Schlotzsky's

Psalm 139

1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
5 You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

Why does God take you on such a long trip to Schlotzsky’s?

I think part of the reason is that you don’t have everything that it takes to enter the restaurant. How can that be? Well, maybe you don’t have all the money you need, or the way you you’re going to take is actually dangerous for you. It would be dangerous for you to diagonally cross an eight way intersection. But what if there is more than meets the eye?

What if the reason that you can’t go right to Schlotzsky’s is that Schlotzsky’s isn’t ready to cater to you? What if it’s not open? What if it doesn’t have all of it’s delicious meats? What if the eighteen wheeler that carries the Schlotzsky’s products hasn’t arrived yet to stock the restaurant with all of the necessary condiments and supplies in order for the restaurant to run at its intended ability?

What if Schlotzsky’s not ready for you?

The psalmist stated that You know me, You understand my most remote thoughts, You understand my idiosyncrasies, mannerisms, and You are perfectly aware of every word I will say before I say it. Some will find this thought more remarkable than others, that God knows everything about them.

However, I find this more remarkable: You have hedged me behind and before, and laid your hand upon me. God has set a fortress around you to protect you from screwing up your destiny. I believe God has intentionally made it difficult for you to get OUT of His will.

God has been intentional on your behalf. He intentionally protects you. He intentionally makes it difficult to screw something up. And there are times that you are intentional. You intentionally try to get out of God’s will. You intentionally try to screw things up? YOU INTENTIONALLY TRY! You ARE intentional.

Yet God STILL hedges you behind and before. He creates an impenetrable wall that surrounds you. He seemingly places angels that surround you like the cloud that surrounded the Hebrews as they fled from Egypt before crossing the Red Sea. God still makes it difficult to get out of His will. God MAKES it difficult.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

And maybe His will is for you to get to Schlotzsky’s.

But maybe Schlotzsky’s isn’t open…yet.

So you’re standing here at the corner of 71^st and Lewis and the will of God is for you to get to Schlotzsky’s. Simple enough, it would seem. You’ll just cross the intersection diagonally and go straight to Schlotzsky’s.

Isaiah 55:7-8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

God doesn’t let you just walk across the street. (Bear with me as I repeat this excerpt from my last writing). The next thing you know you’re walking across the opposite street to Mazzio’s and you’re wondering, “Why am I going to Mazzio’s? I need to get to Schlotzsky’s.” So you get to Mazzio’s and you think, “Well, I’ll just cross the street to Schlotzsky’s now. I would have been jay walking if I had simply crossed directly, so I can kind of see what God was doing.” But then God takes you to the shopping center next to Mazzio’s, and you realize that this is taking you further away from Schlotzsky’s and now you’re becoming disturbed by this once simple trek and wondering why God is taking you off course. Then you cross the street to the “Talking Drum” restaurant. You think to yourself, “Great! Now I’ll just sully on up to Schlotzsky’s!”

But wait, you forgot to get something back over at the shopping center next to Mazzio’s, so then you have to go back. And as God drags you all over creation, you begin to learn and see character flaws. You start working on those flaws. And you grow. In the beginning, you thought the direct route was the best way, but in this “journey” God has taken you on through all the Points, you see God’s hand.

In truth, you weren’t ready to go straight to Schlotzsky’s. Maybe you didn’t have all the money you needed, so you’ve been picking up loose change on you’re journey that you would have otherwise missed if you had gone directly to Schlotzsky’s. Maybe when you held that door open for that lady at the outlet, that slowed you down long enough to avoid a car from hitting you when you crossed the street to the “Talking Drum?” Maybe when God sent you back to the outlet, you picked up that quarter you had previously missed?

But let’s rewind the film and go back to Walgreens. It is at Walgreens where Christians probably have their least amount of trouble. You hear the will of God and get excited (much like the parable of the sower). You are gung ho. Ready to go. Got the bull by the tail. But then something happens.

God doesn’t get you immediately to the destination point. Isn’t it crazy that God gives you this revelation and doesn’t microwave it so its instantaneous? But let me remind everyone “that which costs you nothing means nothing.” So, what I believe is that through the “journey,” God is also attempting to develop personal value for the destination point.

Again, you are at Walgreens, and you are gung ho. But God doesn’t do it your way, and a lesson of the journey is that God does not do it your “way.” His ways are not our ways. If you had your way, you’d be across the street at Schlotzsky’s.

Walgreens is where you are and then FLASH! God leads you to Mazzio’s. Well, it’s hot outside and you’re hungry now, so you start getting a little tempted to get something to eat, but you decide to shrug off the hanger and not “ruin your appetite” by eating pizza. But you are tempted.

And then FLASH! God leads you to the shopping center. It’s at the shopping center you really start wishing you had stopped to get that slice of pizza because Lord only knows when He’s finally going to get you to Schlotzsky’s. You just never know when you’re dealing with God.

So you’re milling around at the shopping center, you pick up a few pennies and quarters and this only advances the cause of Schlotzsky’s. You again feel God’s hand over your “journey” because you are beginning to prosper, and this gives you a nice “spiritual high” in order to keep going. And then…

FLASH! Go across the street to the “Talking Drum Restaurant.”

“That’s more like it!” you yell out. You’re so close now. Surely you’ll just have to pick up a few more quarters and then go straight to Schlotzky’s. But you get to the “Talking Drum” and…

FLASH! Go back to the shopping center. You begin to wonder what the hell God is doing. Does He think that I’m just a pawn that He can jerk around? Am I His personal play thing, His play-dough to manipulate and contort and twist and mash…

And you get discouraged. But what is really coming to the surface is our lack of fruits of the Spirit. Our longsuffering and faithfulness is sitting at empty. Our love for God is waning in the hot sun baking down on our heads. Patience is definitely at an all time low. And then the kryptonite kicks in…

Temptation. You are tempted to eat. But the “Talking Drum” is beginning to talk to you, and even though you don’t dig Caribbean food, it digs you. Slowly but surely you are…

Dragged away. As James 1:14 states, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” You desire food. But it’s not Schlotzsky’s. That’s okay, the “Drum” will do. I’m hungry. And one of the greatest deceptions that you create in our own mind is twisting the will of God. “Well, it’s God’s will for me to eat,” you say to yourself. “Maybe He was just leading me toward Schlotzsky’s and He really wants me to eat at the “Drum.”

Temptation. Desire. Enticement. Dragged away.

So you grab a little something at the “Drum,” and all the while you’re eating, your Spirit is going off on the inside, because you know you’ve settled. That’s right. You’ve settled.

But God has hedged you from behind and before. His mercy is renewed every morning. And FLASH!

At our amazement you hear God. And He says, “Go back to the shopping center.”

Well, it’s not Schlotzsky’s, but at least God is speaking to you, and that’s better than nothing. So back across the street you go. You pick up some loose change to replace what you’ve spent at the “Drum.” God provides. You’re now beating your own brains out for the sins you’ve committed and the lack of faith, but you see the things that you need to work on. And you remember the scripture:

Jeremiah 18:6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!”

At least God’s still working with you.

And at the shopping center you begin exercising your faith. You begin working on all of your failings and shortcomings. And you grow. You begin to trust God. You see His sovereign hand.

You become committed to getting to Schlotzsky’s and not settling.

Committed.

And eventually you get there. And you realize that it was worth every bit of turmoil you endured. You have a super cool story to tell all of your friends. The only regret you have is not doing it right or perfectly the first time.

But what was happening at Schlotzsky’s while you were trying to get there? When you walk through the door at Schlotzky’s you see the hours of operation on the glass door. You check your watch. “Huh!” you say to yourself. “Schlotzsky’s wasn’t even open when God told me that He wanted me to go to Schlotzsky’s!”

Why would God ask you to go to Schlotzsky’s when it wasn’t even open?

And then one of the chicks operating the register informs you that you really arrived at just the right time. You inquire as to why it was the right time and she explains:

“Well, the eighteen wheeler that had all of our beef arrived an hour before you arrived and we’ve finally been able to cook something. Actually, your order is the first order that we’ve cooked today.”

And you continue to see God’s sovereignty.

“Also,” she adds, “we’ve been so short staffed today. All of our workers have been sick and it took us until two hours ago to get a full staff.”

You want to inquire as to why the staff has been sick, but you decide you don’t really want to know.

“So, you see, the machines that cook the food have only been up and running for an hour or so. When everybody finally showed up, we spent the first hour cleaning up the lobby and getting everything ready for the customers.”

You begin to see that while God was working on you, He was definitely working on Schlotzsky’s.

“Finally,” the chick says, “we had a malfunction with the drink dispenser and it’s only been up and running for the last ten minutes. So as you can tell, we’ve been busy getting everything in order.”

While God was getting you in order, He was getting Schlotzsky’s in order.

Everything was prepared for the PERFECT timing of your arriving.

What if you had given up at the Shopping Center? Or you went home after the “Talking Drum” fiasco?

But at Schlotzsky’s, your hunger is satisfied as your teeth sink into the warm roast beef, cheese melting in your mouth, onions and peppers creating a symphony of taste on your tongue. The cool air-conditioner on your perspired skin is cooling the sweat beeds rolling across your body. The newly repaired drink station quenches your thirst that was awakened by the hot sun. The cheetos with your sandwich is the icing on the cake as you sit and chew. And everything is…

…perfect.

Perfectly God’s will. It seems as if God ordained and prepared every facet of Schlotzsky’s for your perfect enjoyment. And that is the beautiful thing about the will of God: The “journey” isn’t necessarily sensical, but the outcome…

…well, the outcome, God made just for you. Because as the psalmist stated, “You search me and know me…you are acquainted with all of my ways.” And if God knows everything about you, don’t you think he knows exactly what you need?

And maybe what you need is a Schlotzsky’s in your life.

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season you shall reap if you do not lose heart.”

James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

(c) Aaron Brown, 2008

Have You Ever Got Ahead of Yourself

Exodus 2:11-15

11 Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?”
14 Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”
So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!” 15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.

Acts 7:20-29

20 At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months. 21 But when he was set out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.
23 “Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. 25 For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’ 27 But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.

Hebrews 11:24-27

24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

Have you ever gotten ahead of yourself?

Like most people, I have. Whether in professional conquests or personal relationships (mostly personal relationships) I have edged my way over the ravine too quickly or pushed the envelope, overtly longing for what I think is over the hill.

Or, perhaps I have an inside track. Maybe I know, as some “spiritual people” would sort of say is in a cosmic, inexplicable way, or as most Christians would say, “God told me,” or “He revealed to me,” or “I had a vision,” or my personal favorite and what I find connection to the most is, “I just know that I know that I know.” Perhaps (like me) “it just seemed good…” (Acts 15:34).

Now, you don’t have to ascribe to my personal theology, and that is perfectly applicable to my recent endeavor and what makes the subject matter at hand great. I am becoming more and more convinced that God does not have a universal, bullet-proof, systematic way of conveying His messages uniformly to His children. And that’s okay. I don’t think we say that enough or with proper application. The point, however, is that God speaks to His children.

So, when you know that you know that you know, have you ever gotten ahead of yourself?

Moses did.

Exodus 2 tells the story of how Moses went out and saw an Egyptian abusing a Hebrew. Obviously, Moses didn’t take too kindly to the mistreatment and killed the Egyptian. But you have to ask the question, why intervene? If you’re a prince of Egypt, why would you care so much about slaves that provide your daily bread?

Then Moses finds the cat out of the bag and jig being up and escapes the wrath of Pharaoh. Why would Pharaoh being angry over the Prince of Egypt killing a commoner of Egypt? Moses wanders out to the desert to the land of Midian and spends the next 40 years learning who God truly is.

Therefore, we have to answer the question of, “Why did Moses attempt to be a “messiah” for the Hebrews?” We get a better glimpse in the book of Acts through Stephen’s Sermon in Chapter 7:25 For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.

How did Moses know that he was the deliverer of Israel? When did he arrive at this conclusion? How did he arrive at this conclusion? We get an idea of Moses’ conclusions in Hebrews 11:25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

Now, while this passage doesn’t answer all questions, it gives us a glimpse into the life of Moses. Here you have the Playboy of Egypt. Late night parties and drugs and endless sex and every woman he could want and unlimited resources and the list of decadence could go on and on and…

…and one day Moses decides to forsake his playboy lifestyle. The reason for his forsakenness is…Christ? How did he see Christ? How was he even capable of arriving at the conclusion that the sufferings of Christ are ultimately better than his sex and drugs and alcohol…? How did he see the reward?

Maybe, he simply knew that he knew that he knew. Perhaps “it seemed good to him.”

So Moses arrives upon the revelation that he is the deliverer of Egypt. It seems that there is no doubt in his mind. Obviously there is no doubt because he is perplexed that the Children of Israel didn’t understand that he WAS the deliverer of them.

Picture it: Ex-playboy Moses is on the scene. He’s rolling through Memphis in his suped-up chariot he affectionately calls “Tina” (hey, don’t act like you didn’t name your first car) and what does he see? There in the distance, an Israelite being abused by an Egyptian. Moses thinks to himself, “It is evident that I am the deliverer of Egypt. I know it. My Hebrew brethren realize it. Let me act on my calling right now. Moses looks left, then right. The coast is clear. No eye-witnesses to finger him. He focuses, pulls his Egyptian Royal Palace issued dagger and…

SHANK!

One dead Egyptian.

The next day Moses is rollin’ in his supped-up chariot “Tina,” but today is a special day because Moses just got his new 40 inch dubs and he’s ballin’ now. What does he see, but two Hebrews fighting amongst themselves. Well, Moses is the “messiah” of the Hebrews in Egypt. Moses knows it. Obviously the Hebrews know that. So Moses brings “Tina” to a stop, shiny rims on his 40 inch dubs shining in the hot, Egyptian sun, and as he dismounts he puts a limp in his pimp walk. He shimmys his way over to the two tangled Hebrews and asks, “Why are two brothers fighting amongst themselves?”

The reply? “You murder. You gonna kill us like you killed that Egyptian yesterday?” The jig was up! Moses high-tailed it out of Dodge into the land of Midian, and for forty years, God has to teach Moses how to listen and be obedient and to work in the proper timing.

Was Moses the deliverer of Hebrews? Absolutely. Did Moses attempt to deliver the Hebrews at the wrong time and in the wrong manner? Absolutely.

So the issue is: Moses got ahead of himself. Moses knew and understood the magnitude of the calling on his life, but attempted to fulfill that calling at the wrong time and in the wrong manner. Even Moses’ parents knew his calling. Scriptures state that he was a “proper” child or a “beautiful” child. All that really means is that they saw the “anointing” and “calling” on Moses life.

This anointing and calling became so real to Moses that he forsook his playboy lifestyle of Egypt and wanted to fulfill the call of God on his life. But, again, he tried it at the wrong time and in the wrong manner.

What one must be mindful of is that Moses was walking out the “Joseph Principle.” Joseph knew exactly where he was going, that he would one day tower over known humanity. God had revealed to him in a series of dreams that he would rule over his brethren, but in order for God to get Joseph from Point A to Point Z, Joseph had to endure all the other letters of the alphabet.

Joseph had to be betrayed by his brothers; sold into slavery; then sold as a slave to Potiphar; it is there that he demonstrated that he had integrity and administrative ability; but then he’s framed and exiled to Egyptian prison where he befriends a baker and servant; we see prophetic giftings resurface; Joseph’s gift eventually brings him before Pharaoh (your gift makes room for you and brings you before kings); he interprets Pharaoh’s dreams and becomes the second most powerful man in Egypt; then his brother’s return; Joseph jerks them around a little; and, then, Joseph makes this statement, “But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life (Genesis 45:5).”

Why didn’t God simply let Joseph grow up and then one day God make him the second highest ruler in Egypt? Joseph could see the end result, but maybe he didn’t see the process. To simply Joseph’s life, let me feebly explicate through this means. I am standing at 71^st Street and Lewis Avenue next to Walgreens or for our purposes, Point A. Now, God wants to get me across the street to Schlotzsky’s or for our purposes, Point Z. Therefore, the easiest root is the direct root. I simply cross the street and go to Schlotzsky’s. I should take a direct root from Point A to Point Z.

But God doesn’t operate that way. God doesn’t let you just walk across the street, He takes you through Point B, C, D, E, F, G… The next thing you know you’re walking across the opposite street to Mazzio’s and you’re wondering, “Why am I going to Mazzio’s? I need to get to Schlotzsky’s.” So you get to Mazzio’s and you think, “Well, I’ll just cross the street to Schlotzsky’s now. I would have been jay walking if I had simply crossed directly, so I can kind of see what God was doing.” But then God takes you to the shopping center next to Mazzio’s, and you realize that this is taking you further away from Schlotzsky’s and now you’re becoming disturbed by this once simple trek and wondering why God is taking you off course. Then you cross the street to the “Talking Drum” restaurant. You think to yourself, “Great! Now I’ll just sully on up to Schlotzsky’s!”

But wait, you forgot to get something back over at the shopping center next to Mazzio’s, so then you have to go back. And as God drags you all over creation, you begin to learn and see character flaws. You start working on those flaws. And you grow. In the beginning, you thought the direct route was the best way, but in this “journey” God has taken you on through all the Points, you see God’s hand.

In truth, you weren’t ready to go straight to Schlotzsky’s. Maybe you didn’t have all the money you needed, so you’ve been picking up loose change on you’re journey that you would have otherwise missed if you had gone directly to Schlotzsky’s. Maybe when you held that door open for that lady at the outlet, that slowed you down long enough to avoid a car from hitting you when you crossed the street to the “Talking Drum?” Maybe when God sent you back to the outlet, you picked up that quarter you had previously missed?

And maybe Moses, knowing that he was the deliverer of Israel, killed an Egyptian prematurely and God had to lead him out into the desert for 40 years to teach Moses God’s ways? Moses calling was so real and evident that he thought everyone could see it. Maybe everyone did see it, but didn’t accept it. Maybe that’s why Pharaoh got angry when Moses killed the Egyptian, because it was evident to Pharaoh that Moses would deliver the Hebrews. Maybe nobody knew…

…and maybe we get ahead of ourselves sometimes?

(C) Aaron Brown, 2008