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?

July 15, 2010 When Kings Go Out To Battle

What jumped out at me today was a phrase I'd noticed before, but never thought to wonder about: in the spring of the year, at the time kings go out to battle.(1 Chronicles 20:1).  I wondered what the spiritual significance of this was, and I asked the Lord about it.  I was expecting to read about David's affair with Bathsheba, since the same phrase was used in that story.  I looked it up: it is 2 Samuel 11:1, but this was a different account of David.  In both accounts, it says that Joab went out against Ammon and besieged Rabbah, but that David stayed in Jerusalem in the spring of the year, at the time kings go out to battle.  Whether both accounts are the same period of time, I do not know.  It is not in the boundaries of this devotional that I do external research.  I will leave this mystery for later, and you can go study it for yourself if you wish.

One thing is clear, there are seasons when we should be battling the enemy, and if we're not, then we'll surely end up devastated.  Going from historical ignorance here, but not spiritual ignorance, I'd say it is quite possible that this was one particular time period in David's life.  It seems, from the way he took and wore the defeated king's crown instead of dedicating the gold to the Lord-- as he had always done before-- that he was falling into pride.  When we're prosperous and feel powerful and undefeatable, luxury and a feeling of complacency certainly have a way of leading us away from humility and hard work and into pride and laziness.  "Let other people do it; this is my due."

In our reading, although there is great time-compression in this chronicle, it is revealing to see what happened over the census David decided to do.  Pride again seems to be the open door here for the sinful choice he made.  "Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel." 1 Chroncles 21:1  The consequences for this were devastating, and God's judgment brought David to a place of humility again.  Pride and not fearing the Lord go hand in hand.  Pride is iniquity of the spirit, and it was Satan's downfall, remember-- he is particularly attuned to it and empowered by it.

In our individual lives, pride opens the door for the devil to steal, kill and destroy.  Resisting the devil requires submitting to God, and that requires humility.  (James 4:7) Humility is one of the best of our weapons of warfare.  In a nation's life, pride in the hearts of those in leadership (government) opens the door for satanic attack, and also God's judgment-- which falls on the people the government was supposed to bless and protect.  Rather than lash out in anger, it is wise for the people in a nation to humble themselves and pray for their leadership.  I've been convicted many times of not doing this seriously enough.  What I read in the Word today gives me strong incentive.

I still want more revelation about the time kings go out to battle.  It was in the spring.  To me that says it's the time when things that have already been planted and established are beginning to bud (spiritual or natural, and it's a different time for everyone).  That means that another harvest is on its way, and each harvest should be greater than the last (for a natural example-- a harvest from an apple orchard).  Satan wants to keep us and our life efforts from bearing any fruit;  if there's something established in our life that he hasn't been able to destoy, he's going to want to keep the harvest from happening:  "nip it in the bud."  Every spring, it's the same.  The bully wants to create a famine for us if he can.  If we're proud and lazy-- or simply don't have a clue --  we'll lose the fruit of our labors.  This was to be our provision, our offering to the Lord, and a blessing to the poor. 

You know spring is a reality, therefore you need to understand the season and go out to battle.  The person who has the initiative can take the high ground, or choose the most strategic battlefront.  Why wait for the devil to barge in and take what's yours (by the blessing of God and the work of your hands)?  You know he's just going to keep doing the same thing until he realizes it's futile.  So don't be proud, lazy or stupid!  Pick up your Sword and go out against him.