Kingdom Building

November 12, 2019

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 12

You will say on that day:
I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
   for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
   and you comforted me.

Surely God is my salvation;
   I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the Lord God is my strength and my might;
   he has become my salvation. –Isaiah 12:1-2

There is one God who created us and the world in which we live, who loves us and wants only the very best for us, and who grants us an immense amount of freedom to explore and develop the talents and skills instilled in each of us. God even grants us the choice of whether we love God. The price God pays for granting that freedom is we, at times, make the worst possible decisions, we routinely worship lesser gods that do not care what happens to us as long as they prosper from our mistakes, and we even forget about God being a part of our lives much less love God.

According to Isaiah’s writing quoted above our dumb actions make God angry and still God forgives us, even comforts us  I perceive God as watching us grow in spirit and in faith much like a parent watches an infant learn to turn over, crawl, walk, and talk. In the process we, like the infant, may land on our backsides more than once as we struggle to stand and take that first step. I am glad the story of Gideon* is included in the Bible. It illustrates well our faith maturation. Gideon was a farmer, not a warrior, whom God called to save the Israelites from the Midianites. Let us just say Gideon did not think God knew what God was doing in choosing Gideon for such a task and it took some gentle persuasion.

God longs for us to reach the place where we recognize the Lord God is our strength and our might, our salvation and we can let go of those lesser gods that are keeping us from being who God created us to be.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me when I search for gods, that distract me from you. Help me to seek your ways as my ways. Amen.

*See Judges 6

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.