Have you ever felt like everything, and everyone is against you? Have you struggled through a time when everything you did seemed to be wrong? Are you struggling through such a time now? How do you get yourself out of the struggle? Have you considered turning to God?
We all go through struggles. Yet, there are some struggles we bring on ourselves. Often, those struggles are due to going our own way rather than following God’s way. This not only applies to us as individuals but applies to families, cities, and nations as well.
God had led the Israelites out of captivity. He had provided them with a country of their own. He had even destroyed their enemies for them. Yet, they still turned to their own desires. They didn’t turn away from God overnight. It took several years of living in comfort and peace. During those years, they began to think it was their doing that brought them peace rather than God.
God was patient. He kept yearning for them to turn back to him. Eventually, he allowed their bad decisions to catch up with them. He allowed them to be defeated. He allowed them to be taken captive again. Even as he allowed it, he continued to yearn for them to turn back to him. If only they would turn back, he would bless them and rescue them again.
Have we learned the lesson the Israelites had learn the hard way? Or have we turned away from God to follow our own counsel? Perhaps we should take a hard look at our lives. Perhaps we should determine if we are following God’s way. The sooner we make the decision to follow God’s way, the sooner we will see our lives get better with the blessings from God. But even has it took time to slowly turn away, it will take time to experience the good. God is patient and he ensures our hearts have truly turned to him.
I pray we all take time to evaluate our lives. I pray we evaluate our families, cities, and nation. I pray each one of us will submit to God’s ways and ask God to keep us on his path. Evaluate your life. Evaluate your family life. Evaluate your community. Submit to God. Walk God’s path.
Psalm 81:10-12
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
“But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.”
Marty Pressey 