STRIPPED AND STUNNED

STRIPPED AND STUNNED

All things are naked and opened unto the eyes Of him with whom we have to do—Hebrews 4:13

Too many times we settle for slogans, formulas, and hype when there is so much more readily available for us. As C.S. Lewis said, “We are far too easily pleased”. I think we often replace a relationship with the Living God with some sort of idea of what we think He is like. I guess you could say we have become guilty of trying to create God in our own image. What is the solution for that? Really, the only solution is to be brought into the startling reality of God Himself. As Hebrews puts it, we become “naked and opened unto the eyes of Him”. When that happens, all of our own ideas are no longer important, we find ourselves laid bare before the One who is Truth Himself, the living Word of God. A.B. Simpson had some powerful insight on today’s verse, check this out.

“The literal translation of that phrase in Hebrews is, “all things are stripped and stunned.” Such is the force of the Greek words. The figure is that of an athlete in the Coliseum who has fought his best in the arena, and has at length fallen at the feet of his adversary, disarmed and broken down in helplessness. There he lies, unable to strike a blow or lift his arm. He is stripped and stunned, disarmed and disabled, and there is nothing left for him but to lie at the feet of his adversary and appeal to him for mercy.
Now this is the position to which God wants to bring us, where we shall cease our struggles and our attempts at self-defense or self-improvement and throw ourselves helplessly upon the mercy of God. This is the sinner’s only hope, and when he thus lies at the feet of mercy, Jesus is ready to lift him up and give him that free salvation which is waiting for all.
This, too, is the greatest need of the Christian who seeks a deeper and higher life-to come to a full realization of his nothingness and helplessness and to lie down, stripped and stunned, at the feet of Jesus.”

Have you ever been “stripped and stunned”? Suddenly, you find yourself before the reality of a God Himself and in that moment two things happen, you are made shockingly aware of His greatness and kindness and at the same time you recognize the huge need for change in your life. Your problems and priorities become amazingly insignificant and at the same time, a fresh desire to draw near to Him begins to settle into your life. We realize that our distractions and wrong priorities have clouded our vision. Only an encounter with this merciful, holy God could bring us back to reality. At the end of the day, He is the ultimate reality. Everything else are only shadows pointing us to Him.