The past few weeks have certainly been heavy. All of my time
has been spent in the world of the first couple generations of the Israelites.
It’s been bittersweet as God’s glory, grace and love are shown over and over
again, but only to be met with the unfaithfulness and idolatry of His people.
They remind me so much of myself, over and over again declaring my love and
faithfulness to God and yet, rejecting Him in a million ways the next day.
However, His grace is still abundant. PRAISE GOD!
This week, I was reading in Psalm 81. The nation of Israel
is called to sing out and rejoice over God’s faithfulness to the people in the
face of their rejection. God says, “If you would but listen to me!” God desired
for them a life of peace, relationship with Him. He desired to bless them and
show His love to them every moment of every day. Instead, they constantly chose
their own path, seeking to make their own way through the world; making
themselves god. They refused to faithfully worship the real God and chose to
worship the gods they created; a human way of controlling their life.
The nation of Israel, in PS 81 is called to rejoice over the
fact that God had turned them over to destruction. They are to see it as a
blessing that God chose to curse His people with their enemies having rule over
them. The nation of Israel is to see that their relationship with God is worth
more than anything and so, because this cursing caused them to turn back to God,
they consider it a blessing and praise God for it.
This really challenges me. There have been many consequences
in my life for the sin of myself and for that of those around me. There is no
way I could honestly say I have lived as if these were also blessings. But,
they are! My relationship with God, today, is stronger than it’s ever been. I’m
in Taiwan studying His Word and having the amazing opportunity of deepened
relationship with Him. I know that the pain I’ve suffered in life would never
have been God’s intention. But what thankfulness I’m beginning to have that He
didn’t just let me live my life in peace, never feeling the weight of my sin.
Because of His actions towards me, I’ve turned away from a dead and sinful
life. I’ve come into relationship with the Creator God whose desire is for me
to live in peaceful relationship with Him, carrying out His will on earth and
being led by Him every step of the way.
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