All Of Our Yesterdays

Then the LORD your God will bring youto the land which your forefathers possesed, and you shall possess it.  He will prosper you and multiply you more more than your fathers.  And the LORD yor God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your decendents, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul, that you may live.  Also the LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.  And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and do all His commandments which I command you toady.  The LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good.  For the LORD will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul.
Deuteronomy 30: 5 - 10 NKJV

One of the worst feelings in the world is to lose everything you have, or almost everything, for the sake of following a false dream.  Believe me, I've walked in those very shoes.  There have been more than a few occasions where I have shunned the wise council of others around me that I might pursue some pipe dream whose ultimate result was failure.  Of course, nobody relishes hearing that "I told you so" from those around us.  And yet when presented with that opportunity for our own riches, glory or accolades, we step forth and often stumble mightily.  Maybe we truly believe in our own hearts that we know what is best for ourselves.  After all, aren't each of us ultimately in charge of our own destiny?  Sure, if we are to believe that it is we ourselves who are truly independent beings.  However, as I've mentioned before, it is our heavenly Father who is the only one true self in  the universe He created.  Indeed, our Lord is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last {Revelation 22:13}.  For without Him there would be no us, nor anything else for that matter.  Knowing this, how can one proclaim that they alone are responsible for their own existance and destiny?  As if we alone were responsible for our own creation and environment?  Not so, for all the reasons which I have stated.  How foolishly arogant  the man who carries in his heart that belief that he alone is the center of his own universe.  It is these misguided folks whom we often refer to as arrogant, prideful or self centered.  Not a good thing to be known for.

Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you - The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month.  The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.  So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locusts have eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.  You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wonderously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame.  The you shall know that I am in the midst of Isreal:  I am the LORD your God and there is no other.  My people shall never be put to shame.
Joel 2: 23-27 NKJV

It is interesting that in my bible that the scriptures in Joel 2 are titled with the phrase "The land refreshed."  For Gods people, the Isrealites, had suffered greatly in their disobedience to God.  They had been driven from their homeland, enslaved and made to wander through much of their history.  There are some today who refer to this as "Brokenness."  Will God not turn His back on one who so vehemently shuns Him?  I believe this isn't the case at all.  For to hold to this belief is to not understand the very nature of God.  For the scriptures tell us that God indeed is love {1 John 4:8}.  If God is love, how is it that He will turn His back on His children?  One of my favorite parables of Jesus is that of the prodigal son.  Here was the son of a wealthy man who suddenly desired to sow his wild oats.  So he demanded his inheritance from dad and proceeded to travel to a foreign land and squander his money on the pleasures of life.  Well, as one would expect, the lad soon ran out of money and was left with little else to do but to provide for himself.  Of course, the only man hiring was the local farmer who put him to work tending and feeding his swine.  Well, this is where that "Aha!" moment comes for the boy.  For he realizes that even his fathers servants are treated better than he is, so he sets out for home with his tail between his legs.  Expecting his father to read him the riot act, the boy intends to beg upon his father to hire him as a servant.  However, in an excellent example of our Lords love for us, the boys father sees him coming and runs to greet his long lost son with a kiss.  Does the old man dicipline his son for his arrogance and foolish choices?  No, he cleans him up and throws a party for him!  As I mentioned, this is a prime example of just how our Lord thinks towards his children, even when we wander away from Him.  There was no "I told you so" from the boys father, nor is there from our heavenly Father when we return to Him.  For as the prodigal sons father anxiously awaited his sons return, so our Lord awaits our return to Him as well.  Of course, He is never far from our side, knowing that Christ Jesus is indeed within us {Galations 2:20}.  We may take it upon ourselves to strike out on our own, thinking we know what is best for us.  However, our heavenly Father is patient and loving, not wanting us to perish {John 3: 16-17}.  Not only is our Lord a God of love and forgiveness, but one of restoration as well.  No matter how much our choices may cost us, He is faithfull to provide for His children.

~Scott~