2 Chronicles 30:9 Turn to Me and I will Turn to You

For if you return to the Lord, your brethren and your children will be treated with compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.” - 2 Chronicles 30:9 KJV

Sometimes we get lost in the midst of our journey.  Our roadmap gets turned upside down, or perhaps even worse is blown out of our hands and out the window by a burst of wind. We find ourselves lost with no compass, with no guide.  That seems to be the case with regards to my intentions with this blog.  The original intent, to document my yearly walk through the Bible, no longer seems feasible.  For one, I find myself repeating observations on the same stories.  The word is supposed to be new every morning, but instead of listening to what the Lord is saying through that word, for the past few months, I have been more intent on what I am going to write on a daily basis.  As opposed to hearing what God is trying to say to me, I've become caught up in my own words. As a result, not only have words begun to fail me, but circumstances have seemed to spiral out of control to the point where not only can I not write, but the rest of my life has become unmanageable as well.

My mother is coming to the end of her journey here on this earth. It's a daily challenge to watch her struggle with all of the functions she once took for granted.  Our elderly cat is in the same position.  Our financial situation is more precarious than it has been in the past.  This old house is fraught with problems as a result of the recent rains which were much needed, but have caused both the roof and basement to leak.  I have ongoing dental problems where every time one problem is resolved another crops up in it's place.  Tenants left my mothers rental house in total disrepair.  The income which she counts on will be lost until we can bring it back in livable condition.  And on, and on, and on.  When I read the above list, it doesn't seem so bad, but there are times when I am so overwhelmed all I can do is cry.  'O God',  I want to scream, 'when is it ever going to end?'   It is then that I hear his voice, when I get to the point that I no longer have words, when the silence of my situation surrounds me.  It is then I hear him gently say, 'Turn to me and I will turn to you.'  It is then I become aware once more of his mercy and compassion.  It is then that I know that all the rest, every circumstance that surrounds me is fleeting.  He is the answer.  His mercies are new every morning. 

Where I will go with this blog I cannot say, but I will turn.  I will trust without a road map, I will turn, I will follow.

2 Kings 17: No Other Gods

Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. Rather, worship the LORD your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” - 2 Kings 17:38-39 NIV

What are the other gods that we worship:  the ones that we think will be able to deliver us from our enemies?  Is it our politicians, our political system, our government?  They continue to prove themselves to be pretty inadequate.  They would have us believe they have the solution when they can barely take care of their personal lives.  Is it our doctors, our pediatricians, our onicologists, our hospitals, our drugs?  They have a pretty spotty success rate at best.  They lead us down the path of the promise of eternal youth, only to be met by yet another health problem, a side effect they never anticipated.  Do we trust in our education, our position, our achievements?  Do we trust in our bank account, our investments, our financial institutions?  They can all disappear in an instant.  Do we worship our pastor, our Sunday school teacher, or the televangelist?  They may provide insight into the ttruth, but even they can never deliver us.

There is only one who can deliver us from the hand of any and every enemy we are facing, the Lord God and he doesn't extract a pound of flesh in order to do so.  All he asks is that we call on him.  Such a simple thing and yet it is usually the last thing that we think of to do.

1 Kings 8: All Have Sinned

“When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their conquerors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their conquerors to show them mercy; - 1 Kings 8:46-50 NIV

Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived knew man's heart.  He knew how easily the heart is taken captive, how easily it is stolen.  There is something so captivating about sin.  It creeps up on us, it belongs to someone else, it looks so alluring, even safe.  Then it traps us.  The enemy winds the tendrils of everything that was so attractive around us and binds us so tightly we cannot escape.  The enemy will never let go of us willingly, but we do have a recourse.  All we have to do is confess our sins, prostrate ourselves on the rock of our salvation, and we will be saved.   God will rescue us from the power of our oppressor, he will free us from the enemy's grasp.  The enemy may not be forgiving, but our God most surely is.

2 Samuel 14: Not Estranged Forever

Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.  - 2 Sam. 14:14 NIV.

Estrangement is a terrible thing...to be cut off from one you once loved or still love, to have a mountain of misunderstanding, a gulf of careless, inconsiderate actions, separating you from the one you long for.  Someone must make the first move to bridge the great divide, but usually both parties suffer in silence, anger, and recriminations, waiting for the other to bend first.  Such is not the case with God.  He does not harbor resentment for our actions against him.  Rather, he seeks us out, he still offers a relationship, he begs, he pleads, he cajoles us, he woos us as if we were his only love.  He arranges circumstances until we at last are forced to turn and look at him, where all we see is the face of love.  No matter what Absalom had done, David grieved for him until they were once more u tied.  The same is true of God.  He has infinite patience when it comes to waiting for us.  All the while, he will not be waiting silently, but will be arranging events so we will not be estranged from him forever.

2 Samuel 7: Do As You Promised

Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: “Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD?
"What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign LORD. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.
“How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.
"And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, ‘The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you. - 2 Sam. 7:18-26 NIV

"Who am I?" David asks, and those few words show the relationship between David and the Lord God.  "There is none like you", he cries.  'Everything is done through your power, not our own.  Every great and awesome wonder comes from your hand and yours alone.'

Is it any wonder that God chose the line of David for the ancestry of the Messiah, that God's own son's earthly lineage would come from David.  "Do as you promised", David says, "So that your name will be great forever."   David didn't say, "So that my name will be great forever," but, so that God's name would be great forever.  I think that sometimes all of our prayers, that God will use us, are to no avail simply because, if we're really truthful, we're seeking the glory for ourselves rather than for God.  God's promises are always fulfilled, but they're for his glory and his glory alone.

2 Samuel 1: How the Mighty Have Fallen

"Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen!
“Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.
"O mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew nor rain, nor fields that yield offerings of grain. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.
From the blood of the slain, from the flesh of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
“Saul and Jonathan—in life they were loved and gracious, and in death they were not parted. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.
"O daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and finery, who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.
"How the mighty have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.
"How the mighty have fallen! The weapons of war have perished!” - 2 Sam. 1:19:27 NIV

Where are the David's of today?  Where are the men who cry for those who have been destroyed, for those who have been brought down in defeat?  What kind of king would David have been if he did not grieve for Saul as he did?  Was his grieving a reflection of God's own heart?

We need to understand what it means to have the heart of God.  It means that rather than being ecstatic over our our enemy's defeat, we grieve for them.  It means we look at our enemies with God's eyes rather than our own.  It means, as Jesus said, that we love our enemies, that we do good to those that 'despitefully' use us.   "You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. -Matt. 5:43-48 NIV

In order to be like our Father in heaven, we must have perfect love, love that casts out all fear.  Rather than gloating over the demise of our enemies, we should be grieving and crying as David did, 'How the mighty have fallen!'

1 Samuel 26: The Lords Annointed

So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him.
Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear; I won’t strike him twice.”
But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless? As surely as the LORD lives,” he said, “the LORD himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let’s go.”
So David took the spear and water jug near Saul’s head, and they left. No one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up. They were all sleeping, because the LORD had put them into a deep sleep. 1 Sam. 26:7-12 NIV

Why did God choose Saul rather than David to be the first king of Israel.  The people asked or a king and that's what they got, one that was chosen and anointed by God, but who curiously, let power go to his head.  Is that the end of all power?  It always goes to the ruler's head.  Even, David succumbed to the power of the position.  It turns out that those that God chooses to be the anointed ones are not necessarily the ones that follow the most closely after him.  A lot of times, God chooses the worst possible person to be the anointed one for two reasons:  to give the people what they want and give them what they deserve.  Ungodly kings for ungodly people. 

Instead of railing against the king, David chose to let events run their course.  He was confident that God was in control and God's timing and nothing else would be the end of Saul.  He was the Lord's anointed.