Reps Build Spiritual Muscle, Too

This business of recognizing God's absolute good is always and everywhere present, is tricky -- particularly when we wish things were different. Focus too intently on our desires, and delusional thinking can seem like divine guidance. Focus too much on the messy condition, and we risk perpetuating its energy.

It's the dilemma that got the Israelites in so much trouble while God was dictating the 10 Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai. In his absence, the people melted their jewelry and forged a golden idol to worship. When Moses discovered what had gone on in his absence, he flipped out, smashed the divinely-scribed stone tablets, then he went back up the mountain for a redo.

It's apt counsel for when our own thinking needs course correction. Flipping out is optional, but to break up a false thought pattern, a high-level redo is immensely helpful for preparing our hearts and minds to deal with whatever craziness awaits back in the flatland of daily experience.

As with Moses, requesting a 2.0 release of divine guidance and wisdom is always an option. His second mountaintop meeting is a rare biblical account of an up-close-and-personal one-one-one with God. Prayerful repetition often takes spiritual insight and understanding to a whole new level.