Our Choice, Our Consequence

2Chronicles 33:12-13 - Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom.

A glorious Sunday at church. Our pastor, Rory Grooters, returned from a relatively short but serious illness and had an amazingly powerful sermon on King Manasseh's Reversal. We can all benefit from hearing about Manasseh! Although the personal account I have to share is minimal compared to Manasseh, there is a connection. Praise God for His mercy!

Israel had determined they wanted a king to rule over them, like other nations, not their godly priests. So God gave them their desire. (Sort of like the United States which has chosen for a "king" instead of looking to God like our founding fathers.) 

King Manasseh was one of the many kings the people of Israel chose. He was the king of Judah. His reign began at age 12 and as we read in the account in 2Chronicles 33, he did evil in the sight of God, for about 50 years! 

As Pastor Rory told us: sin will swallow us up and God will let it happen. Why? Because He honors free will choices. He gives us free will to choose when we have options. And sometimes the wrong choice is made and the consequences are felt later. The wrong choice WILL have consequences. 

So what did Manasseh do that was so wrong? In a nutshell he rebuilt previously torn down high places where idol worship took place, rather than worshiping the one true God. He raised up altars for these idols and served them. He went so far as to built these altars in the house of the LORD. And to top things off, he sacrificed his own sons to these gods! He practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery and consulted mediums and spiritists. All practices God abhors. God tried to speak to him and the people but they refused to listen.

God allowed the consequence of Manasseh's actions: He was captured by the enemy. And when he felt the affliction, the consequence of his action, he turned to God for help. He repented of his deeds...and God heard him...and He forgave him. How in the world could God forgive his deeds? Don't we sometimes wonder how God can forgive us? Even if it is over and over. It's a mystery.

So, as a follow up to Friday's blog on the heartbeat of God, staying close to Him so we hear it...we also pay the consequences of unrest and confusion when we are not spending the time we should with Him. It's a choice all right. The enemy captures us, we feel the affliction, receive the consequences of our action(s). 

But God...who doesn't leave us or forsake us, nudges us to repentance. He hears and then forgives. Oh, we might not be in Manasseh's shoes but we have forsaken our first Love...even if momentarily. He is ALWAYS ready to take us back. ALWAYS. And we must not ever feel too ashamed to do so. We must not let vain imaginations or insecurities prevent us from returning. We will always have a sin nature in us. But God...has given us Jesus Christ to cover that by His blood and He has filled us with His Holy Spirit...and offers His mercy and grace.

So here is what the Lord spoke to me at the end of service during a time of prayer:

I am waiting for You. Return to Me. Seek Me. Fear not because you are written in the Book of Life. You are engraved in the palm of My hand. Fear not because you can do anything through Me. If you humble yourself, I will be faithful to forgive. Fear not--you are My child who strays but I know you do not want to. Just return, repent, come back to your loving Father, Savior and Friend. I know you don't understand all I had to go through just for you. Don't try to understand; just know I did. I love you with more love than you could possibly know. I AM jealous after you. Don't let your insecurities take first place--My Spirit is in you. MY Spirit. All my children are in different places and seasons in their walk with Me. No one is better than another. Do not compare yourself with another. You are where you need to be and that comes from My lips. Just return to Me.

Quite a far cry from the sins, the evil, the wickedness of Manasseh, but even the slightest deviation from Him is sin and disobedience. Thankfully, His mercy is new every day and remember the consequences...that dry spell, that emptiness, that confusion. But God...

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin... If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (2Chronicles 7:14 and 1John 1:9)