Continuing my 2020 Lenten Journey- with personal thoughts and commentary by Martha McDuff Wiggins on the book “Lord I Want To Know You” by Kay Arthur.
Day 39
Jehovah-shammah, The LORD Is There (Part 1)
“Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law” (Proverbs 29:18).
We are a ‘live for today’ world. Many of us want, actually believe, we are entitled to instant gratification. Many believe it is a ‘right’ (Not talking Constitutional rights here) to be personally happy, personally satiated, no matter the situation; even at the expense of others. As a result many have blinders on; have lost their vision of the future. As a result many live in captivity, held there by their repetitive refusal to leave behind their self-serving ways; captives to their world of selfishness and sinfulness.
In Biblical days, the tribe of Judah, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, wandered for forty years in the wilderness, captives to their own evil hearts filled with lust and debauchery. The LORD had rescued them from the chains of slavery they suffered under the Egyptians, only to have them turn to idolatry instead of to Him. After warning them multiple times through His trusted Prophet, Jeremiah, and promising them a righteous path to salvation, He allowed them to enter Canaan, the Promised Land of Milk and Honey. And what did they do amid all this beautiful and fertile land? They went right back to their evil ways! They also had the gall to believe in false prophets and this greatly angered the LORD. He enslaved them to the Babylonians for 70 years! However, not without hope, not without a vision for the future:
“This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile” (Jeremiah 29:10-14).
These verses from Jeremiah 29:19-14 hold within them some of the most well known and often used Biblical phrases from our LORD. You often see verse 11:
“For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
It is a beautiful and comforting verse no matter how it’s interpreted. I wonder how many know it in it’s true context, though, as a vision for the future, as a hope given from the LORD, that a release from their captivity was forthcoming, albeit in His timing? (As everything IS!) There would be many hard lessons to learn while banished into Babylonian captivity, but this was a promise the righteous could hold onto through it all.
Another you often see is verse 13:
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Many seek Him, but not with their whole heart. He doesn’t want ‘lip service’ (repeated memorized prayers with the feeling and intent long gone from them). He doesn’t want ‘tongue in cheek’ words or service (seeking the approval of men without real concern or selflessness in giving). He doesn’t want ‘words from both sides of the mouth’ (professing one Truth, but living an entirely different one). He wants none of that. He wants a heart that has been wandering, or in captivity, to yearn for, to desire only the love, rest, and comfort being with Him can provide. No other idol, man made or spirit, can have a root in the heart that seeks Him. It must be uprooted and thrown out, that He May abide in every space therein.
Jehovah-shammah, The LORD Is There, is our name. While we haven’t quite reached the point of full understanding, and we will for sure going forward, for today let’s stop here. We have learned that while the LORD may be slow to anger, (Think Patience with a capital P!) it is possible to anger Him. He may even set us aside for awhile, wandering or in captivity, but He does so while leaving a vision for the future in our heart, a hope for His redemption. If His hope is in us, His Spirit is with us. He IS there!
Mental action to facilitate your Lenten Journey:
I once read a great spiritual meditation on verse 13 above, which I will share with you. It’s from a devotional book, “A Deeper Walk” and this particular one is called, “Life’s Breath”.
—An inquirer went to a wise hermit who was known as a man of God. “Tell me the way of salvation,” he asked. The hermit led him to the river. There he grabbed the inquirer and held his head under the water. The man fought desperately to get free, but the hermit was strong and held him under. Finally, when he thought his lungs would burst and he had nearly lost all strength, the hermit released him. As the man coughed and gasped for breath, the hermit said, “When you want salvation as much as you wanted air, you will find it.” God knows that we will not truly come to Him until we realize that our lives depend on it. When we recognize that we need God more than anything, we will seek Him desperately.
Ask yourself what it is you desire most?
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Further action if so inclined:
Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt His presence in a strong and very personal way?Remember, dwell in the memory of it, and then thank and praise Jehovah-shammah, The LORD Is There.
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