So...the Lord brought me to Micah 7 this morning...a book in Scripture I haven't read in quite a while. I read it through once, quickly, and it resonated. Read it through again, and resonated more...and then processed with Joshua why it did so and I found myself encouraged. Soooooo I am going to share the passage with whoever you are reading!
MICAH 7
Wait for the God of Salvation
1 Woe is me! For I have become
as when the summer fruit has been gathered,
as when the grapes have been gleaned:
there is no cluster to eat,
no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
2 The godly has perished from the earth,
and there is no one upright among mankind;
they all lie in wait for blood,
and each hunts the other with a net.
3 Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well;
the prince and the judge ask for a bribe,
and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;
thus they weave it together.
4The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
(There is no one...NO ONE righteous in this world...it is such a desolate picture, even those that are Christians, are dried up, there is no first ripe fruit our soul desires. This makes me think of living as one of God's children, lacking the desire for our first Love, our soul's one passion. Dry. Discouraged in the midst of evil)
The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come;
now their confusion is at hand.
5 Put no trust in a neighbor;
have no confidence in a friend;
guard the doors of your mouth
from her who lies in your arms;
6 for the son treats the father with contempt,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
7But as for me, I will look to the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
(WOW! This is also such a dark picture, but it really paints for me the reality of why I so often feel alone in the world. Disappointed by those who claim to love Christ but don't live like it. And wow at the extreme of family coming against each other. Basically, the point is...this is NOT our home. We are all living in the shadow of reality. We were not created to live in sin, but in relationship with the FATHER and as we are in rebellion, waiting for the God of our Salvation, we live in constant awareness, disappointment in the sin of our brethren...IF we are putting our hope in them and not God. BUT...as for ME...I will look to the LORD...my God will hear me. He is my/our hope...)
8 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be a light to me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
I shall look upon his vindication.
10 Then my enemy will see,
and shame will cover her who said to me,
"Where is the LORD your God?"
My eyes will look upon her;
now she will be trampled down
like the mire of the streets.
(In our sinfulness...we WILL fall. We WILL sit in darkness. We sit in it as we live in this world. BUT...we have the Lord who IS our light. He doesn't give us light...but He himself IS the light! The Hope. The way. And, as we sit in darkness, we will bear it, because we too...all of us...have sinned against Him. We wait here UNTIL he pleads our cause and gives us judgment. We will be brought out of darkness into the light...into HIM....We will SEE the Lord and His mighty works and the enemy will be trampled. We don't have to be discouraged by the questioning of of "where is the Lord your God?" It isn't a question of God's existence but His ability to save. And we have that promise. Praise Him!)
11 A day for the building of your walls!
In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
12 In that day they will come to you,
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,
from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13 But the earth will be desolate
because of its inhabitants,
for the fruit of their deeds.
(People from all places and nations...the remnants of God's ppl will come together...God's Salvation is extended to all places/nations/peoples!)
14 Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
who dwell alone in a forest
in the midst of a garden land;
let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old.
15 As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show them marvelous things.
16 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
their ears shall be deaf;
17 they shall lick the dust like a serpent,
like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their strongholds;
they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God,
and they shall be in fear of you.
(Even though we are let down by God's own people...as we let people down ourselves...we are not to give up on people. NO, we are not to put our trust or hope in them, no one but the Lord, BUT the Lord STILL calls us to shepherd our people. Our flock. Interesting that these people are described as "alone." As believers, is this not one of the greatest battles? To be willing to stand alone in the world as we live not FOR the world but just IN it...living in an eternal mindset? We will be rejected by the world, and therefore, "alone." However, God calls us to gather together, take care of each other, and live in the mindset of Israel when they were brought out of Egypt. We are to expect Him to do great and mighty things! All nations will see the testimony of God working marvelous deeds in His people...***we also have the responsibility (joyful one) of testifying these works to all generations, making known to the world the greatness of our God!***
And...while those who are in darkness, not letting Christ be their light...they see the mighty works of the Lord and turn to Him in fear. In dread. Praise God...but we that live in the light of Christ...can turn to Him in praise...and in HOPE!)
God’s Steadfast Love and Compassion
18 Who is a God like you,pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.
(Praise Him. Who IS like God who takes our darkness and turns us to light? He has compassion on the remnant (a small remnant) of His inheritance.. He is faithful to complete the work He has started...He will not retain His anger forever, He will pass over our transgression...and He DEliGHTS in STEADFAST love!! All our sins cast into the depths of the sea. God doesn't say He MIGHT show faithfulness to us...or love...but He WILL and He has SWORN it. THerefore, we have this security and HOPE. In the midst of the heaviness of this world, it too shall pass, and we can wait for the Salvation of our God. We have been redeemed! This world is a passing shadow, and our home everlasting is soon to come. AMEN.)
MICAH 7
Wait for the God of Salvation
1 Woe is me! For I have become
as when the summer fruit has been gathered,
as when the grapes have been gleaned:
there is no cluster to eat,
no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
2 The godly has perished from the earth,
and there is no one upright among mankind;
they all lie in wait for blood,
and each hunts the other with a net.
3 Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well;
the prince and the judge ask for a bribe,
and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;
thus they weave it together.
4The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
(There is no one...NO ONE righteous in this world...it is such a desolate picture, even those that are Christians, are dried up, there is no first ripe fruit our soul desires. This makes me think of living as one of God's children, lacking the desire for our first Love, our soul's one passion. Dry. Discouraged in the midst of evil)
The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come;
now their confusion is at hand.
5 Put no trust in a neighbor;
have no confidence in a friend;
guard the doors of your mouth
from her who lies in your arms;
6 for the son treats the father with contempt,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
7But as for me, I will look to the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
(WOW! This is also such a dark picture, but it really paints for me the reality of why I so often feel alone in the world. Disappointed by those who claim to love Christ but don't live like it. And wow at the extreme of family coming against each other. Basically, the point is...this is NOT our home. We are all living in the shadow of reality. We were not created to live in sin, but in relationship with the FATHER and as we are in rebellion, waiting for the God of our Salvation, we live in constant awareness, disappointment in the sin of our brethren...IF we are putting our hope in them and not God. BUT...as for ME...I will look to the LORD...my God will hear me. He is my/our hope...)
8 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be a light to me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
I shall look upon his vindication.
10 Then my enemy will see,
and shame will cover her who said to me,
"Where is the LORD your God?"
My eyes will look upon her;
now she will be trampled down
like the mire of the streets.
(In our sinfulness...we WILL fall. We WILL sit in darkness. We sit in it as we live in this world. BUT...we have the Lord who IS our light. He doesn't give us light...but He himself IS the light! The Hope. The way. And, as we sit in darkness, we will bear it, because we too...all of us...have sinned against Him. We wait here UNTIL he pleads our cause and gives us judgment. We will be brought out of darkness into the light...into HIM....We will SEE the Lord and His mighty works and the enemy will be trampled. We don't have to be discouraged by the questioning of of "where is the Lord your God?" It isn't a question of God's existence but His ability to save. And we have that promise. Praise Him!)
11 A day for the building of your walls!
In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
12 In that day they will come to you,
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,
from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13 But the earth will be desolate
because of its inhabitants,
for the fruit of their deeds.
(People from all places and nations...the remnants of God's ppl will come together...God's Salvation is extended to all places/nations/peoples!)
14 Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
who dwell alone in a forest
in the midst of a garden land;
let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old.
15 As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show them marvelous things.
16 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
their ears shall be deaf;
17 they shall lick the dust like a serpent,
like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their strongholds;
they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God,
and they shall be in fear of you.
(Even though we are let down by God's own people...as we let people down ourselves...we are not to give up on people. NO, we are not to put our trust or hope in them, no one but the Lord, BUT the Lord STILL calls us to shepherd our people. Our flock. Interesting that these people are described as "alone." As believers, is this not one of the greatest battles? To be willing to stand alone in the world as we live not FOR the world but just IN it...living in an eternal mindset? We will be rejected by the world, and therefore, "alone." However, God calls us to gather together, take care of each other, and live in the mindset of Israel when they were brought out of Egypt. We are to expect Him to do great and mighty things! All nations will see the testimony of God working marvelous deeds in His people...***we also have the responsibility (joyful one) of testifying these works to all generations, making known to the world the greatness of our God!***
And...while those who are in darkness, not letting Christ be their light...they see the mighty works of the Lord and turn to Him in fear. In dread. Praise God...but we that live in the light of Christ...can turn to Him in praise...and in HOPE!)
God’s Steadfast Love and Compassion
18 Who is a God like you,pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.
(Praise Him. Who IS like God who takes our darkness and turns us to light? He has compassion on the remnant (a small remnant) of His inheritance.. He is faithful to complete the work He has started...He will not retain His anger forever, He will pass over our transgression...and He DEliGHTS in STEADFAST love!! All our sins cast into the depths of the sea. God doesn't say He MIGHT show faithfulness to us...or love...but He WILL and He has SWORN it. THerefore, we have this security and HOPE. In the midst of the heaviness of this world, it too shall pass, and we can wait for the Salvation of our God. We have been redeemed! This world is a passing shadow, and our home everlasting is soon to come. AMEN.)
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