C-19 Reflection #24: A Time to Declare

C-19 Reflection (#24) 

Theme:  A Time to Declare

 Scripture: Philippians 4:10-13

 10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Reflection:

 There are many different ways to express and practice our faith in God and they are all necessary for helping us to maturity, including their timing and timeliness in the flowing and in the growing. In the same way that we experience different moods, assume various postures and exercise several approaches to life, so too our relationship with God is varied, colorful and diverse.

Think about how various expressions all seem necessary and important in the spiritual life – self reflection, confession, humility, depending, questioning, turning, requesting, choosing, waiting, listening, discerning, study, meditation, gratitude, rest, action, obedience, longing, wonder, praise, trust. Think too about which expressions and postures you seem to rely on and go to a lot in your life with God and which ones you might be avoiding or neglecting? Ask yourself why those things and why not other things? Are there expressions of the faith that you sense God might be inviting you into more regularly or more deeply these days?

One aspect of faith that I am thinking about today is declaration. While some Christians seem to rely so heavily on declaration that it feels like they are spoiling it for the rest of us, I think that many people, including myself, do not move in the power of the declarative as much as it is available to us.

Notice how as the Apostle Paul comes near to the end of his letter to the Philippians, he seems more and more comfortable with declaring things about God and about how he is experiencing God. Declaration in the faith might be best understood as stating or describing confidently your experience of things and your intentions about things that are true, when it comes to the purposes and power of God. As you exercise the declarative gifts of the faith, notice how declaring things that you believe are actually expanded in your heart, right in the midst of the declaring itself.

Check out this Celtic influenced prayer to get a glimpse of how a certain aspect of declarative expression shapes our lives with God:

I arise today

In the strength of the mighty Creator

In the strength of the rising Saviour

In the strength of the life-giving Spirit

In the strength of the mighty Three

Whose love is One.

I arise today

In the strength of angels and archangels

In the strength of the prophets and apostles

In the strength of the martyrs and the saints

I arise today

In the strength of heaven and earth

In the strength of sun and moon

In the strength of fore and wind

I arise today

In the strength of Christ’s birth and baptism

In the strength of Christ’s death and rising

In the strength of Christ’s judgment to come.