“They put him in custody until the will and command of the Lord might be made clear to them.”
Leviticus 24:12 AMP
When Randal and Alathia were toddlers, and they did something I didn’t know how to respond to, I often responded with “go to your room while mommy prays and asks the Holy Spirit what to do right now because I am clueless. You better pray that mommy hears Him.” Then I’d pray, breathe, and wait. And more often than not, I’d hear a response that was for the moment.
While the situation in the verse above doesn’t fit the circumstances, the principle does: when you don’t know what to do, wait until the will and command of the Lord is made clear.
The Hebrew word used for the phrase “in custody” is mišmār and means guardhouse or to stand guard. Interestingly, the same word is used in Proverbs 4:23 to describe to how we are to “guard” our hearts:
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.”
In other words, we should stand guard at the gates of our hearts to protect what goes into it and what comes out of it.
When I put my kids in this type of “time out,” for lack of a better term, I was doing so to protect their hearts and mine. I was setting up a guard.
Scientists have discovered that we make approximately 35,000 decisions a day – of those, roughly 20% are conscious and 80% are subconscious. Additionally, most decisions are made in 5-7 SECONDS. That means we make approximately 25,000 decisions from a subconscious state where our emotions, memories, and experiences – both good and bad – are stored. Essentially we’re making most of our decisions, and thereby most of our responses, based on the past.
But if we can take a purposeful pause, if we can wait for G-d to speak to us, if we will wait to hear His voice, we can make decisions based on Truth, we can respond like He would respond – with intention and with love.
Father – help me to love like You love. Give me Your grace. Redeem my mind, my emotions, and my memories so that I glorify and honor you in all things. You are good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and You can be trusted. Amen.
Daily Reading: Leviticus 24-25