07 Dec God works in mysterious ways…
The actual wording of the hymn by William Cowper (It’s not a Biblical verse) reads, “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.”
I’ve misquoted that as a Bible verse my whole life…but it’s still appropriate because sometimes things happen that I have to assume is the hand of God working in my circumstances. And when that happens I know I need to pay attention.
For instance…I was reading Daniel chapters 9 & 10 this morning. Daniel is one of the captive survivors from Jerusalem’s fall. God has led him into a position of favour & responsibility in the Babylonian kingdom. He has maintained faithfulness to Yahweh & Yahweh has caused Daniel to flourish in captivity, and has revealed His power through the wisdom He has poured into Daniel’s life.
But then Daniel is again reading the Scriptures and he reads that the captivity is to last 70 years. (You discover all sorts of stuff when you read the Scriptures often enough and are paying attention to what you read.) But Daniel reads that the exile from Jerusalem & the desolation of God’s people is far from over. What do you think he did next?
(A) Cried himself to sleep (B) Got angry at God for being such a meanie (C) Repented & Confessed his and the nation’s sins against God.
If you guessed “C”…you are correct. If you take a minute to look at it…It’s a long detailed confession. He’s serious because he knows their predicament is their fault. God’s in the right & the people of God are deserving of everything that’s happened because they have been unfaithful in the extreme. You’ll see similar broken-hearted confession in Nehemiah 1.
The Scriptures are filled with reminders that only by allowing God to expose & address our sinfulness through confession & repentance do we have any hope of restoration. Like this one from Isaiah 30:!5
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength…”
That sounds great…but it finishes with these words “…but you would have none of it.” How’s that?!?!? God leaves the door open & humans refuse to walk in & be restored. Look at John 1:11 & you see the same thing.
And then…while I was meditating & trying to get my prayers lined up around that experience of Daniel’s and trying to see what it might mean for me & Living Water…I was invited to be part of a National Day of Prayer & Repentance for Australia…via Zoom…I don’t believe that was a coincidence, I believe God was telling me we have some work to do as a nation & as a local expression of his church.
So I’m going to be there and you can join me & I hope thousands of others around Australia: this Saturday 11th of December, anytime between 9am & 6pm. I don’t know anything more than that at the moment but I think if you click that link space below on Saturday, you’ll get there. I’ll do some more confirming in the meantime & make sure I’ve got the correct info. But I’ll be there for part of the day.
And…You can also jump in to our regular Friday 1:00pm Zoom Bible Study Catch-up & have some time with your family here talking about Isaiah 11 & Matthew 1:18-25.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89477281917
Meeting ID: 894 7728 1917
Be richly blessed this week. The new year is looking pretty exciting & you don’t want to miss a minute of it!
John
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