this passage where God is changing him from Abram to Ab

raham and changing Sarai to Sarah, it is here God promises to give Abraham a child with his wife, Sarah. As part of a covenant, each party agrees to do something. Here God is promising Abraham all of these things IF Abraham not only is circumcised himself, but has all of the males in his home/estate (male servants, male children of servants, etc.) circumcised also. Abraham agrees and the circumcisions are performed THAT DAY! No procrastination, no “praying on the right time” Abraham “Nike-d”, He just did it, right then and there!

For whatever reason this scripture popped out to me, so I looked up some information. The foreskin is a covering of skin that encloses the tip of a man’s penis. While that seems to be a bit explicit, the analogy that this provokes will no doubt make you think. (Stay with me. lol)

The foreskin covers a “private” area of the body. By circumcising himself and his household, Abraham was removing a “barrier” that hid a private part of him. I believe that what God is saying to me in this scripture is that He is requiring of me the same thing that He’s been requesting of me: for me to remove the “barrier” or foreskin that has kept private part(s) of me, namely my heart, hidden from Him. My heart is my secret, hidden, most intimate part that I’ve continually kept from God. Through this scripture, God is telling me to remove the barriers that I’ve erected in an effort to shut Him

out from accessing those most intimate and delicate parts of me. Now, you’re intimate/hidden part may be something different, but take a moment to stop and think about what it is that you are keeping from God. What is that one thing that you just can’t seem to surrender to God? What’s that one thing that you lay down at the altar and then pick it back up as soon as you finish praying? Go ahead, take a moment and think about it (I’ll wait for you, I promise. 🙂 )

Also, for a grown man to undergo circumcision means that he is in a position of vulnerability. So, I believe that thru this scripture God is calling me to allow myself to be vulnerable to/with Him. In essence, He is asking me (the same thing He’s been asking) to STOP trusting others (namely myself) and TRUST ONLY HIM. I believe that this scripture can speak to anyone in much the same way. Maybe, others aren’t hiding their heart from God. Maybe their “hidden thing” is their tithe, their obedience, their talent/gift, whatever. God wants us to cut away the barriers and TRUST HIM.

Finally, some might ask the question, “why would God require such a painful removal of something ‘natural’?” Men were naturally created with the foreskin, why wouldn’t God just create them without the foreskin if He was going to require them to cut it off?” Answer: God isn’t concerned with the absence of a piece of the man’s anatomy, He’s concerned with the sacrifice it takes to get there. To willingly undergo the process of circumcision, as Abraham did is an ultimate sign of surrender to God. A sign of total submission. Abraham knew that the circumcision would be painful, but he also knew that as painful as circumcision would be, God’s reward would be so much greater. So, Abraham willingly submitted to God, even though he knew the process would be temporarily painful and uncomfortable. (It’s about to get really real now, but just keep reading, I promise there’s a message that’s worth the read. Lol) The truth is, for men who don’t undergo circumcision, there is a secretion that is released under the foreskin and if the foreskin is not pulled back and the area beneath it thoroughly cleansed, the (the secretion) can cause irritation to the penis and sometimes infection! In other words if we leave our barriers up to hide away our secrets and “privates” all of the consequences, emotions, baggage, etc. start to build up underneath our barriers (and often they INFECT US); and while we often times choose to pull back our barriers only long enough for God to “clean up our mess,” this method is only a temporary fix and sure enough, over time, we’ll have to pull back the foreskin over and over and over again in our lives because we’ll be constantly getting infected (by our own mess). God’s desire is that we willingly submit to His process that requires temporary discomfort and pain (the healing process of circumcision only takes 1 week)! The healing requires some swelling, then it will scab over; but during the entire healing process a protective lubricant/ointment is applied to the circumcision sight. I believe that the protective ointment/lubricant that God created to help foster healing for us,  is His Word! So I believe that once we’ve surrendered to God for circumcision to give Him access to our hidden parts, we need an extra dose of His Word at every opportunity to help foster the healing process.

So, while some of the descriptions used here were quite explicit, I invite you to think about your “hidden parts” and how explicit they are. How we hide them not only from God but from others for fear that we’ll be judged by our explicit “hidden parts”. Once I look at it like that, I can speak a little explicitly to get the point across.

So take another moment to think about your hidden part(s) and if you’re tired of having to periodically pull back your foreskin for God to clean up your mess; if you’re tired of becoming infected over and over again because you’re trying to hide your mess, not only from the world, but from God, then take a moment and pray this prayer with me:

Prayer 2 Pray (P2P): Father, first I thank you for your Word. I thank you for your revelation. I thank you for loving me enough to convict me in my sin; and I thank you for loving me too much to leave me stewing in my own sin. I thank you for the sacrifice of your son, Jesus, on my behalf. I thank you for the temporary agony that He endured in order to give us salvation. Right now, Father, I pray that you would see into me and then cause me to see my hidden parts. Open my eyes so that I can clearly see the thing(s) that I’m hiding from you. Reassure me that I can be vulnerable with you, without fear of judgement and condemnation. Help me to understand that as Jeremiah 29:11 says, you do know the plans that you have for me and they are to prosper me and not to harm me; they are to give me a hope and a future. So cause me to understand that it’s only by fully surrendering my whole self to you, hidden parts and all, that I can begin to live according to those plans that you have for me. God, give me the strength to surrender even those hidden parts that hurt me, that crush my spirit, that cloud my self-image. Teach me how to take all of these hidden parts and lay them at your feet and leave them there. God, I surrender myself to you and I choose, today, to take your yoke upon me. I choose to take your light burden and let you do the heavy lifting of my back-breaking burdens. I choose to learn of you faithfully. So, even now, I surrender myself wholly and completely to you for circumcision and I trust that you will heal me and make me better. I thank you in advance for deeming me worthy of your love, and for doing everything that you have in mind for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Bless God and God Bless,

THE Writer’s Pen,

Angelique

#conviction #procrastination #private #trust #barrier #cut #hidden #painful #covenant #procrastinate #vulnerability #convict #infection #sacrifice #tired #circumcise #pain #pull #vulnerable #natural #condemn #circumcision #smegma #condemnation