"The Shack" - Life Lessons & Insights #5

LESSONS FROM THE SHACK
PART 5

Review of Lesson #4
How people may respond when we tell them we are dealing with our pain... our past.. going on a healing journey:

1. Why do you even want to go back there?
2. why now?
3. People question whether you are hearing from God
4. Warnings
5. God doesn't do stuff like that
6. They will offer to go with us.. and they sort of do.. but.. they don't experience it with you...
7. They offer protection...(possibly go after those who hurt you)

Challenges we Face:

1. Panic
2. Avoidance
3. Repressed Feelings & Fears Come Up
4. Temptation to Quit
5. Flashbacks – visual memory & fury came in waves
6. Time seems to slow down
7. Negative Self-talk about your decision
8. Barriers to press through
9. Feel sick! – emotionally, mentally, sometimes even physically
10. Challenged with choices
11. Question our choices
12. Spiritual Warfare
13. Legitimate & False Guilt
14. Escape Options – go back to what you always did for relief
15. Question the ‘realness’ of it… the healing has begun.. transformation has begun. Everything around us begins to change.





LESSONS FROM THE SHACK
PART 5
Page 81 - 84

LET THE HEALING BEGIN

Mack thought he was losing his mind.. This isn’t real.. can’t be happening.. What he saw was a place he could only imagine in his dreams.. However, interestingly, the scents and images brought back some long-stored remembrances of his own childhood.

He walked back to the shack .. once on the porch, he heard voices inside.. part of him wanted to just run away but the other part knew if God was really here.. he couldn’t run from Him anyway.. He shook his head again thinking that would bring his mind back to reality.. this must not be real.. he touched the wood railing to see if he could feel it to confirm ‘realness’. Ok.. so his next dilemma was.. if you are coming to a house/ a door where God might be.. what do you do? Knock? God already knows you're there.. He’s God! Should one just walk in.. introduce yourself?.. hmm.. even that seems absurd… Should you call him Mr. God?.. Almighty One? – what do you do? Fall on your face, your knees? He wasn’t in the mood for that…

As he went through this dialogue in his head, the anger he thought had died inside him began to emerge once again… so.. he walks up to the door and decides to bang on it loudly to see what would happen… just as he raised his fist, the door flew open and a large beaming African-American woman was looking directly into his face. She then engulfed him in her arms, lifted him clear off this feet spinning him around like a little child shouting his name “Mackenzie Allen Philips” – saying it like you would when seeing a long-lost, deeply-loved relative.
Has anyone - a parent - every called out your entire name.. hmmm.. if you had experiences like me.. if my mom yelled all of my names at once.. it wasn't good.. *grin* But not in this case.... This woman finally put Mack down and pushed him back to get a good look at him.. “Look at you, all grown up”, etc.. and then.. “my, my, my how I do love you!”… wrapped herself around him again..

How would you react? Let’s get some insights from this portion of the book and questions to ask ourselves:

So.. we start seeing things differently.. we’ve had this experience (last talk/lesson) where we finally get some things out.. we are broken, spent, drained.. then.. all of a sudden things start looking different.. our senses seem to be coming to life.. things are different.. then.. we go back to meet with God again.. after that outburst – remember.. Mack expressed a ton of anger… so.. if we do the same (anger, sin, disappointments, pain, fear, rage).. then what? What is it like to approach God again after that? Maybe we go through some of the same things Mack did.

In our minds we dialogue.... when I approach.. what do a say? What should I call Him? Mr. God The Almighty.. fall on our face.. knees, worship…. We want to run.. but we choose not to.. why? At this point we know.. just like the disciples “where can we run.. where can we go? SCRIPTURE… John 6:67-69 (New International Version)
"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
Psalm 139:7-11 (New International Version) Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, [a] you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.


So we stand still.. sit still.. and before we know it.. God appears on the scene.. Eager to see us – holding us.. saying our name (Scripture).. Isaiah 43:1But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
Isaiah 45:3I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
Isaiah 45:4For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.
John 10:2-4 (New International Version)
2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

Picture in your mind what was taking place here… can you see it? Can you hear the joy – how God is delighted to see Mack.. He delights in seeing you.. holding you.. what we see is a very childlike experience here… that is difficult for many of us? Why? We have lost the ability to be childlike.. somewhere along the way life became way too serious.. for some of us.. it became very serious when we were children.. we did not enjoy the normal innocence and playfulness we should have experienced in our homes.. so we struggle with this concept… Or perhaps.. we don’t understand the difference between being childish and childlike…

DEFINE -- CHILDISH vs. childlike
Childish: Marked by or indicating a lack of maturity; puerile: tired of your childish pranks.
Affected mentally by old age; senile

child·like Like or befitting a child, as in innocence, trustfulness, or candor.

exhibiting childlike simplicity ; "childlike trust"; "dewy-eyed innocence"; "listened in round-eyed wonder"
a. Resembling a child, meek; submissive; dutiful
b. Note: Childlike, as applied to persons grown up, is commonly in a good sense; as, childlike grace or simplicity; childlike modesty.

Jesus said: Matthew 11:25 "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
Matthew 18:3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Expressions of love… “saying his/our name.. my my.. let me look at you.. ‘oh how I love you’..

1. We are speechless in those moments… ever been there? We feel like we have messed up so bad or.. said the wrong thing to God one too many times.. surely He will reject us – abandon us now…
Deuteronomy 31:6Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:8The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."


Back to Mack and this woman, in a few seconds, she had crossed every line.. every wall of protection Mack had in place.. There was something about the way she looked at him.. yelled his name… somehow it made him feel equally delighted to see her too.... even tho he had no clue who she was!!!

Suddenly he was overwhelmed by the scent coming from her.. a mixture of flowers like gardenia and jasmine… it was unmistakably his mother's perfume that he kept hidden away in his little tin box. He was already fighting intense emotion and with this scent came a flood of memories that staggered him.. He could feel the warmth of his tears beginning to gather behind his eyes… just then he heard the words “it’s ok honey you can let it all out…I know you’ve been hurt, you’re angry and confused”…even tho Mack couldn’t stop the tears from filing his eyes, he just was not wiling to let go.. really let it out… the tears.. the pain… This woman stood there with arms outstretched inviting him in.. as if they were the arms of his mother.. He felt the presence of love…but was frozen.. couldn’t move.. couldn’t allow himself to fully feel… She responded to him.. “not ready.. that’s ok.. we will do things on your terms and in your time”..

What does this mean for us?
This woman had crossed every self-protective wall in that moment.. Ever have that experience with God before? Somehow God goes beyond our defense mechanisms and we are able to put them aside.. even if it is just for a moment. How did God do that in this case?

The senses..? Have you ever had an experience where you had a scent trigger emotion that reminded you of someone or some place – negative or positive? In this case.. the scent of Mack’s mother’s perfume.. God used it to soften him… (examples) discuss aroma therapy.. lavender –calming- think God could use his creation to impact us? I think so!

Mack was fighting the tears.
Sometimes we do too.. don’t we?.. and if we are responsive and listen and stay open.. God will find a way to break through..
Then of course.. once our defenses are down.. we are invited to let it out.. let the hurt and disappointment out.. tears are healing to the soul..

Another big lesson to learn from this portion of the book.. will be dealt with in detail much later …but, we might as well deal with it now.. Why in the world do we see a representation of God in this book as a ‘mother figure’?…
I want to remind you: God is genderless… We are made in his image.. that would be the fullness of maleness and the fullness of femaleness is God.. Genesis “ 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. NLT 27 So God created human beings[b] in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

So.. God has the fullness of mothering and fathering.. He is both… and.. He is the perfect father and mother.. He is the perfect parent… There are reasons we will see later that Mack needed to meet God in this way.. but.. lets start here by looking at some Biblical texts that show us this nurturing, motherly character of our loving God:

Isaiah 49:15"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
Isaiah 49:15 (Amplified Bible)[And the Lord answered] Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you.
Matthew 23:37 – this is Jesus talking.."O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

Matthew 23:37 (Amplified Bible) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, murdering the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a mother fowl gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused!
Zephaniah 3:17The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
Zephaniah 3:17 (Amplified Bible)
17The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing.

Life Application of this Lesson:

a. If you are angry - express it.. even if it is toward God... – express everything that is inside you.. let it out… express your disappointments as well as how you believe you have disappointed others and God…

b. Don't allow shame or guilt to keep you from approaching God after you have thrown your fit! He is waiting... just approach the door and he will enthusiastically invite you in!

c. Come to Him with a childlike disposition and allow Him to nurture you/delight in you.

This is the beginning of a new life-long intimacy with God IF you will embrace the truth and reality of who God really is.







GROUP WORK
LESSONS FROM THE SHACK
PART 5 – Pages 81-84


THE HEALING HAS BEGUN...

1. Have you ever questioned the healing God has done in a certain area of your life/seems too good to be true? Share.

2. Share about a time when you were fearful or hesitant in approaching the Lord after something happened in your life (a bad choice, attitude, expression of anger toward others or Him).


3. What is your reaction to how Mack was treated when the door was opened?


4. Share about a time or your anticipated need and desire to experience the nurturing character of God.

Series Challenge: Read the Shack