Am I Desperate Enough?

""For the LORD will vindicate His people, And will have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their strength is gone, And there is none remaining, bond or free. "And He will say, 'Where are their gods, The rock in which they sought refuge? 'Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, And drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you, Let them be your hiding place! 'See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand."  (Deuteronomy 32:36-39 NAS95S)

Observation:  God vindicates the victim; whether we have been victimized through our own hand or the hand of another.  God vindicates the addict; whether our addiction was self-induced or passed down through generations.  The reality of God's vindication comes when we are at a point of paralysis, when all our strength is gone, when our addictions can no longer numb the pain, when they have before afflictions in and of themselves.

Application:  Am I at that point?  Am I desperate enough for God?

Prayer:  O Lord bring me to the point that You may vindicate my life.  Place me in the position of desperation.  Put me where You can shape me into Your likeness; wound so that you may heal, kill so that you may bring back to life.  Amen!

Respect the Past

"Then they came near to him and said, "We will build here sheepfolds for our livestock and cities for our little ones; but we ourselves will be armed ready to go before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place, while our little ones live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land." (Numbers 32:16-17 NAS95S)

Observation:  The sons and Gad and Reuben were not intimidated by past experience, but neither were they resistant to it.  

Application:  Often in the church, we are confronted with nay sayers.  People who say we can't do this because... Because God closed a door.  Because we tried it.  Because, because, because.   But, But, But.  

However, what I hear the Lord saying through this story is:  Respect the past as You move forward into the future.  And respecting the past is all about respecting the people to who it is still the present.  Respecting the God to whom it is still the present.  You have nothing to fear for the future except you forget how I have led you in the past.

Prayer:  O dear Jesus.  Help me to listen to what you are saying out of the past.  Make my heart receptive to the voice of history.  May I learn from the mistakes of others rather than repeating them.  May I honor those who are my elders.  May I listen to their voice of wisdom but not be paralyzed by it.  Grant Your favor that I might influence the elders in my life with honor, respect, and vision.  In Your name Lord Jesus.  Amen!