“Praying for God’s favor is a dangerous thing to do. You never know what you’re going to get.”- Brian Jones
As Brian Jones concludes Chapter 3 of Finding Favor, he underscores that none of us is equipped to handle acedia when it comes knocking at our door. Yet, almost daily, it comes. Like an unwelcome salesperson, it peddles despair. But it cons us with a smile, selling a tonic of relaxation and rest, adds Pastor Jones. In the end, though, the author states, it “ends up delivering only evisceration trailed by a deadened soul.”
Furthermore, Brian observes, a fourteenth-century monk named Evagrius Ponticus, spoke often about acedia. He shared this keen observation: “The further the soul advances, the greater are the adversaries against which we must contend.”
Therefore, the more you grow in Christ, one thing happens. The forces waging war against your soul progressively grow stronger and more cunning. Thus, eventually we get to the point where Satan stops using full frontal assaults. Instead, Satan orchestrates a master strategy of deception. And he uses tiny compromises to build his strategy.
In conclusion, as Pastor Jones mentioned earlier, God supernaturally intervenes, giving us the gift of sacred rage. The German theologian Jurgen Moltmann once wrote:
“Faith, whenever it develops into hope, causes not rest but unrest, not patience but impatience. It does not calm the unquiet heart, but is itself this unquiet heart in man. Those who hope in Christ can no longer put up with reality as it is, but begin to suffer under it, to contradict it. Peace with God means conflict with the world . . .”
When it comes to acedia, hope must come from the outside. God can free you from the soul-numbing thing grasping you.
Today’s question: What surprises have come through praying for God’s favor, a dangerous thing? Please share.
Coming Monday: the latest addition to Crown’s Annotated Bibliography- Rooted: The Hidden Places Where God Develops You
Tomorrow’s blog: “Sorrowful yet always rejoicing”
