In years past one of the ways that I structured devotional time was to pick a topic (often based on a need in my life), select several passages related to that topic, and then read each passage every day for three weeks. As I read, I listened to see what God had to say.
The first week was like surface mining. I picked some gems without any digging. The second week was almost boring, probably because my sinful nature resisted going deeper (or maybe I was lazy). The third week was pay dirt. Each passage exploded with richness and meaning for my life. It was incredible and I should use this method more often.
God must think so too, for He has me in the same verses today as in the past few days. The focus this time is on Psalm 106:5. This verse gives His reason for pruning my life. He wants me to gladly seek His ‘visits’ so I can be saved from the power of sin, and so, “that I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your inheritance.”
My reading in Ears from Harvested Sheaves asks for a definition of “the gladness of God’s nation.” The author answers this question with grace; I will rejoice because I know that in His infinite mercy and through the sacrificial death and resurrection of His Son, God has done it all for me. My salvation is totally secured, my redemption a done deal. All I need to do is accept His gift and then rejoice in it.
In my mind, this phrase, “rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,” offers even more riches. Without reading it twenty-one times, I first think of “nation” meaning a large group of people. It seems, in the context of the Old Testament that this must be the nation of Israel, yet with only a little digging, I find that this word is usually used for Gentiles!
While the people of the OT may not have realized it, many passages point toward a time when both Jew and Gentile will be called God’s chosen people, His nation. This means that because of Jesus, I’m in that crowd and experiencing the same gladness as thousands, even millions of other believers.
In relation to the past few days, this also reminds me that I’m not the only one who has ever had to give up something that seemed a good thing. I wrote yesterday of Moses who forsook all that he could have had living in the house of Pharaoh. Moses was part of God’s nation.
Today I think of the Lord Himself who lived here only a short time. He could have allowed those who wanted to make Him king put a crown on His head. He could have gone with their main wish to make Him their political Messiah and done something spectacular to conquer the Romans. He could have made heaven on earth with His power to conquer sickness, death, even food shortages. He forsook all of these things.
Jesus explains that even a plant cannot produce anything by concentrating only on its own life and what it can do. In John 12:24-25 He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
A plant by itself is not a bad thing, nor is the seed by itself, but there are no new plants unless the seed falls to the ground and “perishes” in the soil. It is by dying that new life is produced.
Jesus also said something very much like Psalm 106:5. Verse 26 says, “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”
The blessing of being in the nation of God is also being in the presence of His Son, the One who is Lord of that great company of people. Yet if that were not honor enough, He also promises to bless me as I serve Him. Serving Him means not serving myself, no matter how appealing that might be, and letting go of whatever is in my life that He says must be released. By doing this there is gladness, fruitfulness, even honor and new life.
No comments:
Post a Comment