I have always defined myself by a certain style--classic beauty with just a splash of Diva to make you take a second look. A statement necklace here; a conversational kerchief there. Just the right pumps to set off the outfit. Classic enough to belong. Diva enough to be seen.
Over the past couple weeks, I've been meditating on Genesis 35 when God commanded Jacob to go to Bethel and build and altar to Him and worship. In this text, the verses that stood out to me the most were 2-4 when Jacob told his household:
"Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” (Gen. 35:2-4)
God was preparing Jacob for not only a name change, but for a shift in his character to position him to walk into his promise. Jacob had been running most of his life--he ran from his brother Esau after stealing his blessing. He ran from his uncle Laban after taking most of his wealth in livestock. Now, he was running from the Canaanites and Perizzites because his sons had avenged their sister, Dinah killing the men of the city and looting their livestock. It was time for Jacob to stop running and start walking into his destiny.
Many times we want God to change our circumstance or situation, but we are not willing to change so that we can be positioned to receive what God has for us. Jacob could sense that God was about to do something big in his life, and he realized that a change was needed before they could go up to worship. He told his wives and all who were with him to put away their foreign gods, purify themselves and change their clothes.
Note the order of his instructions.
The first thing they had to do was put away foreign gods. What gods have we established in our lives that we need to put away? Is it jobs or money? Cars or status? Perhaps it is other people's opinions of us that has replaced the role of God in our lives. Anything that competes for our love and loyalty to God is an idol. Some of us have made comfort and convenience our god; we refuse to let go of our comfort zones to pursue the purpose God has for our lives. Whatever foreign gods we are holding on to, we must put them away from us so that we can embrace the one true God in our lives.
Then Jacob told them to purify themselves. Purification was a ritualistic process used to make one ready for worship. It typically included bathing and abstaining from certain acts or foods for a period of time. What God is looking for in us today is an internal purification; the cleansing of ourselves through prayer and meditation on His word. It may include fasting and abstaining from certain things, but to be sure, God is seeking more than just ritualistic practices. He is looking for sanctification--a setting apart of ourselves from the world in order to make ourselves available for His use. When is the last time we asked God to purify us? To sancitfy us and set us apart for His glory? When was the last time we, like King David in the Psalms 53, asked God to purge us with hyssop and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness?
What we wear says a lot about us. Clothes identify us with certain professions, such as a police officer or a firefighter. They also speak to our mood, our self image and our personality. We wear darker colors to mask physical imperfections and some of us even use clothes as status symbols. We wear designer labels to project a sense of wealth, or perhaps to hide the lack thereof. Many of us find our identity in our clothes. The fallacy in this mode of thinking is that our clothes simply reveal on the outside the status of inner selves. Clothes cannot create our identity--they only project the identity which we have chosen.
Just like Jacob's household, we can only change our spiritual garments after we have put away false gods and purified ourselves. This type of clothing change flows from the inside out. We can wear the fanciest of suits, the most expensive designer labels and the newest of style trends, but if we have not put away false gods and purified ourselves, we are just putting on new grave clothes--clothes used to bury the dead. What God wants is for us to take off the garment of heaviness so that He can give us a garment of praise. He wants our sackloth of mourning so that He can give us a tunic of peace. He wants us to cast off the robe of rejection so that He can cloth us in a robe of many colors. God has a wardrobe for our lives, if we would only put away our foreign Gods and purify ourselves for Him.
His closet beats mine any day! It is because of Him that we are able to be Classic enough to belong. Diva enough to be seen.
Until the Divas meet again, I pray that you allow God to dress you from His wardrobe today.
Sincerely,
Pastor J-
The Divine Diva
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