Help Me See How Difficult Circumstances Are For God's Glory

Today's Reading
Ruth Chps 1-4

Naomi's husband and two sons both died and she then grieved and felt "afflicted" by the Lord:

²⁰ “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. ²¹ I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”  (Ruth 1:20-21)

This of course is natural - I would do this too (and I have).  Key though is to take a step back and instead ask the question, how is God using me and my experiences for his glory and what blessings may result either for me or others?

Ultimately, the blessing was the birth of Obed, the grandfather of David.

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! ¹⁵ He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” 

 ¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. ¹⁷ The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. (Ruth 4:13-17)

My Prayer: Lord, I understand that your plans while not revealed to me, are great and I am humbled that you would use me for your glory.  You are great and I am truly humbled that you can use me.  Forgive me when I don't see this.  Help me see how my current experiences are for your glory that I may find joy no matter the circumstances and bring glory to you each and every day.  Help me desire you more every day, draw closer to you, be more like you, trust you more, and be obedient to you.

Do We Need An Earthly Leader?

Today's Reading
Judges Chp 21

Must we as humans have an earthly leader to provide direction and protection?  The Israelites clearly seemed to think so and without one, sin ruled.

The last few chapters of Judges begin with "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. "  And the last chapter of Judges ends with this statement.

After God spoke directly to the Israelites through the fire and cloud at the base of Mt Sinai the Israelites, out of fear, requested to speak to God only through others such as Moses and Joshua.  Without such a leader or king, the Israelites cannot sustain their faith, trust and obedience in God. 

The question becomes, don't we place earthly people ahead of God in our lives.  We may place pastors often ahead of our own relationship with God.  For example, if we only attend church and hear the sermon once a week, don't we place emphasis of the pastor and the church above our own daily relationship with God?

My Prayer: Lord, you are powerful, wise, loving, and merciful.  Forgive me when I seek this through others - a king if you may.  Help me deepen my relationship with you, desire for you, love for you, trust of you, faith in you, and obedience to you.

God Can Redeem All That We Have Done for His Glory

Today's Reading
Judges Chp 16

Although today's reading and post is similar to yestereday's, I feel greater clarity today.  Many times I have struggled with my own sin and history and whether I can ever be free of the consequences.  Yet, here, with Samson, we see that if we can finally submit to God's great and perfect will, God can redeem and use all of our experiences, sin, and consequences for his glory.

With Samson, his final revenge on the Philistines is when he is captured after his head is shaved and he is chained to the temple:

²⁸ Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “Sovereign LORD, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” ²⁹ Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, ³⁰ Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.  (Judges 16:28-30)

I pray that I can submit to God's will as Samson did.

My Prayer: Lord, I now that you have used me for your great glory as I have seen your work through me with your own hands and with my own eyes.  Oh how you are awesome that you can use me - as I feel I am an ordinary person strengthened ONLY through you!  Forgive me for neglect and scattered attention.  Help me draw near to you, understand your will for me, submit to your will, and to be obedient and more like you.  Help me love you more each day Lord.

God Allows Us and Others to Sin For His Perfect Purpose

Today's Reading
Judges Chp 14

As Samson does here (see previous entry where Joshua implores the Israelites not to associate with sinners), I have many times ignored the clear will of God and sinned anyway.   Yet God allows Samson's sin to occur and He is able to use it for his glory and perfect plan.  See verse 4:

(His parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.) (Judges: 14:4)

Today I am not following the way of the Lord that says:

 ⁴ Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

I am a controlling person and this is a weakness that I need to give up to God and perhaps this is the way he wants me to do this - for Zach to be strong willed child and for me let Zach be and allow God to be in control - for me to submit to God's perfect will and plan.

My Prayer: Lord, your plan is glorious as I have seen you work in my heart and my life and in the life of others - praise God that you are in my life!  Forgive me for my laziness in seeking you out.  Help me submit to your will in all areas of my life, particularly with my children and Zach in particular for me not to exasperate him.  Help me with this Lord.

Do NOT Command the Lord - Show Respect and Humility!

Today's Reading
Judges Chp 13

I know I have done this before - just as Manoah (father of Samson) has - which is to be so bold as to to challenge the will of the Lord.  Manoah and his wife are to give birth to Samson and Manoah is busy focusing on his OWN will and desires:

¹⁵ Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.”

 ¹⁶ The angel of the LORD replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.) (Judges 13:15-16)

Manoah continues to question the angel of the Lord, and then the angel grows impatient:

¹⁷ Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”

  

¹⁸ He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.” ¹⁹ Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: ²⁰ As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame.  Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. ²¹ When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD. (Judges 13:17-21)

I see God's words and God's work throughout the day yet I question God at every turn...who AM I to question and command the Lord?  I should trust and follow God.

My Prayer: Lord, I am truly blessed as I so many ways.  You are awesome.  Yet I find myself questioning you often - forgive me.  Help me trust you, love you, follow you and obey.

Submit to God's Plan Because It is His Glory We Seek, Not Our Own

Today's Reading
Judges 7

² The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ ³ Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

  

⁴ But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

 ⁵ So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” ⁶ Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

 ⁷ The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” ⁸ So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.

Here we see how Gideon seeks to defeat the Midianites yet he desires his OWN plan vs the glory of God.  Yet God speaks to Gideon and reminds him that it is the glory of God that must be the outcome.  While Gideon's men ultimately defeat the Midianites, the message of glory to God is ultimately lost on the Israelites as they return to their evil ways:

³³ No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god ³⁴ and did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. ³⁵ They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) in spite of all the good things he had done for them. (Judges 8: 33-35)

How can we focus on the glory of God.

First of all, we must remind ourselves daily of what He has done for us and we must live in the light of the Lord - to be in scripture and in relationship with Him.  See my previous entry.

My Prayer:  Lord, you are truly great - I have seen you bless me and others.  You are AWESOME! Thank you for all that you have done for me and all that you are!  Forgive me if I am not as obedient as you wish.  Help me know you more, desire you more, love you more, trust you more, follow you and become more like you Lord.

Must Continue to Teach Ways of the Lord and Retell His Glory...Lest We Forget

Today's Reading
Judges Chps 1-2

After Joshua dies, the Israelites once again fall away from the Lord.

¹⁰ After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. ¹¹ Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. ¹² They forsook the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the LORD’s anger ¹³ because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. ¹⁴ In his anger against Israel the LORD gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. ¹⁵ Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the LORD was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.  (Judges 2:10-15)

No surprise.  We must remain present to the Lord daily lest we forget.  Study, pray, remember your blessings, worship, etc.

This reminds me of words I read in Deuteronomy:

⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.(Deuteronomy 6:5-9)

For God to be visible to us we must make Him visible.


My Prayer: Lord I DO love you yet I desire to love you more.  Forgive me that I don't love you with all of my heart - I am lazy and I am disobedient.  Help me Lord.  Help me draw nearer to you Lord.

Look Back to Remind Self of Blessings and as Means to Reaffirm Faith

Today's Reading
Joshua Chp 24

What comes to mind here after reading this chapter of Joshua is George Santayana's quote "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".

Here Joshua is near death and he speaks to the Israelites for the last time, retelling a brief history of how God delivered the Jews to the promised land.

For ourselves, it is important to remember the past to recall how we have sinned yet God forgives, delivers and blesses us.  It also provides an opportunity for us to reaffirm our faith as Joshua does here by challenging the Israelites to reaffirm the covenant and faith they have with God.

¹⁹ Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. ²⁰ If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”

 ²¹ But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.”

 ²² Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.”

   “Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied.

 ²³ “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”

 ²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.”

 ²⁵ On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws.

My Prayer: Lord, I KNOW you have blessed me and delivered me from sin and I am truly thankful.  Yet I know that you desire more from me.  Forgive me for my disobedience and laziness and help me draw nearer to you, love you more, desire you more, follow you and obey you.

Do Not Associate

Today's Reading
Joshua Chp 23

Once again Joshua warns the Israelites to be very careful.  Here he uses the words "be careful" and once again "be very careful" to underscore the importance of always being on guard.  Then he goes on to explain HOW to be careful.  One of the ways where we can be careful is through the relationships we keep.  Joshua explains it this way:

⁷ Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them.

... 

 ¹² “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, ¹³ then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you. 

 Joshua warns of us association which the dictionary defines here as "to join as a partner, friend, or companion".  In the New Testament, Paul warns Timothy also of this:

¹ But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.(2 Tim 3:1-5)

While there may be some variance in terms of whom we should avoid based on Joshua's warning vs Paul's, the point is nonetheless that we need to be careful for how other people separate us from God.  There is only ONE truth and ONE way.

My Prayer: Lord, your truth has set me free and I am thankful for you have taken control of my life and helped me in so many ways.  Forgive me for my neglect or your will and for my desires to be IN the world vs in YOU.  Help me love you more every day and with all of my heart and to follow you with all of my heart.

Be VERY Careful to Listen to God's Will

Today's Reading
Joshua Chp 22

Here we see how Joshua praises the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for their obedience to the Lord:

Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh ² and said to them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. ³ For a long time now—to this very day—you have not deserted your fellow Israelites but have carried out the mission the LORD your God gave you. ⁴ Now that the LORD your God has given them rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. ⁵ But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

In the same breath, Joshua warns the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh to be "very careful".  Why?  Because he knows how quickly we can fall away - we are but human, and he has seen how quickly the Israelites disobeyed the Lord.

After the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh reach their homes on the west side of the Jordan (not on the same side at the other tribes of Israel), they built an altar and without knowing more than this, the Israelites confronted the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh to scold them of building an altar of worship to other Gods.  Yet, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh and explain themselves and the Israelites find favor with the altar.

³² Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders returned to Canaan from their meeting with the Reubenites and Gadites in Gilead and reported to the Israelites. ³³ They were glad to hear the report and praised God. And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived.

 ³⁴ And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us—that the LORD is God. 

While this story seems to end well - it raises important questions, such as:
- was this altar truly God's will or was it the will of the Reubenites and the Gadites? 
- to what extent do I "take license" with God's will and substitute my own will?

Needless to say, I (and we) need to be very careful indeed.  I know how powerful my own selfish interests are and in a heartbeat I can substitute God's will with my own.

My Prayer: Lord, I know your will for my life is great and it is perfect.  I have seen how my life has played out and I am truly blessed that you are in my life and you are in control.  Thank you for the many blessings you have bestowed on me.  Forgive me when I try to substitute my own will.  Help me love you more every day, draw closer to you every day, and be more like you every day.