Tag: God’s way

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Exodus Devotions

Doing things God’s way

Let’s be honest: chapters 36-39 can make for a lot of dry reading. Especially when you consider that much of it is a repetition of what was written about in chapters 25-30.

Chapters 25-30 were the instructions.

Chapters 36-39 were the Israelites following those instructions.

That seems to be the main point in chapter 39.

Again and again, we see the words, “just as the Lord had commanded Moses.” (1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31, 32, 43)

God had given the Israelites all the wisdom, understanding, and skill necessary to do the job. (Exodus 35:31-36:2)

But they didn’t just do things as they saw fit. They didn’t do what simply seemed expedient.

They did things God’s way.

No shortcuts. No compromise.

Can we say the same about ourselves in our work? In our ministry? In everything we do?

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Psalms

Refusing to give in to evil

Psalms

And so we come to the close of Psalm 119.

As I’ve said before, it’s an anonymous psalm, but I wouldn’t be surprised if David was the author.  One reason is how this psalm ends, and the experiences of the psalmist.

Namely, he was pursued and persecuted by his enemies, and yet he refused to give in to feelings of revenge and repay evil with evil.

The psalmist starts this section with a cry for help against his enemies.

I call out to you; save me and I will keep your statutes.

I rise before dawn and cry for help  (Psalm 119:146-147).

Yet despite all his troubles, we see time and again his commitment to doing things God’s way.

Instead of plotting on his bed ways to get back at his enemies, he said,

My eyes stay open through the watches of the night that I may meditate on your promises.  (148)

He then places himself in God’s hands, refusing to turn aside from God’s word, even though his enemies had done so in seeking his life.

Look upon my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law.  Defend my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to your promise.  (153-154)

and,

See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your love.  (159)

and again,

Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word.  (161)

Why did he live this way?  Because he truly believed God’s way was best.  He wrote,

Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. (165)

And as he closes the psalm, he once again puts himself in God’s hands, humbling himself before God, asking for his direction, committing himself to doing things God’s way no matter what, and waiting for God’s salvation.

How about you?  How do you react when others hurt you?  When others attack you?

Do you give into your anger, repaying evil for evil?

Do you say to yourself, “I can’t just let them do this to me.  I know it’s not God’s way, but I’ve got to get back at them.”

If that’s you, remember the attitude of this psalmist.

More than that, remember the attitude of our Lord on the cross.  That though people nailed him to the cross, nevertheless, he didn’t seek revenge.  Rather, he forgave them.  And us.

Finally, remember the words of the apostle Paul who wrote,

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

On the contrary:  “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  (Romans 12:19-21)

Categories
Isaiah

Clinging to what is hopeless

Isaiah

A friend recently asked me, “Why does Satan keep on fighting?  He knows he’s lost.  Why doesn’t he give up?” 

Other people have put the question another way, “Why doesn’t Satan repent?  Can he repent?”

They are interesting questions, but ones for which I have no real answers.

It would seem logical that Satan could repent if he wanted to.  I’m no theologian, but my guess is that while he could, he won’t.  His heart is too hardened against God and has been for eons.

We see this kind of attitude not only in Satan, however, but in humans as well. 

We certainly see it in this passage. 

The Israelites had turned their backs on God, and as a result, they were in exile. (Isaiah speaks of this event as if it had already happened). 

But despite seeing the fruitlessness of worshiping false idols, the people refused to repent.

Isaiah says of them,

You were wearied by all your ways, but you would not say,  ‘It is hopeless.’ 

You found renewal of strength, and so you did not faint. 

Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have been false to me, and have neither remembered me nor pondered this in your heart?  (Isaiah 57:10-11)

Verse 10 is almost a twisted version of Isaiah 40:29-31 where God says that he will renew the strength of those who wait on him, that they should not grow weary or faint. 

But in this case, though the people were wearied by their own sins, and saw the hopelessness of their situation, still they would not give up on their rebellion against God. 

Instead, they “found renewal of strength” in themselves, clinging to their sins.  But in the end, their sin would destroy them.

How about you? Are you clinging to your own ways even though you see it’s hopeless to do so.  

Don’t be hard hearted as the Israelites were.  Give up on doing things your way, and start doing things his. 

Your way will lead to destruction.  But God’s way will lead to life.

Which will you choose?

Categories
Genesis

Letting go of “My way”

Genesis

Abraham faced a difficult choice after the birth of Isaac. Sarah caught Ishmael mocking Isaac, and demanded that Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away.

It seemed pretty harsh. After all, Abraham was still Ishmael’s father, and even in their culture, it was a definite no-no to send them away. It just wasn’t done.

Yet God told Abraham to let them go. Why?

It’s possible that even after Isaac was born, Abraham would have been tempted to give the rights and privileges of the first-born to Ishmael.

It’s not likely that this would have happened, I admit.

However, we already saw earlier in Genesis 17 that he had asked God to give Ishmael that right. And after 14 years or so of being Abraham’s only son, I’m sure Abraham was still very much attached to him.

But God made it clear that this wasn’t his will.

Even more important, though, was what Ishmael symbolized: a life of doing things “my way.”

Ishmael came as a result of Abraham trying to do things his own way.

Abraham and Sarah had wavered in their belief of God’s promises, and when God didn’t fulfill his promise when they expected, they became impatient and tried to make things happen on their own.

But they were wrong. Their way was not God’s way.

And basically God told Abraham, “It’s time to let ‘your way’ go. I’ll take care of Ishmael. He’ll be okay. But it’s time to let go of Ishmael and your own plans, and totally commit yourself to me and my plans.”

And so Abraham obeyed.

God asks the same thing of us. So often we battle between doing things our own way and God’s way.

Sometimes we get impatient with God’s timing, and try to make things happen on our own as Abraham did.

Sometimes we try doing things God’s way, but things still don’t seem to be going well, so we just give up and go back to doing things our own way.

But God says, “Let go. Trust me. And I’ll take care of the rest.”

We are to trust him in our relationships, in our job situations, in our financial situations, in everything.

And as we do, we’ll start to find his blessing.