“Pushing Against the Universe”
August 22, 2008
Do you sometimes feel the universe is pushing you into a corner, and you do not know where to go, or how get out? Sometimes, you have to push back against the universe. There are many difficult decisions to make when you are backed into a corner. Sometimes you get good guidance and direction, and sometimes none comes.
What does pushing against the universe mean? You are really pushing against God. But can pushing against God be a good thing? There is evidence in scripture that all struggles are really with God, and that it is meant to be so. Consider Genesis 25:24–28 (excerpted)
[24] ...there were twins in her womb. [25] And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. [26] Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel; so his name was called Jacob...
[27]... And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. [28] And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
At this point his mother helps Jacob steal Esau’s birthright.
Genesis 27:3-29 (Excerpted)
...When Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him... take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. [4] And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die."
[5] ...Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son... So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying... bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. [10] Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death." ... [15] Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son...
[18] So he went to his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?" [19] Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me." [20] But Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" And he said, "Because the Lord your God brought it to me." [21] Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not." [22] So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." [23] And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him. [24] Then he said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He said, "I am." [25] He said, "Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's game, so that my soul may bless you." So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. [26] Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near now and kiss me, my son." [27] And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:
"Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the Lord has blessed. [28] Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. [29] Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!"
Now Jacob has stolen Esau’s birthright and his blessing.
Genesis 27:41
So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob." Genesis 32:11 (KJV)
Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.
Genesis 32:22-26
And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. [23] And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
[24] And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. [25] And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. [26] And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
Genesis 32:28-29
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. [29] And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
Jacob wrestled with God and prevailed, meaning that he did not give up and God rewarded him for his persistence, which is just another word for faith.
When you are in a corner, don’t know what to do, push against the universe, strive with God. God will push back, and show you your Truth.
God Is My Guide, My Strength, My Source;
I Trust in God in All Things.
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“Little David”
April 2, 2006
Charles Fillmore, Twelve Power of Man, page 105If we fail to exercise faith in things spiritual, we are condemned to the prison of materiality.
Materiality has no value, except what we give it — it has no power except we what give it. The story of King David’ life is the story of this battle.
Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, page 166 — DavidYoungest son of Jesse the Bethlehemite. He was anointed king of Israel in Saul’s stead, and he succeeded Saul as king.
Meaning: (Heb.)–beloved; loved; well-beloved
Metaphysically: David is often referred to as a type of Christ. His life was a forerunner of that of the more perfect man, Jesus Christ, who was of the house of David. David represents divine love individualized in human consciousness. Love in Being (God) is the idea of perfect unity in all existence. When this divine idea is focused in man it is the Christ love on its inner side and the Jesus love on its outer. When David in his youth and purity daily communed with God, he closely reflected divine love. When he developed his human character, as a king in dominion over men, he manifested the limitations of the human in larger degree.
Goliath, the Philistine champion, was a huge man; he was about 9 feet tall, when men were 5 feet tall.
1 Samuel 17:4-7 [5] He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. [6] And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. [7] Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him.
Goliath called them to battle, declaring that the winner would take the losers as slaves:
1 Samuel 17:10-11 [10] And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” [11] When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
David, a young sheep herder, was very slight and small small but he volunteers. King Saul tells him he is too young to battle this giant but David insists, declaring his faith in God.
1 Samuel 17:38-39 38] So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. [39] David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk . . . And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these” . . . So David took them off.
Saul insists on armoring David with the armor of the world but David “cannot walk” – he cannot function spiritually. David takes a sling and 5 stones instead, and confronts the giant:
1 Samuel 17:42–49 [42] And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. [43] So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. [44] And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” [45] Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. [46] This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand . . .”
Then little David, who is young, and has no strength except God’s, take his sling and stone “. . . and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.” David defeated Goliath, the material nature, through his faith in power of God. When we place our faith in spirit we always triumph. However, the world is a world of duality: there are two sides to everything–including love. David showed both sides of love. David never lost his faith – even when he was on the wrong side of love.
David became a great warrior in the Army of Saul and Saul became very jealous of David. Even so, David remained steadfastly loyal. He resisted many opportunities to overthrow, even kill Saul. However, David does not represent divine love in full expression, and the time came when David’s love was motivated by selfishness. David’s longing for Bathsheba typifies this. She was a very beautiful woman and David wanted her desperately. However there was a problem: Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittite, a soldier in David’s army, and David ordered him placed in the front line of battle where he would be slain.
2 Samuel 11:27 “But the thing that David had done displeased Jehovah”.
The prophet Nathan came to David to bring the King’s sin before him. Nathan stands for the spiritual conscience that brings to our attention deviations from God’s law of righteousness. Telling David the story of the little ewe lamb that the rich man had taken from the poor one, Nathan aroused David’s sense of justice, and the King cried,
2 Samuel 12:5 “The man that has done shall surely die”. Nathan’s reply was, “Thou art the man.” David admitted his transgression and repented.
Psalms 51 (excerpted) Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight--
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
David’s work was complete when he unified the kingdom and brought his people together in a closer bond than ever before. This is the function of love, to coordinate and harmonize the forces of our being.
1 King’s 2:10 And David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David... and his kingdom was firmly established.
Goliath represents the strength of the world, materiality of the world; David represents the strength of God. David, 1st tried to use the strength of the world (he put on armor, etc.) but he couldn’t walk in it – could not do what God was calling him to do. He then went with what he knew was right — he followed Spirit.
When we place our faith in materiality — we fall on our face to the earth; when we place our faith in spirit we always triumph.
The world has no power over me.
I am filled with the power of Spirit.
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