The Long Way

Like most people, I've sometimes wondered why God does things that way He does. I'm not necessarily upset by His ways or disagreeing with His plan, but I'm just curios as to why He chose to do things in a certain way.

A passage in Exodus 13 shed some light on this for me:

"When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." - Exodus 13:17

There have been things happen in my life where I've wondered "wasn't there an easier way to get the same result?" Sometimes I wish I could go back in time a little bit and save myself a lot of trouble by doing things differently. But as this passage points out, God knows our hearts and our fears and He sees the obstacles that we would run into if we take short cuts. Something might seem easier at first, but there could be a piece of the picture that we're missing, and when we run into it, it would be more than we could bear. Like Israel being led out of slavery, we could run into a trial that we can't overcome and decide to turn back, giving up on God's plan for us. Instead, if we follow God, we'll find a path that isn't "beyond what we can bear" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

So in His mercy, God leads us around by taking the long route. He isn't disappointed or forceful with us by saying "suck it up and just plow through the short cut". He's gentle, leading us around the long path, saying "I know your fears and your struggles, and it's okay. We'll take the long way."

Refusing the Food

 

Last night at a bible study we were discussing Daniel 1:8, "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with with the royal food and wine and asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way."

Daniel was refusing the king's meal because the food was was part of idol worship. Daniel's love of God was more powerful than his desire for good food and put his life in danger for the sake on staying committed to God.

LORD, give me the faith of Daniel to say "no" to the things that lead me away from you!

Dry Trees

...I the Lord bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it- Ezekiel 17:21

God likes to turn things upside down. He thinks in ways opposite to what the world thinks. He says the poor are rich, the weak are strong, servants are the greatest. I think this is because God likes to work with humble people. In reality, we're all poor and weak, we just all don't like to admit it. We can either humble ourselves, or wait for God to humble us. One way or the other, it has to happen.

In the verse above, God compares people to trees. Then He talks about humbling them; bringing down the tall trees and drying up the green tree. On the flip side, God likes to lift up the humble; making the low tree grow and the dry tree flourish.

When looking at these two options, being a green tree or a dry tree, I'd rather be the dry tree. I am the dry tree, whether I want to admit it or not. I'll embrace my weaknesses and bring them to God, because through humility, God will make people flourish.

He ends the passage with a powerful declaration of His power and sovereignty: "I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it."

Mixing Things Up

Last week in a Bible study group, some friends and I talked about the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost and giving people the ability to speak in various languages. This was in response to Christ's commission for the early church to go out and make disciples of all the world. Since people in different parts of the world speak different languages, these early believers would need some divine help in order to communicate with those people.

I've been spending a lot of time in the Old Testament lately. Today I read Genesis 11 which tells the story of the tower of Babel. People point to this story as a warning against pride and self-security, but I think the root sin in this (and every) situation is disobedience. God commanded these people to spread out and fill the whole world. Instead, they decided to clump together and build a big city. So God came down and mixed up their languages so they had no choice but to separate from each other.

God said, "Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. - Genesis 11: 6-7

When I read this verse, it reminded me of thediscussion last week about the Spirit coming down at Pentecost. This is another instance of God showing up and mixing up peoples languages. Interestingly, these two stories aren't all that different.

The reason for the mix-up at Babel was to send people out around the world. At Pentecost, the languages were given to send people out around the world.

One difference, however, is that in the story of Babel, the languages came as a result of disobedience. At Pentecost, it was because of faith. This happened after the sacrifice of Jesus. The blood has been shed, forgiveness is now available. God was enabling and sending those first believers out into the world, to preach to those were who have been scattered for millennia, gather them up, and bring them back to God. Using those exact same languages that brought about the original scattering, God brought healing and redemption to people all over the world.

I find it so comforting to know that God doesn't scatter things without gathering it up again later. He doesn't convict without later offering redemption. He may tear down, but He will rebuild. If you're in a season of tearing down, I encourage you to seek God like never before. He will rebuild you if you offer yourself to Him.

It Ain't Easy

A lot of people don't like reading the Old Testament because they find it sad. There's a lot more people making mistakes and screwing up in the Old Testament and a lot more talk of wrath and punishment. But another characteristic of the Old Testament that isn't talked about enough is that it's caffeinated; it wakes us up and makes us pay attention.

I've been spending a lot of time going through the Old Testament this summer. When going through the two books of Kings and the two books of Chronicles, all the mess-ups in Israel's history are a little overwhelming sometimes. The people seemed like they went out of their way to find ways to anger God. But perhaps one of the causes of those centuries of disobedience is rooted in their neglect of the Old Testament, or, the Book of the Law as it was called at that point. Finally, after a string of failed leaders and horrible kings, a young king by the name of Josiah shows up. He was just eight years old when we took the throne, but his child-like innocence and the humility that comes with youth may have been just the thing Israel needed. He spent his early years devoting himself to God and getting reacquainted with the Lord that his nation had been neglecting for so long. When Josiah reached the age of 28 he decided to do some repairs on the temple, which also had been neglected and was starting to look shabby over the years. During the renovations, the priests uncovered a dusty old book—the Book of the Law. They took the book to King Josiah and read it to him, and his heart shattered.