Five Minute Friday: Invite

Along the Way @ mlsgregg.com

Gentle Reader,

No preamble. I’m nearly asleep.

Kate says: invite.

Go.

Sometimes you just have to break down and take the legal, prescribed narcotics.

I lay in bed Monday night, doing battle with the Witch-King of Angmar (second Tolkein shout out of the week; the image of an invisible nazgul stabbing me in the head is just the perfect way to describe this headache and I don’t care if you label me an ultra-nerd). The medication haze had descended but I was not yet sleeping. I inhabited that fuzzy, frothy place filled with pink elephants on parade. Then – BAM!

Genesis 21:31. Genesis 21:31. Genesis 21:31.

I said, out loud, “Yeah, okay,” and went to sleep.

Looked up the verse the next day. It reads:

Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there. (NKJV)

Sooooo….what?

I opened up my atlas and my commentaries. Searched the original Hebrew online. Read the context. Haven’t the slightest idea what it is that I’m supposed to glean here. I know the Holy Spirit dropped this into my mind, because it’s far too obscure and weird and disconnected from what I’m currently studying to be anything that I’d come up with. I’m sure this is the start of something, some lesson that I need to learn (or, potentially, relearn, because God is both patient and a perfectionist).

Why share this with you?

Because, dear reader, this month I’m writing about theology, and part of the pursuit of knowing God more deeply is understanding that we’ll never reach the bottom of His well. There’s always mystery. Always things that He knows that are beyond our grasp. The moment we take Christ’s hand, we are set on a never-ending journey (hence the title of this blog), with just enough light to take the next step. No doubt days, months or even years from now, some switch will flip in my head and I’ll think, “Ah, yes. That’s why I needed to know this verse.”

The mystery, God Himself, entices. He invites. He draws us inward and onward. Trust Him, little human. You cannot see the whole road, but you’ll always see exactly what you need to see, when you need to see it.

Stop.

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15 thoughts on “Five Minute Friday: Invite

  1. Just enought light or insight for the next step…this is where trust and faith find themselves grown stronger in our lives. Thankful for this reminder. Also that we will never grasp his mysterious depth

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    1. Your comment made me think of Christian’s journey in “Pilgrim’s Progress.” He had to stay on the road. One foot in front of the other. So, too, must we.

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  2. “The mystery, God Himself, entices. He invites. He draws us inward and onward. Trust Him, little human.”
    Marie, I love this reminder today…. to me a little human.

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    1. You know, it’s nice to be a little human, isn’t it? We get so frustrated with our smallness sometimes, but being the finite creatures we are means that we get to rest. We don’t have to have it all figured out. We can close our eyes and snuggle close to the Father, trusting that He knows and sees.

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  3. So much yes and amen to this friend! (And boo and hiss to the headache and pain!)
    Love you bunches, my friend!
    So thankful He entices and invites!!! Praying for insight and understanding when it comes to the Well of Oath or the Well of Seven! ❤

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    1. I genuinely love it when the Lord drops random verses into my mind, because I know it’s Him saying, “Okay, we have places to go!” He knows that I love to learn and I love a mystery. 🙂

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  4. Marie,
    oh and I’m just so simple. God reminding me that He’s sworn an oath to me and that He keeps His promises. Beersheba is “well of seven” or “well of the oath”. So, the fulfillment of God’s oath is a deep deep well that will never run dry. 🙂
    But, you’re much deeper and will find even greater meaning out of this.
    So very delighted that you’re here this week!
    Love,
    Tammy
    (#79 this week)
    And, not versed enough in Tolkien to catch that it was his words, but still appreciative in my nerdy fashion!

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