"But if from there you will seek (inquire for and require as necessity) the Lord your God, you will find Him if you truly seek Him with all your heart and mind and soul and life. When you are in tribulation and all these things come upon you, in the latter days you will turn to the Lord your God and be obedient to His voice. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; He will not fail you or destroy you or forget the covenant of your fathers, which He swore to them."
(Deuteronomy 4:29-31, Amplified Study Bible)
"But if from there you will seek the Lord..."
From there, WHERE?
The children of God were being greatly influenced by the surrounding cultures of their day. Many of them were engaging in blatant idolatry. Nothing new there. It seemed that the Lord God was only THE LORD GOD when they needed a miracle or two. Otherwise, their walk with Him was pretty flimsy.
I know. OUCH!
Moses is giving them a good old-fashioned tongue lashing. He is commanding obedience from the Israelites, regardless of how good the temptations feel at the moment.
I know. Another OUCH!
But, what is the message here? Our God is a merciful God! He will not fail you or destroy you or forget the covenant which places us in the palm of His hand. The Word clearly says, "But if from THERE you will seek the Lord your God, you will find Him IF you truly seek Him with all your heart and mind and soul and life" (verse 29).
Even from THERE.
"Oh where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there" (Psalm 139:7,8)
Even THERE.
Have you found yourself wandering from the Lord? Are you empty? Desperate? Are there other gods in your life that take you away from your Father's embrace? The Lord stands waiting with outstretched arms, ready to receive you, ready to restore you...ready to love you with an everlasting love.
IF you truly seek Him with all your heart and mind and soul and life, He will be found.
A good place to start is on your knees.
That's where He brought me this morning.
Father, we love You. Thank You for Your mercy and grace. Your faithfulness astounds me. We give You glory and honor and praise.
Even in THAT place, God will meet us and restore us as we ask for forgiveness...
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts today, Nan!!
And great big hugs!!
Bless you my sweet friend.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this passage I was reminded of the book of Hosea, one of the hardest and yet most tender books. God speak to people who are supposed to know Him, and yet are very far from His Spirit. Hosea describes spiritual adultery and its consequences. God's "tough love" includes not only punishment (I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue)... but silence. And silence is worse.
ReplyDeleteI will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.
When the Lord removes His perceived presence and makes us feel how far from Him we truly are (It's not a question of Him being far, it's actually us shutting Him out!), there is hope. If we can get to the point of awareness (like the story of the prodigal son), then we can come back to the Father.
The real problem would be NOT feeling our lostness, thinking/feeling we are ok when we aren't.
Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.
Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.
He will bring restoration to those that earnestly desire to be restored.