My Goatee

My wife is out of town for a week and I am home with the kids. Before tonight, I hadn't shaved since last Sunday morning. I had a week's worth of itching, scratchy stubble on my face. My boys suggested I shave before mommy comes home on Tuesday; I did them one better, I shaved tonight, before church tomorrow. To be perfectly honest, I shaved all my facial hair except my goatee. Several years ago, I had a goatee, it was one of the prerequisites of being a youth pastor ; ). I had a goatee when our first son was born. I had a goatee when my wife discovered my addiction. I had a goatee as my wife and I both struggled to find our way through the mess I created. In the midst of that long process, I shaved my goatee. Somehow, that act came to have some symbolic significance to Moriah and me. It was symbolic of my making changes, of the Lord working in me. It was symbolic of my becoming a new man. Today, I have a goatee again, for a little while.

Tomorrow, I will preach about The Lord My Banner, in reference to the story of Moses holding up his rod/staff while Joshua and choice soldiers of the Israelites battled the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-15). Once the battle was over, God told Moses to give a message to Joshua which was to be rehearsed, written down, and remembered. Moses built an altar to the Lord at that spot and called it, "The Lord, My Banner." I will talk about how important it is to remember what God has done. For me, my goatee, which will get shaved tomorrow, is my reminder of what God has done for me. God, through my hard work and falling into Him, through my supportive, merciful wife, through my pastors and accountability partners, and through my friends set me free from the bondage I was in. I fought the battle with my addiction for years on my own. I always figured me and God was enough. It is not. God created us to need one another. God created us to be dependent – not independent. Me, my friends, and my God are enough. Just like Joshua, I won a great and difficult battle. There are wounds and scars, but I know that the victory didn't come from me. Just as in the case of Joshua and the Israelites, God is the one who brings victory, but only when Moses, Aaron, Hur, Joshua, and the soldiers all do their part. Our God is a good God!

The Lord is my banner!

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