August 4, 2010 As Long As She Lay Desolate

Sometimes I forget to do the most obvious thing: look into the Word and see what God is revealing about Himself.  Isn't that what it's all about?  There are a few things I noticed about Him in the Chronicles passage today.  1) He's compassionate, 2) He keeps His Word, and 3) He's in control.  I don't really need to go into all that, as these things are shown clearly in what we read.  We know these are supposed to be traits of God, but do we recognize them for what they are when He's revealing Himself to us in our daily life?

Usually, it's in hind sight that I can recognize that God's hand was clearly visible in all that was going on in my life.  Whenever I've been in a tough place that seems dark and threatening, it's not always been obvious that God was with me.  But He always has been.  It's good to remember hard times in which have we gained understanding about His ways, and how He used all things for our good.  If we can't remember anything helpful in our own life, it's wise to talk to someone who can, and who can help us see.  Reading the Word can also illuminate what the Lord is doing with us in the midst of darkness and distress.

One verse stood out to me and ministered to me strongly about my own life: "As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years."  I know this is speaking of the land of Israel, but I take it to heart, as my body and my life are my own land.  It reminded me of what the Lord had said to me a little while ago, that I was in a "fallow year" (this had to do with writing music in particular).  If you'll remember, the tilled land was to lay unused for a season every seventh year, to give it and the laborers a rest.  (Exodus 23: 10-12).  The people were also to keep the Sabbath day of rest every week.  These are principles that go beyond Old Testament law.  If we don't rest and keep our focus on the Lord, bad things happen.  On the other hand, there are many other Scriptures that exhort us to stop vacationing and "break up your fallow ground." 

The Lord knows us and what we need, and if we follow the leading of the Spirit, we'll stay in step with Him and keep the Sabbaths we might need to take (some might think of them as fasts). If we don't, it seems that God has a way of intervening and making sure that we get the needed rest.  Sometimes it's our bodies that intervene, by simply breaking down because of the stress we've put them under.  I suppose when this happens it's because we weren't listening.  In the down times, we can feel that everything that meant something to us is stripped away.  While we are desolate though, we often seek the Lord as we should have been seeking Him all along-- with more depth and passion.

I'm always inspired by the Psalms, especially David's, as his response to difficulty was always to seek the Lord.  His greatest desire was always to be close to the Lord, but I think it was in the times of dire distress that his focus was clarified:
     
"One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.
For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock."
Psalm 27:4-5 NKJV
 
Maybe our weekly Sabbath rest, our break from our workaday life when we put our focus on the Lord, is our practice run.  It's when we have to face a layoff, an illness, a death in the family or other major loss, or a period of fierce opposition that we really put into practice what we have learned: that God is our refuge-- that He's compassionate, that He always keeps His word, and that although He did not cause our catastrophe, He's still and will always be, in control.
 
To study on your own:
What other traits of God did you see in the OT passages? 
What did Corinthians reading reveal to you about God? 
Can you think of examples of how He's revealed these characteristics to you in your own life? 
What is He doing with you right now?