sayable

  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Writing & Speaking
  • BOOKS
  • Give
trees
trees

Men as Trees Walking, and being honest about the blurry things

June 01, 2014 by Lore Ferguson in balance, confession, doubt, faith, fear, glory, joy, life, peace, rest, seasons, sin, spiritual growth, suffering, time, trust

If you are a Villager, or you podcast The Village's sermons, this weekend Matt is preaching from II Corinthians 5. If you struggle with doubt, I encourage you to listen. One of the things I love about my church is that it is a safe place to wrestle with sin and the brokenness that sin brings into our lives. As I've been reading Spiritual Depression by Martyn Lloyd Jones, I've been so freshly encouraged to be honest not only about my sin, but also the brokenness that trickles down as a result of it. Note: if you haven't read Spiritual Depression, I cannot recommend it more highly.

From Chapter III:

What is the cure for [spiritual depression]? For the moment I shall give principles only. The first principle is evident: above everything else avoid making premature claim that your blindness is cured. It must have been a great temptation to this man to do that. Here is a man who has been blind. Our Lord puts spittle upon his eyes and says to him: 'Do you see?' The man says: 'I see.' What a temptation it must have been to him to take to his heels and announce to the whole world: 'I can see!' The man, in a sense, could see, but so far his sight was incomplete and imperfect, and it was most vital that he should not testify before he had seen clearly.It is a great temptation and I can well understand it, but it is a fatal thing to do. How many are doing that at the present time (and are pressed and urged to do so), proclaiming that they see, when it is so patent to many that they do not see very clearly and are really still in a state of confusion. What harm such people do. They describe men to others as trees, walking. How misleading to the others!

The second thing is the exact opposite of the first. The temptation to the first is to run and to proclaim that they can see, before they see clearly; but the temptation to the second is to feel absolutely hopeless and to say: 'There is no point in going on. You have put spittle on my eyes and you have touched me. In a sense I see, but I am simply seeing men as if they were trees walking.' Such people often come to me and say that they cannot see the truth clearly. in their confusion they become desperate and ask: 'Why cannot I see? The whole thing is hopeless.' They stop reading their bible, they stop praying. The devil has discouraged many with lies. Do not listen to him.

What then is the cure? What is the right way? It is to be honest and to answer our Lord's question truthfully and honest. That is the whole secret of this matter. He turned to this man and asked: 'Do you see ought?' And the man said, absolutely honestly: 'I do see, but I am seeing men as if they were trees walking.' What saved this man was his absolutely honesty.

Now the question is, where do we stand? The whole purpose of this sermon is just to ask that question—where do we stand? What exactly do we see? Have we got things clearly? Are we happy? Do we really see? We either do or we do not, and we must know exactly where we are. Do we know God? Do we know Jesus Christ? Not only as our Saviour but do we know Him? Are we 'rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory?' That is the New Testament Christian. Do we see? Let us be honest; let us face the questions, let us face them with absolute honesty.

June 01, 2014 /Lore Ferguson
balance, confession, doubt, faith, fear, glory, joy, life, peace, rest, seasons, sin, spiritual growth, suffering, time, trust
  • Newer
  • Older
 

Connect with me on Substack

Yesterday, with no warning, our family lost the man who has sheltered, loved, stabilized, challenged, and cherished our mama and her whole brood of babies for half my life. One of the biggest regrets of my life was being too slow to warm to him but o
A blessing for your weekend (and may it carry you through July): May you wake early and make a last minute decision that you’ll never regret. May you trust there’s something good and great and even beautiful through the fog in front of y
There are lots of opinions about “announcing your absence” from these social media spaces. Some think it’s performative, some think it defeats the purpose, others are performative. Here’s where I am: it’s not my work or
Two important papers: In January I began working on a book without an agent or publisher. I had one conversation with @sethhaines about it, and a few with @wilbertnate, but mostly it was a quiet project, a joyful one. By February @jdblase agreed to
About a year and a half ago, right before the pan...orama started, a friend introduced me to the @monkmanual. I was intrigued and having no idea how much like a cloistered monastery my life would look over the next year, I began to use it. Right awa
Went loon hunting today and was not disappointed. There’s nothing like a loon call on a still mountain pond (in this case, literally Mountain Pond). 🌲🦆🪨
Today I finished the final first draft of the new book. More about that later this week, but first, thank you for all your prayers. It has been a labor of love and I honestly think I love the book and what the book will become as it goes through the
A (belated) blessing for your weekend: May you find a cool corner or space or pillow or popsicle, something to take the edge on the heat. May you hear something beautiful that you can’t get out of your head and when you share it with someone y