As I sit here staring at a blank document, I wonder what to write. I had written all the right words for this lesson yesterday. That document vanished. Oddly, I cannot remember what it said. Since then a lot has happened. Truthfully, a lot has been going on for quite some time. I would be utterly lost beneath the brokenness around me and in me were it not for that glimmering hope which holds me steadfast within. You see, my hope is not based on anything I own, nor what surrounds me. Family, work, money, health, and life are such fleeting things. Mom is desperately ill and I cannot reach her. I cannot go to her or comfort her because I left Missouri to come to Florida when my son called me and needed help. That is what one does, isn’t it? Doesn’t perfect love drop everything to save another?
Only then we find that we cannot save anyone. No amount of love or sacrifice can. The harsh reality is just that. Sometimes, we must walk away and let them fall. How often did I fall or fail God before the scales began to fall off my eyes? Is that not what we find as true throughout scripture? How desperately Moses tried to stand in the gap for the people of Israel, pleading for God’s mercy and grace to fall upon them? Yet, judgement had to come repeatedly, while only a remnant turned to God for salvation. But without the heartbreak and sorrow, would any have awoken from their sleep? Yet, there are these truths to sustain me. Therein is my hope anchored on Jesus Christ, the solid rock on which I stand. There is no sweeter name. He is my joy, my hope, and my strong tower.
Micah 7:1-6
Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit. The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so, they wrap it up.
The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity. Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
Where do we turn when devastated in our brokenness? There is only place where we find boldness and brokenness blended into one with steadfast joy, hope and love to sustain us.
Micah 7: 7-10: My Hope
Therefore, I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
Do you see what happened? There in his desperate moments, his brokenness turned. No longer was he broken against those who were against him. Suddenly, his deepest darkest brokenness was his own sin for which he repented with a broken and contrite heart. Therein, came the boldness for Micah realized that it was God only who was his salvation, his strength, his protector, his light, and his righteousness. Hope shone forth. Steadfast joy filled his heart.
The Shepherd’s Rod of Hope
The earth will become desolate
because of what its inhabitants have done.[af]
Shepherd your people with your rod,[ag]
the flock that belongs to you,[ah]
the one that lives alone in a thicket,
in the midst of a pastureland
Nations will see this and be disappointed by[an] all their strength;
they will put their hands over their mouths
and act as if they were deaf.[ao]
17 They will lick the dust like a snake,
like serpents crawling on the ground.[ap]
They will come trembling from their strongholds
to the Lord our God;[aq]
they will be terrified[ar] of you.[as]
18 Who is a God like you?[at]
Who[au] forgives sin
and pardons[av] the rebellion
of those who remain among his people?[aw]
Who does not stay angry forever,
but delights in showing loyal love?
19 Who[ax] will once again[ay] have mercy on us?
Who will conquer[az] our evil deeds?
Who will hurl[ba] all our[bb] sins into the depths of the sea?[bc]
Micah 7:13-14 (NET)
And with His rod, he rescues the sheep from the thicket of sin in which they were chained. Therein His mercy shines forth. How sweet is His mercy, though the rod may be painful—it brings the sweetest of joy later. We are to follow Him. Christ was willing to suffer and to die for us. To take all the wrath of God against sin. Why? Because He remained focused on the joy that lay before Him as He presented us to the Father, a sweet and precious gift of love. Christ is our hope in life or death. He is the Shepherd who rescues us from the thicket of sin, even if with a rod.
God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. 2 Samuel 22:33
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD?
If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you to go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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©Effie Darlene Barba, 2019
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
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New English Translation (NET)
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