30 More Days... Day 24

Is. 33:1 Woe to you who plunder, though you have not been plundered;
And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you!
When you cease plundering,
You will be plundered;
When you make an end of dealing treacherously,
They will deal treacherously with you.
Is. 33:2 O LORD, be gracious to us;
We have waited for You.
Be their arm every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of trouble.
Is. 33:3 At the noise of the tumult the people shall flee;
When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered...

Is. 37:14  And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.
Is. 37:15 Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, saying:
Is. 37:16 “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
Is. 37:17 Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.
Is. 37:18 Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands,
Is. 37:19 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them.
Is. 37:20 Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD, You alone.”
Is. 37:21  Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me...

There is not one of us that doesn’t see times of distress in our lives. We have all had to weather various storms. There is not one of us that hasn’t been at one point or another in our lives treated unfairly. We have seen injustice. We have been attacked without provocation. We have had mean and hurtful words spoken to and against us. We feel those times deeply. We dread them and remember them with dread.

How did we get through those times? How did we weather the storm? When attacked did we counter-attack? When wronged did we repay? When schemed against did we counter-scheme? In what do we place our faith in times of hurt, heartache, attack and trouble? Are we ready to revenge ourselves? Are we going to fight or flee? Those may seem like the only 2 options. In fact, it is so against our nature to sit still and pray. It is so against our nature to “wait” upon the Lord. We have to do something. You can’t just sit. “God helps those who help themselves (this is not found in the Bible).”

In fact, we often see that it is when the people are most helpless, that God rises up in power. When the injustice seems unbearable, then we see God move. In Isaiah chapters 33 & 37 we see the people of Israel in distress. Nations have come against them. They have been threatened. They have seen injustice and experienced threats. While they still have their cities and their weapons, they are also faced with a superior force. All of their fight and all of their preparation still look like nothing compared to the odds against them. They pray.

It is important that we wait upon the Lord. We have seen that over and over again throughout these past days together. It is important that we rely on Him in prayer. Time after time, story after story, people and nations, tribes and armies have been brought to the end of themselves and cried out to the Lord and He has heard and answered.

What is most interesting to me here is not the need to cry out or that they did ... of course they should ... it is God’s timing that is interesting.

It is in these times of distress that we often have the most trouble with God’s timing. We remember King Saul when faced with a Philistine army, his own army frightened and fleeing and a prophet Samuel who was late to arrive. Saul offers the sacrifice that was not his to offer in a human attempt to hold the army together. God rebukes him for his presumption. There are many times when God seems slow in responding. He seems slow in keeping His promises. The people of Israel in slavery for 400 years. Throughout the Psalms we see phrase like “how long”. Habakkuk echos such cries when he sees the injustice around him. God where are you.

Yet, here we see two instances of people crying out to God. They wait upon Him. Everything is looking bleak. How can they survive. If God doesn’t act, that will be all.

God knows the hearts of men. There are reasons for Him waiting. He is mighty to save and He does save, but sometimes it seems long in coming. He does it so that when He does rise up that there is no pride left for the honest person to hold onto. He does it so that His name will be magnified.

We have this bad habit of thinking that God should answer us on our terms and timetable. That we know what is best. At least what is best for us. Hezekiah prays and his prayer, as we read it, seems more (if not at least as) concerned with God’s glory and Him being shown to be the gracious and glorious God that He truly is. In Chapter 33 the prayer is consists of more about proclaiming who God is than it is about asking Him to be gracious. Often people are concerned most with what is best for them. God is concerned with more than that. He is looking not only for what is best for us but what is best for all around. He is concerned with what shows that He is God in heaven and we are just on earth. That He is infinite and we are finite.

Christian is at that age when he is able to do things. He is learning about safety. How he should act in a parking lot. How he should ride his bike. How he should cross the road. He is learning well. There are those times though, that he thinks he knows better. There are times when he wants to be more independent than he should be at this age. Mommy and Daddy really do know better, but he thinks he knows something as well. It can bring about a conflict of words (often) and (sometimes) actions. He doesn’t want to and doesn’t understand why he has to wait on us. It is not so different with us and God.

So there are times that God puts us in situations that place us in a position where he can teach us and help us to understand His glory and goodness, his wisdom and understanding. Sometimes He is just waiting for us to get to the place where we finally call on Him and recognize Him for who He is. Sometimes He is waiting for us to seek first that His name be hallowed. When we do He is ready to answer, to shake the mountains and to extend His mighty arm.

Prayer Request
*Pray for us as we bring up Christian and Julia. We ask for wisdom, strength and ability from God to bring them up in a manner that is pleasing to and honors God. Pray for us as we make decisions concerning their education and development. Pray especially for Olya. Pray for them as they grow up in multiple cultures and languages to find ways to thrive in them.