Devakut – “Clinging”

Running With Yeshua

There is a thrill in marathoning. On this particular day, I was flying down the streets of Foxboro, Mass., exceeding my expectations and proudly receiving encouragement from spectators who noticed my New Hampshire singlet. I was clearly on my way to a personal best and was feeling exuberant at mile 18. By mile 23…I was laying on the ground. Not only had I hit the wall and collapsed, but my exuberance quickly changed to humiliation and self-deprecation. Then, in my mid-twenties, my worth was only as good as my most recent race success.

Things are different now, some 45 years later. My worth isn’t about me anymore.

As I explore this life of grace, moving away from the foolish notion that I can manipulate Adonai’s feelings toward me through my behavior, I see His Word in a whole different light. Simply stated, the goal of our walk with Yeshua is NOT the pursuit of holiness, rather, it IS the pursuit of relationship with Him. With that in mind…some thoughts…

I frequently ask Adonai how to go about having relationship with Him. Of course, on one hand we ARE already in relationship with Him by virtue of Him having placed his Holy Spirit within us. As a result, we have been restored to life and are eternally His. Nonetheless, our BEST life here is realized when we understand and participate in His presence. I now realize that having “ears to hear” and “eyes to see” aren’t really activated without my expectation of Him speaking, revealing Himself to me and acknowledging His desire to BE with me. Perhaps we could call that, Our Garden Relationship.

Interestingly, the Hebrew word, “devakut (דבקות)” means clinging or cleaving to the Lord in communion and surrender to His grace. And in that, I notice a great irony in the phrase “surrender to His grace.” For instance, in war, surrender leads to captivity and degradation. Likewise, surrender to the world leads one to that same condition. God’s surrender however, accomplishes the exact opposite, that is, OUT of captivity to true freedom, and OUT of humiliation and degradation.

Having just celebrated Pesach (Passover), we were encouraged to see ourselves as being personally set free from Egypt. The word Egypt in Hebrew is “mitzraim (מצרים).” That word can sometimes mean “an enclosure” from the verb “tzur” meaning to bind or confine. Conversely, salvation (ישועה), means release from constraint, to deliver or set free. The very purpose of creation is to be set free by God’s redemptive love given through Yeshua. We in Yeshua have been personally redeemed from Egypt (Mitzraim). May our Yeshua, our salvation, cause us to both see and hear Him today as we cling to Him and enjoy the freedom He has given us!

Shalom!

James Mark