God the backdrop of your life.
God the backdrop of your life.
“O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.”
Psalms 63:1 NLT
At the start of a new year we don’t know quite what to expect or how we will cope with what actually happens. We realise that we don’t have complete control over every situation and things can change from moment to moment. In the milieu of life we can sometimes feel alone and God can seem very far away. We don’t hear His name and we don’t see His hand of provision, His presence so hard to sense. We are left wondering how we are going to cope or get through the day to day challenges.
As citizens of the kingdom our faith needs to be in operation even in the ‘apparent’ absence of our Lord.
‘If’ He is our Lord then we belong to Him - He is the owner of all we are, and as such He is obligated to watch over, provide for and protect us. We cannot afford to go by our feelings, for it is more than possible that our feeling are off or incorrect and lead us astray.
Even when we are wrong or do wrong, God does not abandon us, regardless of our unfaithfulness His character and nature is faithfulness and he holds Himself accountable. He cannot go back on His word.
His apparent absence is the backdrop of the story of a nation saved by the obedience of a beautiful woman. As we step onto the stage in the opening chapter of the book of Esther, I do so with baited breath. The events take place during the reign of Ahasuerus. He reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush, based in the fortress of Susa.
Some of you may be familiar with Isreal’s story and the cycle of sin in their lives.
They would serve and worship God.... their gaze fell on the idols of the people around then they would long for a physical entity that they could serve so they could fit in and be like other nations. They would begin to serve other Gods only then to be rejected by God. As judgement they would be carried off into captivity by the very nations they were envious of.
Whilst in captivity they would be oppressed and once again begin to long for the God of Isreal to rescue them and give them freedom. God would rescue them when they repented and called on Him....... they would return to worshipping the Lord. Things would be great for a time, then their gaze would fall on the idols of the people around them and the cycle would start all over again. It was as though they had learned nothing from their experience.
This was now the position that Isreal found themselves in. Once again they were taken captive, and to many God had left them up to their fate. God was ready however to demonstrate that He will not leave His people helpless or defenceless.
What do you do when you feel helpless and alone?
As a citizen of the kingdom are you aware that God really will take care of you your issues and problems?
We are in a position to cry out to God call on His name and expect Him to show up. As the Psalmist shares we are responsible for cultivating a hunger for God, every fibre of our being must long for the almighty God.