We stand between the past and the
future. We are to give thanks for the past. Let us “give thanks to the
Lord”, remembering “the wonderful works that He has done” (1 Chronicles
16:8,12). We are to commit our future to the Lord in prayer. God
promises His blessing to those who call upon Him in prayer: “If My
people who are called by My Name humble themselves, and pray and seek My
face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
There is work to be done. It is God’s work. God gives His command to do
His work. God gives the strength to do His work (Ezra 1:2,5). God raises
up His servants to do His work. We must be committed to doing the work
of the Lord (Esther 4:14,16).
Sometimes,
in God’s work, we wonder what is going on. We wonder, “Where is God in
all of this?” We need the encouragement of God’s Word: “He knows the way
that I take” (Job 23:10). We need to be assured of the faithfulness of
God (Lamentations 3:23). Whenever we don’t understand what God is doing,
we must learn to look up and catch a glimpse of His eternal purpose for
us: “He has put eternity into man’s mind” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Looking
beyond the things of this world, we see Jesus. We see Him as “altogether
lovely” – “outstanding among ten thousand” (Song of Solomon 5:16,10).
What
is so special about our Lord Jesus Christ? What is so important about
Him? He is our Saviour. He died for our sins. Though we had “gone
astray”, He continued to love us. He saw that we had “turned every one
to his own way”, yet He did not stop loving us. He showed His love for
us by dying on the Cross for us: “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity
of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Through Christ, we have received full
salvation.
God has made
Himself known to us. He has forgiven our sins. He has become our God. We
have become His people” (Jeremiah 31:33-34). He has given us “a new
heart” and “anew spirit.” We have His Spirit living within us. We must
seek to glorify His “great Name” (Ezekiel 36:26-27,23). With Christ as
our Saviour, we have good cause to “rejoice in the Lord” (Joel 2:23). We
look away from ourselves to Him, and we say, “Salvation is of the Lord”
(Jonah 2:9). He is “the living God” – “the God of our salvation (Daniel
6:26-27). We are to “return to the Lord”, believing His promise: “He
will revive us” (Hosea 6:1-2). as those who have returned to the Lord
and have been revived by Him, we must live for Him, never forgetting
that privilege involves responsibility. We dare not sit back and take it
easy. If we do, there will be “a famine of hearing the words of the
Lord” (Amos 3:2; Amos 8:11). We need “vision.” Looking ahead to the
Lord’s return, we must proclaim His message of salvation – “in Mount
Zion there shall be those that escape” – and judgment – “there will be
no survivors from the house of Esau” (Obadiah 1:17-18),
Before
we can enjoy God’s blessing, we must hear the “witness” of the Lord
“against” us. Before we can “do justice, love kindness and walk humbly
with our God”, we must see how far we have fallen short of His perfect
standard for our lives (Micah 1:2; Micah 6:8). We need to see ourselves
as we really are – sinners who need to be saved by the grace of God. We
must remember that the Lord is a God of holiness as well as a God of
love. In His holiness, He shows us our need to be renewed by Him. In His
love, He renews us by the power of His Spirit. When He says to us,
“Fulfil your vows”, we are conscious of our own inadequacy. When we look
to Him for “strength”, we become aware of something else, something
very wonderful – “the Lord is restoring” us to a life which will bring
glory to Him (Nahum 1:2,7,15; Nahum 2:1-2).
In
our sin, we come to the Lord with this prayer: “O Lord … in wrath,
remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2). In His answer, God directs us to the
Cross of Christ, where we see our Saviour, bearing our sin so that we
might receive His forgiveness. When we pray, we must listen for God’s
answer: “Be silent before the Lord God!” In His answer, God speaks to us
of “the Day of the Lord.” It is “at hand.” It is “near and hastening
fast.” It will be “a day of wrath” because of sin – we “have sinned
against the Lord”, He leads us on the pathway which leads to true joy.
Through Christ, we are able to “rejoice and exult with all our heart.”
Our faith in Christ brings joy to us. It also brings joy to God: “He
will rejoice over you with gladness.” He looks forward, with great
anticipation, to the Great Gathering Together of His people, the Great
Homecoming of the redeemed (Zechariah 1:7,14,15,17; Zechariah
3:14,17,20).
We must not
allow ourselves to become bogged down in our present situation. God is
calling us to “take courage, to draw strength from His promises: “I am
with you … My Spirit abides among you … I will bless you” (Haggai
2:4-5,19). Sometimes, we may feel that the Lord has forgotten us. He
remembers us. This gives us good reason to “rejoice greatly.” This joy
is not a superficial thing. It is true and lasting joy. It is the
rejoicing of those who have returned to the Lord. Never forget this: Our
rejoicing in the Lord is always vitally connected to our returning to
Him. To those who return to Him. To those who return to Him, He gives
His precious promise: “I will return to you.” “The Lord Almighty”
returns to us, and we are filled with His joy (Zechariah 9:8,13).
God
will not forget His people. As those who belong to Him through faith in
Christ, we have a very special place in His heart. He loves us. we
belong to Him. He calls us His “treasured possession.” We have a special
place in His purpose. He says, “My Name will be great among the
nations.” “In every place”, He wants His Name to be glorified. How is
God to be glorified among us? He will be glorified when we honour Him
with the full commitment of our hearts and lives. God is waiting to pour
out His blessing. He wants “to open the windows of heaven for us and
pour down on us an overflowing blessing.” He will do this for us when,
in our hearts, we put Him first (Malachi 1:11; Malachi 3:10).
May God
help us to move into the future with Him – ready to be the kind of
people upon whom He has promised to pour out His blessing.
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