A couple of months ago I began reading through the Old Testament, well let's just say from Numbers to where I currently am in Nehemiah (there's some good stuff before Numbers I would agree, if you're willing to sift through to find it). So anyways, the running theme throughout the Old Testament is the Israelites' rebellion and straying from God. The Israelites spent so much time running from God, even though he showed himself to them so many times and delivered them from so many enemies, they ran.
This caused me to started thinking about my own current situation. I know God is calling me to be attentive to a certain situation and to follow him through it. However, I've spent the last few days running from that. Telling him time and again that I'm done and want out. It didn't hit me until during quiet time today, I was reading through II Chronicles about the Israelites' idol worship and how God in his grace over and again gave them a chance at redemption, but one line in the passage struck me. "But God knew there was no remedy." (speaking of their lost state of sin) I could see the parallels in my life up until that point.
However, I/we have a remedy in Jesus. He rescued me from a lost state of sin and is giving me a world of love and happiness, if I just trust him and surrender everything to him. I've spent the last couple of months reading through the Old Testament and have been tremendously blessed by the revelations God has there for us. How alive it is, and how amazing He is, but this one fact never was bigger until now. I want to learn from the mistakes of the Israelites and hear God in my own failures and rebellions calling me back to him. I want to hear his voice in the midst of uncertainty saying "I am here." So many times I've thought, "If only God would tell me what to do right now, it would be simpler." That's true, but I'm also realizing it's simpler than that. He is there often saying, "Abide in me," or "Be patient." He's not a complicated God. The lesson with my current situation I'm dealing with is this, and it's simple: He is here; wait on him. Don't become scared and run. He's here and will lead. Just be patient.
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4 comments:
i should really re-read these before i submit them. they're grammatical nightmares.
That's okay, Jesus forgives you. He is, as you said, the remedy!
no worries, Josh. You have a blog administrator who loves sneaking in and fixing things. :) I think you'll find it's far less of a grammatical nightmare than it once was. :) And I think you're allowed to edit, I'm pretty sure, even after you've posted. For future reference. :)
So your post made me think of Hagar... (Genesis 16). This has always been one of my favorite stories. Don't ask why - I'm just drawn to stories about women in the Bible that seem... well, I'm not even sure what the adjective is at this late hour and with this much jetlag, but Hannah, Ruth, Tamar and Hagar are four of my favorite Bible characters, along with Bathsheba, Mary Magdalene, and Elizabeth.
Anyway, Hagar. She runs away from "home" - wherever that was at this point in Abram's travels - and the angel of the Lord comes to her (in verse 7-8) and says, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" Interesting - he knows who she is, so he probably knows the answer to this question anyway. And look at what she says (verse 8): "I'm running away from my mistress Sarai."
Did you catch it? She didn't answer the question. Dumbfounded at the fact that she was known, she defines herself not by who she is, but by what she is doing: running away.
And God answered her self-definition by telling her to quit running and to go home (verse 9).
Interesting.
And that's all I have to say about that. :) For now, anyways.
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