Doubting the leading

 

KatieLyn, for that is what I'm calling the runaway bride, had been the first to hear from God on the point of marriage, but she wasn't able to hold on to it. 

Those who know my family will quickly see a couple points of similarity to the runaway bride's real name, but I've chosen to use this pseudonym because I don't see any point in making her name readily searchable to strangers who may read this blog. And because human nature tends to have embarrassing moments with unsettling frequency, I am giving her this layer of privacy. Not being able to hold on to the Lord's leading for one's life is potentially a cause for chagrin anyway; there is no point in causing additional upset when an alias works just as well.

KatieLyn has said that she first knew that my son was the answer to her fifteen years of prayers for a husband on New Year's Day. The date significantly adds to the romance of their story, a splendid day for new beginnings.  I have absolutely no reason to doubt her; I believe that she had a witness to her spirit at that time.  This was a long-prayed-for answer. KatieLyn, while retaining a charming touch of naiveté, was ultimately sensible. She was not succumbing to chimerical desire. She wasn't swept blindly off her feet. She had done her homework. She really heard God's will.

The groom, as is somewhat typical for a man, didn't know this really was the Lord's will until two or three weeks later.  But as he shared his desire to propose with his close friends and family, those who know him best, those who pray for him and love him deeply, there was a consensus that this was, indeed, a God thing.

Anecdotal evidence from my own life has shown that when a couple really isn't suited for each other, a lot of friends and family will have a deep down warning itch about it. In both of the weddings in which I was a bridesmaid and that went on to end in divorce, I had had what the world calls "a premonition," but which is more accurately an inward witness of the Spirit.  The details are not pertinent except that those experiences boost my confidence that I'm correctly assessing the current situation. So, when everyone "on the groom's side of the aisle" is in agreement, that is significant.

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from the One who called you. ~ Galatians 5:7-8

Who hindered KatieLyn from obeying what the Holy Spirit had revealed? It certainly wasn't God!

The Aramaic Bible in Plain English translates the question this way, "Who agitated you to disobey?"  Two verses later, Galatians 5:9, Paul expanded upon and explained how the agitation worked: A little leaven ferments the entire lump.

I will save the "who" part of the question for a future post. For now, it's more important to concentrate on the fermentation aspect.

Fermentation has an interesting list of synonyms: souring, turbulence, frothing, foaming, and seething. These are not words like the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness, long-suffering, gentleness, self-control. Fermentation is not fruit at all, but is the volatilization and destruction of fruit. KatieLyn had a word from the Lord, and she basically allowed it to ferment, to turn into gas.

Paul uses extremely strong words against those who got the Galatians off the track, against those who added the leaven. The King James Version politely translates verse 12 as, "I would they were even cut off which trouble you."  The New English Translation cuts to the chase with, "I wish those agitators would go so far as to castrate themselves!" My point here is that missing God is serious stuff. Very serious stuff!

The Lesson
KatieLyn missed God because she listened to words and thoughts that ultimately were inspired by the devil. She allowed them to ferment in her mind, destroying her faith, keeping it hidden like a moonshine still until the thoughts finally foamed over.

My next post will be a lesson that explores examples where Bible characters made the mistake of their lives by listening to devil-implanted doubts and allowing then to ferment.