THE LORD SPOKE (October 14)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Jeremiah 6-7

Israel was invited to the party many times. Jerusalem received the equivalent of a gold-embossed invitation. At the fork in the road they were encouraged by none other than God Himself (Jer. 6:16) to come down the right path:

Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, “We will not walk in it.”

Did you notice what follows? The people tried to offer the finest, imported incense (Jer. 6:20). More burnt offerings and sacrifices were offered. But God says, “I don’t need your incense or burnt offerings.” Israel tried to “buy Him off” by maintaining their contributions. Translated into our day that would come out something like, “Don’t give me your wallet - I want your heart.” When we give Him our wallet we may be tempted to think that’s all there is to it. We’ve paid our debt; now we’re free. But God wants our all. When He gets our heart, everything else comes with it. The condemnation of Israel should be ringing inside our own heads because we so often try to do the same.

• “I am bringing disaster on this people...because they have not listened to my words.” (Jer. 6:19)
• “They are hardened rebels...the refining goes on in vain...the Lord has rejected them.” (Jer. 6:28-30)
• “Will you do [all these detestable things]...and then come and stand before me...and say, ‘We are safe’?” (Jer. 7:9-10)

By now, the people are probably saying again, “But, look at all that we’re offering at the Temple. Look at how faithful we are in worship.” And God reminds them, “I did not just give [you] commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave [you] this command: Obey me...” (Jer. 7:22-23).

What follows is so sad. The prophet Jeremiah is told to not pray for these people (Jer. 7:16). God does not want to hear any more about them. They made their choice. They took the wrong fork in the road. They “followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts” (Jer. 7:24a) and they did so repeatedly.

Have you ever been there? Have you ever gone “backward and not forward” (Jer. 7:24b) in your spiritual life? By the way, standing still is going backward in God’s sight. He desires forward momentum.


Psalms 55-56

Don’t you just want to run away and hide sometimes? Don’t you wish you had a “place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm”? Wouldn’t you like to run away and hide out in the desert” (Ps. 55:7-8)?

David must have been listening to the local country-western station a lot. He’s dreaming of “the wings of a snow-white dove” and thinking, “I’ll fly away, O, glory!” But it doesn’t work that way. Unless you learn the same lessons that David learned, you only take your problems with you when you fly away. The desert can howl and caves can be very dank and dark places.

But I call to God, and the Lord saves me.
Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress and he hears my voice.
He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me....
Ps. 55:16-18

By the way, it’s okay to have a hide-away. It’s alright to find a private spot where you can retreat. There’s nothing wrong with maintaining a quiet place where you can go occasionally to restore your inner being. Just make sure you do it in, and with, and through, and for the Lord! David said, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you” (Ps. 55:22). If it’s just some psychological fix, it will only work until you really need it. Then it will break down. You need something that’s bigger than your problems, something that’s much bigger than you.

What should you have close at hand in that hiding place?

1. A Bible - probably more than one, certainly your favorite one, but also a different version or two so you can read longer passages for enjoyment. Do you read Hebrew and Greek? If not, how about an inter-linear? Make sure you have a Bible that you can mark up.
2. Solitude. Do everything to eliminate distractions (a good reason to do this early in the morning.
3. Something to write with - pen and paper, colored Bible markers, your journal.
4. Some other books - concordance, dictionary, commentaries, devotional books, Christian biographies.
5. A hymn book. Pick a song-a-day or a hymn-a-week and let that melody roll through your soul repeatedly. Sing your praises to God.
6. Your prayer list. Keep in mind though that it’s much more important that you hear God’s voice (through Scripture reading) than that He hears yours.

Fly-away to your hide-away but come back strengthened in the Lord. Then show us how to live victoriously.