Judges 2:11a, 12 - Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD...and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger.
As I read this yet again in Judges this morning, I wondered how this would have any affect on my day! What can one glean from Judges other than "Israel did evil in the sight of God, or everyone did what was right in his own eyes"?
When the LORD's anger distressed them enough they would cry out to Him for deliverance from those He allowed to oppress them, "for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning..." and God raised up judges to rule over them, mainly fighting their enemies after God had left Israel to their own devices! Only while those judges ruled Israel did what was right.
Then I read My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers for today. Now being sure my mind can go into some strange places, I saw a common theme. The title was If Thou Hadst Known! Briefly, he discussed how there are things in most of our lives that have us blinded. It is something within us that we cannot or more likely, will not, cease to do when God has asked us to stop. It is our own personal act of disobedience and because of it He has shut some doors of opportunity which will never be opened again. Like Israel during the time of the judges, in our obedience we experience peace. Not that there isn't another kind of peace that we always have as Christians. But there's something internal the Holy Spirit is stirring us to do, or let go of.
Israel was reminded time and time again how they had been delivered out of captivity by God's own hand and time and time again they "forgot." They were blinded by their own desires and had not fully yielded themselves to God. Had only they kept their eyes on the LORD... Chambers, however, reminds us not to look back on those things we see we might have missed but to look to the future and what lies in store for us and yield ourselves today. (This even pertains to today's Israel.)
Then in a chapter in another book by Chambers, If You Will Ask, he was saying that we need to watch and wait for God's direction. Don't let the wait cause us to do in our own strength or succumb to our own desires. It's an active strength, something done with childlike wonder. What will God do? How will He glorify Himself? We need, again, to sit at His feet to hear HIS voice for our lives. Expect Him to do strange things. Cry out, "Here I am. Send me."
So, all this being said to set the stage...these words came to me:
What have I not yielded to You, God? What is it that brings tears to Your eyes? What responsibility of mine have I missed? What doors have been shut and what opportunities have I missed because of lack of understanding, maybe fear, indecision, lack of trust in You, pride?
If we ask for our hearts to be purified, You will show the true nature of them and we might see those unyielded areas and see behind those closed doors. Will we be prepared for what we see? Will we be grieved, ashamed? Will we recognize a time where we knew we should have responded? Will we see our stubbornness or selfishness? Will our perfectionism come forth? Will a hard heart be recognized?
Thank You that even if we missed the mark in our past, You open new doors to us today and we should not look on the past as failure but rather a lesson. Thank You for continuing to perfect us. You never stop even when we make mistakes. And we can be "confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6) Thank You for taking hold of us sometime in our lives to show us this. Thank You for the words You imparted to me today:
"This is it. Now's the time I want all of you. Heed my voice and I will perfect you. I will teach you. Sit at My feet and listen and learn. Then go out and do. I will be with you. I will be your eyes, your hands, your voice, your heart for I am with you always. You are in Me and I in you. You have My mind. Yield to my urgings and you will find contentment. I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. You follow My path, you learn My heart and you will serve to bring life to others. Do not fear--what can man do to you? Remember what I have already gone through for you. What I ask is small in comparison. Do not worry...I've paid the price. If others do not heed it's no concern of yours. You've stepped out in faith--that's all you need to do. The rest is up to me."
[You] are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory...[I will give you] beauty for ashes...that [you] may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. 2Corinthians 3:18 and Isaiah 61:3
As I read this yet again in Judges this morning, I wondered how this would have any affect on my day! What can one glean from Judges other than "Israel did evil in the sight of God, or everyone did what was right in his own eyes"?
When the LORD's anger distressed them enough they would cry out to Him for deliverance from those He allowed to oppress them, "for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning..." and God raised up judges to rule over them, mainly fighting their enemies after God had left Israel to their own devices! Only while those judges ruled Israel did what was right.
Then I read My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers for today. Now being sure my mind can go into some strange places, I saw a common theme. The title was If Thou Hadst Known! Briefly, he discussed how there are things in most of our lives that have us blinded. It is something within us that we cannot or more likely, will not, cease to do when God has asked us to stop. It is our own personal act of disobedience and because of it He has shut some doors of opportunity which will never be opened again. Like Israel during the time of the judges, in our obedience we experience peace. Not that there isn't another kind of peace that we always have as Christians. But there's something internal the Holy Spirit is stirring us to do, or let go of.
Israel was reminded time and time again how they had been delivered out of captivity by God's own hand and time and time again they "forgot." They were blinded by their own desires and had not fully yielded themselves to God. Had only they kept their eyes on the LORD... Chambers, however, reminds us not to look back on those things we see we might have missed but to look to the future and what lies in store for us and yield ourselves today. (This even pertains to today's Israel.)
Then in a chapter in another book by Chambers, If You Will Ask, he was saying that we need to watch and wait for God's direction. Don't let the wait cause us to do in our own strength or succumb to our own desires. It's an active strength, something done with childlike wonder. What will God do? How will He glorify Himself? We need, again, to sit at His feet to hear HIS voice for our lives. Expect Him to do strange things. Cry out, "Here I am. Send me."
So, all this being said to set the stage...these words came to me:
What have I not yielded to You, God? What is it that brings tears to Your eyes? What responsibility of mine have I missed? What doors have been shut and what opportunities have I missed because of lack of understanding, maybe fear, indecision, lack of trust in You, pride?
If we ask for our hearts to be purified, You will show the true nature of them and we might see those unyielded areas and see behind those closed doors. Will we be prepared for what we see? Will we be grieved, ashamed? Will we recognize a time where we knew we should have responded? Will we see our stubbornness or selfishness? Will our perfectionism come forth? Will a hard heart be recognized?
Thank You that even if we missed the mark in our past, You open new doors to us today and we should not look on the past as failure but rather a lesson. Thank You for continuing to perfect us. You never stop even when we make mistakes. And we can be "confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6) Thank You for taking hold of us sometime in our lives to show us this. Thank You for the words You imparted to me today:
"This is it. Now's the time I want all of you. Heed my voice and I will perfect you. I will teach you. Sit at My feet and listen and learn. Then go out and do. I will be with you. I will be your eyes, your hands, your voice, your heart for I am with you always. You are in Me and I in you. You have My mind. Yield to my urgings and you will find contentment. I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. You follow My path, you learn My heart and you will serve to bring life to others. Do not fear--what can man do to you? Remember what I have already gone through for you. What I ask is small in comparison. Do not worry...I've paid the price. If others do not heed it's no concern of yours. You've stepped out in faith--that's all you need to do. The rest is up to me."
[You] are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory...[I will give you] beauty for ashes...that [you] may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. 2Corinthians 3:18 and Isaiah 61:3
Wow! Laurie, this is SO right on!!! Thank you for sharing His Truth!
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