Mending Fences
Teach me Your way, O YHWH, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Psalm 27:11
Lead – When God leads, it’s all about fences. That doesn’t sound much like leading, does it? We think of leading as moving away from fences. “Don’t fence me in” and “Think outside the box” are the characteristics we seek in a leader. But we forget that God is interested in character, not competence. He sees fences as protection, not restriction. God leads into the areas of life that He has fenced because my character depends on paying attention to the boundaries. When we don’t pay attention to God’s fences, we soon discover that character is much harder to recover than it is to maintain.
The Hebrew verb here is nachah. While it is sometimes applied to human beings, it is almost always used in relation to God’s action. Everything God does is a lesson in leading. The consonants Nun-Chet-Hey paint the picture of “what comes from a fence around life.” Now that’s a fence worth having! God is the God of order. Order requires boundaries. God’s boundaries protect life. Living inside His fence assures me of His favor and His favor gives me life. Without fences, I am exposed to the chaos of an unordered world. Without fences anything can happen to me. Without fences I die.
Of course, God’s fences are described in the Torah. Because they are protective measure around life, these fences are never designed to restrict me from what I need to be full, satisfied and joyful. Quite the opposite! Without these boundaries, all the order that life requires slips away. This is the first lesson of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Tree was the boundary of ordered life. Crossing the boundary led directly to chaos, disorder and death. The Tree was there for protection, but the serpent convinced Havvah and Adam that the Tree was a restriction. Our progenitors tore down the fence that protected life. When they did, they opened the gate, allowing sin into the world (Romans 5:12). What was once outside the protective fence now had a way to get in.
The Eagles gave us just the lyrics we need when it comes to fences. Remember that God’s fences are the answer to every desperate life. And by the way, it’s OK if you need to cry.
Topical Index: fences, lead, nachah, Eagles, desperado, torah, Psalm 27:11
Hi Skip,
Another great Word today and, as always, good to get them!
Was never much of an Eagle fan until 1979 when I was living in Madrid and the little cantina across the street from my apt played nothing but Eagle songs; boy, did they sound good, especially Hotel California 🙂
WOW does “mending fences” sound good to me at this point in my life. Too many broken and the most important one, with my wife, will probably never be fixed. For her, I am the “root of all evil.” At least that’s what it seems like to me.
I can sure relate to your Eagles’ song, especially the following lines:
“oh, you aint gettin no youger
Your pain and your hunger, they’re drivin you home
And freedom, oh freedom well, thats just some people talkin
Your prison is walkin through this world all alone”
On the other hand, for all my vices, I do not see much of myself in the following lines:
“Now it seems to me, some fine things
Have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you cant get”
In fact, I named My Daughter, Sinead, with the following lyrics from “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” in mind:
“I’m walking through the desert
and I am not frightened although it’s hot
I have all that I requested
and I do not want what I haven’t got
I have learned this from my mother
see how happy she has made me
I will take this road much further
though I know not where it takes me
I have water for my journey
no longer will I be hungry
for the bread of life is mine.”
On the other hand, probably because my Hero growing up was Paul Newman in roles like Hombre, Harper, Hud, and, of course, Cool Hand Luke, I tend to react when other people are trying to “fence me in” for no good reason.
Hope you all are having a great time in Israel!
Bless you.
MIke
A great idea to add the song.
Sounds like pretty good security, to me. Probably shows my conservative tendency. I know that as a kid, I did better when I knew what the rules were. Certainly should be true about my relationship with God also. I have more work to do.
After reading Fences I was reminded that this is why we have a Good Shepherd! He knows how prone we are to walk outside of His boundaries of protection. We have an enemy of the soul who would love to catch us off guard! But thankfully, our Good Shepherd’s eye is always on us and looking after us. His fences are only there to protect us. As we keep our eyes on Him, following Him into the green pastures, He will lead and guide and keep us from the enemy’s harm.