Ancient Paths by Corey Russell

Author:Corey Russell [Russel, Corey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780768441956
Publisher: Destiny Image, Inc.

The attention which Mary gave to Jesus, sitting at his feet, was by no means a personal indulgence or a pleasant daydreaming. Nor was it a selective groping for those ideas which suited her, which she “felt able” to translate into reality, let alone pass on to others as her ideas. It was an entirely open-ended readiness for the Word, a readiness to participate in it, without preferences, without picking and choosing, without a priori restrictions. It was an alert, sober attitude, attentive to the slightest indications, yet ready to embrace the widest panoramas.2

If receiving speaks of the heart posture of Mary of Bethany—a heart that sits underneath the Word in quietness, humility, and openness—then treasuring speaks of the value placed on the Word by the hearer. Many of us need a new value system when it comes to the Word of God. Often we are too casual with the revelation we receive; we don’t stop to thank the Lord for opening our ears, and we quickly forget what He said. We must learn to hold the Word in our hearts as a priceless possession and return to the Lord with overflowing gratitude, asking for more understanding.

The second condition is crying out for discernment and understanding. This describes the heart posture of one who is desperate for breakthrough. This crying out is a manifestation of the gift of hunger. The Gospels make one thing very clear: hungry people get things from Jesus that others do not. The Canaanite woman, blind Bartimaeus, the woman with the issue of blood—each of them pressed through overwhelming internal and external obstacles in their desperation for God, and each received gifts from Jesus that otherwise would never have been released. This is why the greatest gift that can be given to the human spirit is the gift of hunger: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5:6). It doesn’t say the blessing is for those who are filled. No, the blessing is for the weak and empty, those who are desperate and on the verge of breaking.

Notice that we are called to sit at the feet of Jesus, hearing His Word, but we are also called to violent intercession fueled by hunger. In the Song of Solomon, the maiden searches for her beloved in the familiar places of comfort and ease represented by her room. But when she cannot find him, she rises from her bed and relentlessly searches the city (see Song of Sol. 3:1-4). We can summarize her journey thus: “I am looking for the one I love and I cannot find Him. Therefore I will rise from my bed and go into vulnerable and dangerous places. My heart will reach in ways it has never reached before. I will go after the one I love.” Both these dynamics are necessary; the Lord will lead us through seasons where He emphasizes the need to sit quietly and receive, and then will lead us into a place of hunger where the cry for more is awakened.

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