Micah 7:8 Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD himself will be my light. This verse is so full of hope! There’s sorrow, too. Micah doesn’t say,”if” I fall; he says “though”. Failure is inevitable because we are sinful. Darkness is inevitable because we are sinful. However, sin and darkness do not mean we are overcome and hopeless. We have the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we will rise again. And though we sin and are so limited in our sight, the Lord himself will guide us and show us what is right! That is so awesome! God doesn’t send some angel or book or person to be our light. He does it Himself! That is very cool! However you want to look at this verse, it gives me hope that my mistakes aren’t the be-all and end-all. Though things seem dark right now and though I feel like I’ve fallen flat on my face, at the bottom of the barrel, there is light and there will come a time when I will rise and stand again. And considering how many people probably feel that way (especially with the economy in the condition its in), this should be a verse that we cling to and remember that God does not desert Him people. He Himself lights the way! Yeah God!
Ezekial 18:21-23 But if the wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my laws and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die. All their past sins will be forgotten and they will live because of the righteous things they have done. Do you think, asks the Sovereign Lord, that I like to see wicked people die? Of course not! I only want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. This is the very crux of Christianity. Jesus came that we might LIVE! He doesn’t want to see His children die, but as a just God He can’t ignore it. However, if those children turn away from their wicked ways and obey God, then all the things they’ve done in the past will be wiped out and forgotten (not just forgiven). It’s a good thing that God loves us so much! I love that He has wiped out and forgotten my past. He wants us to live. He’s gone to great lengths to ensure that we can live. Why do you think He gave Israel so many chances to turn and get it right? Yes, He’s just, but He loves His children. It’s like when my children do something they shouldn’t (like using the table as a springboard to jump onto the couch). My inclination is to warn them, warn them, warn them, and finally I have to punish them. I don’t like seeing them upset, but if they don’t heed my warning and directly disobey, that’s bad, too, because they could get hurt. I think God’s like that with us. He gives lots of warning, but eventually He has to punish us (usually to keep us from hurting ourselves or others, and to remind us that what we’re doing is wrong). However, like I said, if my little ones stop trying to be superman off the table and onto the couch, then we move on. I don’t add up the different things they do wrong or punish them for something they did a while ago after they do something else. It doesn’t add up. They turned from what they were doing and obeyed. I forget about what they did and we move on together. Yeah God!
Jeremiah 30:11b But I must discipline you; I cannot let you go unpunished. As a parent, I can understand this verse like I never could before. Now I know what it’s like to have your child do something that cannot go unpunished. For example, if Gavin were to hit Kainoah, I’d have to punish Gavin. If Kainoah were to ignore my instructions about not running out into the street he would need to be disciplined to remind him to listen to me. Children need instruction, and part of that is learning obedience and the difference between right and wrong. Do I enjoy disciplining my children? Emphatically, no! Just ask my husband… But, when I must, I do. I don’t like it, but I know if I don’t then they could get hurt later on. And, here God sounds the same way. He knows He must (because He is Just and Holy), but it doesn’t bring Him joy (because He loves us). Thankfully, as Christ followers who live after Jesus came to forgive us, we are blessed with grace and forgiveness. It’s not a license to go and do the wrong thing (because our choices still have consequences), but it does give us the opportunity to be forgiven and to start fresh.
Psalm 103:12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. At church on Sunday we watched Perry Noble speak on God is Here. It was awesome! He is hilarious! Among the points that he made was one that’s stuck with me this week. With the new school year starting, it seems I am constantly reminded of the mistakes and failures of last year. It’s like a shadow that never leaves. It’s not totally visible, but it’s also subtly there shading everything I do and every conversation I have. Very frustrating. As humans, we tend to think that whenever something we’ve done in the past that Jesus has forgiven is recalled to our brain, it must be that God is reminding us of our sins. But this isn’t true. Perry Noble has a great illustration: his little girl had a really stinky diaper (and as a mom of two boys under two-years I can certainly relate to that!). He got her and changed her diaper, and when he was finished he didn’t shove it in her face and say, “See! Look at how disgusting this is! How could you do this? You’re so revolting!” No, he cleaned up her mess and threw it away so she wouldn’t have to deal with it ever again. That’s how God is. He cleans up our mess and throws it away (as far as east is from the west – which, by the way, is eternally distant) so we don’t ever have to deal with it again. He doesn’t shove it in our face every-so-often to remind us of what we’ve done. As our heavenly Father, He loves us. So where do those reminders come from? Well, unlike our loving but holy God, our memories are long and Satan’s memory is even longer. After his tail got kicked by Jesus on the cross he’s made it his goal to mess with God’s children as much as possible. And he loves to remind us of all the ways we’ve failed and how we’re not good enough and how we should just give up now because we’ll never get it right and … But, if we spend any time at all getting to know Jesus, we know that these are true. Wait, what?! Yes. I said true. But, it’s like the lie that’s partly true so it’s more believable. Sure, we’ve failed, but Jesus paid for our sins and washed them away – He has the victory. Sure, we’re not good enough, but again, that’s why Jesus died for us – so that by His blood we might be saved and reconciled and made holy before God. Sure, we’re never going to get it right, but Jesus says that we’re not supposed to do things on our own and to ask for His help and power to do things (and we’ll still mess it up even then, but He still loves us). So, yeah, those things are true, but they’re only the beginning. The end is victory, and that’s what Satan would like for us to forget. Remind yourself and remind him, then put the thoughts out of your mind, thanking Jesus for his grace and mercy. And move forward!
Jeremiah 10:23-24 I know, Lord, that a person’s life is not his own. No one is able to plan his own course. So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die. Ok, I know you’re thinking, what does food poisoning have to do with anything? Nothing, really, except that it’s my excuse for not posting anything yesterday. I know it wasn’t a punishment or anything, but boy, it would have been effective! I’m still reeling from it (and so is my husband – it sure was fun taking care of two little boys when we had food poisoning!). Anyways, I thought this verse was perfect for those times when I feel like I’ve been living in the desert because I’m living the consequences of my poor decisions. (Interesting aside: while writing I debated about whether to write “poor” or “bad” decisions. I chose “poor” because it sounded more proper and less harsh, but really, the decisions are just plain bad.) I know that correction is necessary. I discipline my children whether I like it or not, because it’s necessary to keep them safe and to show them the proper way to interact with the world. They hate it. My oldest son (who just turned two) starts screaming and throws himself on the floor when he is fussed at or disciplined in any way. It takes about 5 minutes and then he’ll come over and want to snuggle, but initially he is really mad (or maybe upset that he disappointed us) and doesn’t want much to do with whoever disciplined him. We do that with God. I know that I’ll do something stupid, God allows the consequences of my actions to catch up with me, and I get mad at Him for doing it. Thankfully, God loves us and doesn’t just throw up His hands in disgust. So, my prayer, like Jeremiah’s, is for God to be gentle in His correction and not correct me in anger, because I am just a small human and cannot stand up to the wrath of God. Right now, I think I’m feeling the consequences of my actions (no, not the food poisoning, the financial spot we’re in). It’s been really, really hard. But, like I put in my last post, I’m not going to look back at the reasons I am here (I already know those reasons and don’t need to sit here rehashing them over and over and over); I am going to look ahead and try to learn from my mistakes so that I can move forward, hopefully out of correction and in a new direction. Lord, be gentle, please!
Job 42: 19When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! When he prayed for his friends his fortunes were restored. I think that’s kind of interesting. God told the friends that Job would pray for them and that God would accept his prayer and not punish them for their bad advice. So Job’s prayer was for forgiveness and mercy. Perhaps in praying for forgiveness for them and mercy, and not vengeance for their response to his plight, Job learned more about God and gave Him glory. And until Job was able to do this, showing forgiveness instead of vengeance, God held off restoring Him. This begs the question, does God wait to restore our fortunes until we learn forgiveness and mercy? Until we are obedient even in the difficult things? It would make sense.
Jeremiah 3:22“My wayward children,” says the Lord, “come back to me,and I will heal your wayward hearts.” I love this. There were many years when I walked my own way and didn’t have the courage to do what I knew was right. And God was incredibly faithful in healing my wayward heart. All I had to do was come home to Him. That was a beautiful day. Sure, I have some scars, but my heart is whole. What an awesome God I serve!