Think back to the times when you felt the closest to God ... those moments when you could almost physically touch His presence. What were your circumstances? Well, if you are like me, the large majority of those times came during great duress, grief, and even turmoil ... often self-induced. On the other hand, the times I can recall failing the worst or falling the hardest, my surrounding circumstances were close to ideal. There wasn't anything looming over my head ... no serious stress factor.
In my reading today I was in Nehemiah 9 where the people confess their sins and the Levites praise God and plead with Him for freedom from slavery. They recount numerous times when God had mercy and rescued His people. Times would get better and sure enough the people would turn away from God in arrogance and land themselves right back in a bad predicament. When times were terrible they sought after God and committed themselves to Him. When times were good they grew complacent and rebelled against God. This cycle repeated over and over.
There are so many lessons here, but what strikes me the most about the Old Testament is how closely my own Christian life resembles the plight of the nation of Israel. When I'm down and out, oh do I plead to God! I probably pray 30 times a day. But when everything seems fine, I'll go several days without even taking time to crack open His word. How quickly I forget Him and get absorbed in my own selfish little world. All the while He holds the keys to eternity and freely offers the grace and empowerment to live an extraordinary life.
Man I'm foolish!
No comments:
Post a Comment