Holding the Peak
But it took a while. I remember standing at the kitchen table with the electric beaters, and the rapid rotation where it hit the metal bowl was loud and obnoxious and never-ending. I'd play games with the sounds to pass the time: And THIS way along the bowl sounds like CHCHCHCHCH... And THIS way along the bowl sounds like THTHTHTHTH...
I kept trying to stop, to be finally finished. I'd show it to my mom: "Is it done?"
She'd pull the beaters out of the mixture, and it would dissolve back into liquid complacency. You could still see the bubbles brought about by the beating.
"No," she'd say. "It needs to hold its own peaks. Keep going."
It took me several times of making meringue to understand the concept of "holding the peaks." The mixture strengthened the more it was beaten; the ideal finishing point was when I could pull the beaters from the mixture, and as the mixture drew upward with the beaters, it would release them at last and stay formed in the shape of twin peaks.
"No," she'd say. "It needs to hold its own peaks. Keep going."
It took me several times of making meringue to understand the concept of "holding the peaks." The mixture strengthened the more it was beaten; the ideal finishing point was when I could pull the beaters from the mixture, and as the mixture drew upward with the beaters, it would release them at last and stay formed in the shape of twin peaks.
I had to be careful. Obviously, if I didn't beat the whites enough, they'd fall back into liquid foam, but if I beat them too much, the consistency would rebel and fall apart, and I'd have to start all over again. There needed to be the perfect balance of testing and preservation.
So, I'd beat and beat and beat until finally, the peaks stood on their own; the fluff had gathered its own strength, and then I'd immediately remove the mixer to keep from over-beating.
And if I allowed even the tiniest smallest itty-bittiest smidgen of egg yolk into the bowl with the whites... the whole thing would fail. I could beat those eggs all day, and the fluff wouldn't turn into meringue.
Romans 8:37 says: "No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Paul goes on to talk about all the things we wrestle with that, if we allowed it, or if we rested in our own strength, could "beat" us: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Here's a thought that just occurred to me: We are more than conquerors - a concept I've always loved - but... if we had nothing to conquer... we wouldn't win anything. So those things that "beat" us, that challenge us, that force us to fight back, that pull us out of complacency, are the very things that make us strong, that let us hold our peaks.
If sin is in the mix... if we are trying to beat these things, while holding on to sin (yolk)... we're not going to win. We must be free of it, of even the smallest amount, and praise God, He's provided a way, the way, the only way. Romans 8:13 says: "For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live."
By the Spirit, we can conquer sin; see? It says it right there. I used to think that sin was inevitable. And in some ways, that's true, because we are all born with a sin nature. But there's hope! "We are more than conquerors."
There is account after account throughout the Old Testament of the conquering king coming in to take his throne. Some of the accounts are gruesome (the conquering king cannot leave previous kings alive or strong enough to gain a following, so they are either killed or severely tortured). Some of them are triumphant (Solomon's procession into Jerusalem when the city resounded with the shouts of the people).
In every account, the eyes of all the people were on the new king, whether they were ready or not for his coming, whether they hoped for the succession to the throne or whether they'd fought against it. Their attention was riveted. There is no denying the coming of the king. In what is arguably my favorite scene in the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy movies, Denethor, steward of Minis Tirith, sits before an angry White Wizard, who, in righteous indignation, castigates the steward: "It is not given to you to deny the return of the king!"
I continued on with Revelation 10-11 today. To quote The Princess Bride: "Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up."
So, I'd beat and beat and beat until finally, the peaks stood on their own; the fluff had gathered its own strength, and then I'd immediately remove the mixer to keep from over-beating.
Romans 8:37 says: "No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Paul goes on to talk about all the things we wrestle with that, if we allowed it, or if we rested in our own strength, could "beat" us: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Here's a thought that just occurred to me: We are more than conquerors - a concept I've always loved - but... if we had nothing to conquer... we wouldn't win anything. So those things that "beat" us, that challenge us, that force us to fight back, that pull us out of complacency, are the very things that make us strong, that let us hold our peaks.
If sin is in the mix... if we are trying to beat these things, while holding on to sin (yolk)... we're not going to win. We must be free of it, of even the smallest amount, and praise God, He's provided a way, the way, the only way. Romans 8:13 says: "For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live."
By the Spirit, we can conquer sin; see? It says it right there. I used to think that sin was inevitable. And in some ways, that's true, because we are all born with a sin nature. But there's hope! "We are more than conquerors."
In every account, the eyes of all the people were on the new king, whether they were ready or not for his coming, whether they hoped for the succession to the throne or whether they'd fought against it. Their attention was riveted. There is no denying the coming of the king. In what is arguably my favorite scene in the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy movies, Denethor, steward of Minis Tirith, sits before an angry White Wizard, who, in righteous indignation, castigates the steward: "It is not given to you to deny the return of the king!"
I continued on with Revelation 10-11 today. To quote The Princess Bride: "Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up."
There was a little scroll that John ate. Yep, he ate it. It was sweet in his mouth, but sour in his stomach. And then there were two witnesses who ministered for 1,260 days. After that, a beast from the Abyss killed them, and they lay out in the street for three days without burial, a degrading offense. After three days, they came back to life and went up to heaven in a cloud, and at that point, there was a massive earthquake that killed seven thousands people. The survivors suddenly realized... oh, there is a God in heaven! That finished up the sixth trumpet woe.
Then the seventh trumpet sounded, and there was a loud voice in heaven that proclaimed: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever!" (Revelation 11:15)
At this point, the transition is made. The King has returned, the Conqueror has come, and all eyes are on Him. Ready or not... He's here.
He makes us more than conquerors with Him. He tests us. Those things that "beat" us? Let's look at them as strengthening mechanisms, so we can reach the perfection that comes with putting sin and death behind us, completely ridding ourselves of it, burying it beneath the blood of Jesus that covers us in righteousness, that redeems us, so we can stand, faultless, before the throne.
Let's imitate the elders, who in Revelation 11:16 fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: "We give thanks to You, Lord God Almighty, the One Who is and Who was [the 'Who is to come' has already come at this point in Revelation!], because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign! The nations were angry; and Your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding Your servants the prophets and Your saints and those who reverence Your name, both small and great - and for destroying those who destroy the earth" (Revelation 11:16-18).
Today, take hold of your identity as a conqueror. The Word promises that we are have that conquering spirit. What's our struggle? What are we in the business of conquering? "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12).
Fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith "Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8)
It's a battle, y'all, and it's intense right now; so many things are happening in both the heavenly and earthly realms. We must fight, but there's no cause for fear, because we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
He makes us more than conquerors with Him. He tests us. Those things that "beat" us? Let's look at them as strengthening mechanisms, so we can reach the perfection that comes with putting sin and death behind us, completely ridding ourselves of it, burying it beneath the blood of Jesus that covers us in righteousness, that redeems us, so we can stand, faultless, before the throne.
Let's imitate the elders, who in Revelation 11:16 fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: "We give thanks to You, Lord God Almighty, the One Who is and Who was [the 'Who is to come' has already come at this point in Revelation!], because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign! The nations were angry; and Your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding Your servants the prophets and Your saints and those who reverence Your name, both small and great - and for destroying those who destroy the earth" (Revelation 11:16-18).
Today, take hold of your identity as a conqueror. The Word promises that we are have that conquering spirit. What's our struggle? What are we in the business of conquering? "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12).
It's a battle, y'all, and it's intense right now; so many things are happening in both the heavenly and earthly realms. We must fight, but there's no cause for fear, because we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Comments
Post a Comment