A drink libation

“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering…” 2 Timothy 4:6 NIV

Somewhere around 20 years ago I wanted to challenge myself spiritually. I picked up a devotional called “My utmost for His highest” by Oswald Chambers. I was anxious to start. I had heard men I respected quote it. My enthusiasm was tested from the start. The first morning I opened it to a page with the title “Are you ready to have your life poured out as a drink libation?” First, I had to look up what the word “libation” meant. It is a drink poured out as an offering to God.

It scared me. To be honest I did not open that book again for a while after that, although I still have it and that page is still marked. I remember it like it was this morning. As it turns out, my desire to challenge myself met with God’s preparation and I did not know if I still wanted to sign up. But my story had already been written, God just let me in on a glimpse of it that day.

You should have heard me at some point in time tell you that I feel like the most blessed person that I know. I believe that and I am thankful for it. But I have come to learn that the feeling of being blessed is sweeter in comparison to the lack of it, sort of like winter weather makes you appreciate spring all the more.

Some people have it worse. But we have gone through what I think of as a good portion. It is a rare moment when my willingness to hear was so immediately followed by God’s answer. Mr. Chambers wrote, “If you don’t deal with God on the level of your will first, the result will be only to arouse sympathy for yourself.” God has repeatedly told me that my job is to pour. His job is His job, not mine.

As I have grown older, I have developed a better level of maturity related to struggle. I expect it at times, but not as a pessimistic source of God removing His blessing from me or anyone else. Rather, I have seen God use difficulties over and over. I have seen patience develop where it did not exist before. I have seen resolve grow where a confused attitude had grown previously. I have realized that for me, God can remove, leave or create any obstacle. But He has to balance that ability with the fact that if He removes me from a struggle I may not think I need to rely on Him. If there is no issue, will I seek Him every day? Will you?

I do not know the situation of anyone who reads this. I have grown more comfortable with the fact that God has used a really scenic route to end up with me writing anything that God could use. But I am reminded, if I pour myself as an offering to God, it does not matter if He uses it or not. But I want to encourage you. I want to point you to hope. I want any part of my life with a remote chance to help any part of yours to do so. I am willing, but God does not necessarily let me, or you, in on the Master plan in advance.

If you are tired in the middle of your journey the only path I have found that results in rest ends with God. The only path I have found to peace ends with God. The only path I have ever found for any question that matters ends with God. It is the start of any spiritual path that for me is usually marked by difficulty or struggle to gain perspective. But the only answer I have ever found that matters is God.

Ever wonder why you are going through difficulties?

Like me, have you ever wondered why we end the journey pointed at God when it would be easier to start the journey with Him?

Challenge: Stop confusing hard paths with punishment. Climbing a mountain requires effort to reach the peak. Our ultimate summit is not perfection here, it’s in heaven. Hard is a relative term anyway. What amounts to a hard challenge for some is not so difficult for others. Each person can make their own drink offering to God.

Rick Claiborn