023. Elicit (v) 끌어내다
Giving Table SE2 Day 3
Photo by Hazel Aksoy on Unsplash
From the Book
In her book Sacred Rhythms, Ruth Haley Barton speaks of the importance of exposing our desires in the presence of Jesus.
"Jesus himself routinely asked people questions that helped them to get in touch with their desire and name it in his presence. He often brought focus and clarity to his interactions with those who were spiritually hungry by asking them, “What do you want? What do you want me to do for you?” Such questions had the power to elicit deeply honest reflection in the person to whom they were addressed, and opened the way for Christ to lead them into deeper levels of spiritual truth and healing."
…
As I still sometime struggle through the process of accepting the way I am made as a writer, an even deeper desire is becoming clear to me. I want to know Jesus and to live for him as the person, mother, and wife I uniquely am. I want to understand what it means to be fully alive as a woman whose life is united with the life of Christ. As it turns out, writing is part of that for me. It isn’t the whole, but it is important.
<A Million Little Ways> Emily P. Freeman p49-50
Ashley's Note
Nehemiah sat down, wept, mourned, and fasted for days when he heard that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down, and its gates were burned with fire. (Nehemiah 1 : 3 - 4) His cry was not pretentious, empty, nor unsubstantial. His heart was literally shattered and smashed by the news that the city, his home, had collapsed. What makes me so sure of his sincerity? Because he prayed. Nehemiah not just sat down, wept, mourned, fasted, but he also prayed. (Nehemiah 1 : 4) He prayed for days and months unceasingly and elicited his honest yet fearful reflection on what actual actions to take with the heart-breaking tragedy under his circumstances. He prayed with a cracked heart while living his ordinary life as a cupbearer to the King.
About four months later, the opportunity came. God opened the eyes of the King and had him notice sadness that captivated Nehemiah’s heart. At the end, the King asked Nehemiah the question: “What is it you want?” (Nehemiah 2 : 4) Nehemiah paused for seconds to pray and answered explicitly without the slightest hesitation: Send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it. (Nehemiah 2 : 5) Through Nehemiah’s cracked heart, God shone His light and started the epic journey of restoration.
Do you know when your heart breaks? Do you really understand why your heart breaks with such incidents? Let us bring our cracked and shattered souls to God while living our mundane days. Let us be still when His light gets in through our cracks and touches our wounds for that place would be the place where we will know and understand what our deepest desire is.
Giving Table Members' Sentences with "Elicit"
What I want from my life, it is connected to God's purpose and calling. Just like what the author said my teaching and abilities to find beauty is important and part of what I long for to be fully united with the life of Christ. God has given me and elicited those desire within myself. - G.
The word 'elicit' made me wonder how much I am letting Holy Spirit to elicit me to live the life God has planned for me. In my everyday life, I feel that I should intentionally let Holy Spirit to elicit me in every step of my life. - L.
I pray that Holy Spirit elicits the desire to come closer to God in me. - A.
Quiet Time is a good place where I can elicit my desires, my feelings and my thoughts that can be easily ignored or forgotten. - P.
Maybe, every event that has happened in my life is from His love and purpose wanting to elicit our attention back to Him. - S.
보배합에서는 판교책방의 북 펀딩 서클인 북 커뮤니티, 기빙 테이블 시즌 2가 진행되고 있습니다.
보배합지기 여름나무 Ashley와 테이블 멤버가 함께 크리스천 여성작가인 에밀리 프리먼의 <A Million Little Ways>를 발췌하여 읽고, 매일의 미션 단어로 짧은 글을 영작하며 10일을 보냅니다.
더 알기 원하시면 보배합과 판교책방의 공간에 찾아와주세요.
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