A Handful of Quietness: Ecclesiastes 4:4-8

Ecclesiastes is another collection of Solomon’s wisdom literature. The basic premise of the collection is that all life is meaningless, empty, without permanent value, and leads to frustration without God. It looks at many of life’s circumstances and unexplained happenings from a worldly world view and comes to the conclusion in the last few verses of the book that much of life is problematic and it is difficult to grasp why things happen the way they do. However, God is watching everything and will bring everything into judgment, so even though life does not go as we might expect it, our duty is to fear and obey God.

This year, my New Year’s Resolution or goal was to Rest. Rest my body, rest my mind, and rest my soul. It means I’ve made some changes to how and when chores get done. I’ve let some of my standards for cleanliness fall a little lower. Overall, I’m in better shape than I was six months ago, but I am still tired. I am still exhausted from living the good life. And it frustrates me so much that really and truly, I am living the good life. God has blessed me and my family so much, but we hardly have time to sit and enjoy the blessings because we are tired.

So when I wanted to do an update on my 2016 Goal: Rest, I came to Ecclesiastes 4:6 – which is wonderful all on its own, but has to be taken in context in order to be understood fully. The surrounding verses speak of the problem of labor and toil, and state that they are based in greed and a lack of trust that God will provide for all our needs.  

⁴And I saw that all toil and all achievement come from man’s envy of his neighbor.

This too is meaningless, and a chasing after the wind.

⁵The fool folds his hands and ruins himself.

⁶Better is a handful of quietness

than two hands full with toil and chasing after the wind.

⁷Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

⁸There was a man all alone’ he had neither son nor brother.

There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth,

So he never asked, “For whom am I toiling,”

“and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”

This too is meaningless—a miserable business!

Today’s advertising experts have created a competitive spirit in all of us. That “keeping up with the Jones’” attitude is real and scary. I wish I could say that I am above all this, but in truth, we still struggle. There is always going to be someone who has more money and friends, whose kids have better grades, and take vacations that look a heck of a lot more fun than our own. But the more we struggle and strive after what someone else has, the more we lose sight of what we have, and God’s purpose in our lives. Chasing after the wind only leaves us lost.

Verse 5 calls to mind Proverbs 6:10-11, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.” Yes the fool may be sluggardly and passive, and come to ruin, but a life of toil for something as fleeting as the wind isn’t a great idea either. Verse 6 basically tells us that it is better to do with less, and enjoy it fully, than to have too much and never enjoy it. Verses 7-8 confirm this too.

The man without a son or brother, who toils alone, builds up his wealth, but then can’t take the time to enjoy it because he has to keep working to sustain it. So in this case, wealth isn’t something that is stored up or showered upon the man, it is something he has built, that has to be monitored and maintained or else it will all come crumbling down and he will be left with nothing. And for what? He has no son, no brother, and no one to share it all with. Truly it just leads up deeper into discontentment, a miserable business.

However, as I mentioned before, there is hope in this situation. Better is a handful of quietness…Sometimes we have to just turn off all the noise: turn off the TV and stereo, log off Facebook and email, and take the batteries out of the toys. If we can’t enjoy each other and our lives without these things, then we will never be able to enjoy each other and our lives with them. We are so blessed in this country, but sometimes all those blessings and supposed needs get in the way of truly resting and trusting in God. What we need is a handful of quietness so we can hear Him speak and so we can learn to listen.

I guess I should say, what I need is a handful of quietness so I can truly appreciate all God has done and given me. So I can turn to Him and trust Him to continue to provide for me and my family. I need to put the to-do list away, clear the calendar, and turn off the phone, so I can just be with God, be with my husband, and be with my son. There are so many distractions, and so many things that just don’t work when they should and they distract me from what is really important. When I stand before God in heaven, I think my biggest regret will be not trusting God to give me what I needed, and not resting in the truth that He loves me and will not let me fall. The world wants us to believe that we can have it all. And maybe we can, but having it all is more often more trouble than its worth. Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and chasing the wind. Better is a handful of heavenly treasure, than two hands full of worldly riches that never satisfy and burn away anyway.

Scripture is Beautiful: John 15:16

For some reason, the fact that it is Holy week now completely escaped me. I guess that's what happens as a parent of a toddler sometimes. Apparently it is also Spring Break week for most schools out here too - but since Asher isn't in school... Anyway, I want to preface this week's post with this image:

Imagine you are assigned a huge project at work. There is a deadline, and a great reward for finishing. But, your computer is broken. It is impossible to complete the project without the computer and necessary software it has on it. It. Just. Won't. Work. No matter how many times you talk with IT, or restart the darn thing, it is broken. Your project is stalled indefinitely because there is no way for the computer to be fixed before the deadline. Your hopes of the reward are dashed because without a computer, there is no project, without the project, there is no reward. You fear telling your boss about your struggle because you have no solution.

But then, one morning, you come into your work space and there, on your desk, is a brand new computer with a note from your boss saying that he watched you struggle with trying to make your limited resources work, and was proud of your efforts to overcome, but ultimately, you needed help. This project was yours to do and would not be taken away from you. Therefore, this was not a problem you could solve on your own. You feel your spirits lift. There is still enough time to complete the project. You have been set free from your worry and you are now able to use your full talents to do the job your boss has asked you to do. Your boss has not only given you the job, but he has given your the time, freedom, and resources to accomplish it.

And this is what Christ has done for us. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5). We were dead in our sins, we had no hope of being able to produce anything to lasting eternal value. No matter how many self help books, meditations, or good works we did, we were still dead. But Christ saved us from that. He brought us out of death and into life because there is work for us to. Work that has been chosen for us to do before we were even created. So with that in mind, we now come to John 15:16:

This is such a great reminder that God has given us a purpose in this life. It’s easy to forget that there is more to life than weekends, paying bills, vacations, taxes, and death. These things are so common place and occur so often that it feels like we are living to take care of the bills or mow the lawn.

Even though these things are important, God has given us a grander purpose beyond them. We are to bear fruit, fruit that will last. Fruit that will not be burned up in the fire, but will make it to heaven and bear testimony to our faithfulness. We were dead, but God raised us to life because he has a purpose for us, and a calling on our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies.

God is saying here that we don’t really have a choice about bearing fruit, because God has already assigned that to us. This is why we were created. Our lives will never be full or complete until we live into our calling and purpose and bear the fruit that God has created us to bear.

And what a lot of fruits there are! You may bear honey crisp apples or maybe pineapple. Perhaps you will be a Rambutan or Papaya. There is even a need for stinky Durian in this world. And maybe you aren’t a fruit, maybe you are a nut! It doesn’t do to compare our fruit to others. We must focus on doing what God has called us into, and hope that we will be blessed to have many, many large harvests in our years on earth. He has given us the time, resources, and freedom to complete our assignment because He is good, and loves us dearly.

And now for a random but somewhat relevant bunny trail:

Rambutan, Papaya, and Durian were all fruits that grew locally and wild in Singapore, where I grew up. Some neighbors of ours had a few Rambutan trees, and when the rambutan ripened the trees were covered with hundreds – no thousands of these beautiful red jewels. All we had to do was ring the door bell and ask for some. They gave willingly because there were too many for them to keep and eat themselves. The two trees produced enough fruit for anyone who wanted to ask for some during the harvest season. We would gorge ourselves on these sweet little fruits and then still go back for more. The generosity of our neighbors was great, and they shared their blessings without reserve.

Papaya trees grew like weeds. You literally had to watch out because if a seed fell to the ground behind a bush, there would be a tree there before you knew it and the trees bore fruit like crazy. We had a tree pop up in our front garden, and before we knew it, we had huge, heavy, oblong, orange fruits weighing the tree down. These trees were unasked-for blessings, because the sweet fruit was abundantly available for all. But like all blessings, they have to be watched over, cultivated, and harvested in good time or else they go bad or can be stolen. Near our house was a small strip of undeveloped land which hosted huge trees and wilderness. There was a gang of monkeys that traveled through there sometimes, and they would often run through our little cul-de-sac and raid the papaya trees of their fruit. When too many of their heavy bodies climbed to the top of the trees where the fruit was, the tree would lean over and often the trunk would crack and break under the weight. Then the tree died.

Durian is one of God’s little jokes to the world. The saying is that it, “tastes like heaven, smells like hell.” Durian was forbidden to be brought on the public buses and subway because of how pungent the smell was. It was one of those things that you couldn’t forget you had because you smelled it, everywhere. But the sickly sweet meat inside the spiky outer shell made for fantastic juices, and desserts. Despite the smell, there was always a demand for Durian, and most outdoor wet markets carried them in ready supply. Durian was one of those fruits that most Westerners (read: Americans, or white people from other places) didn’t understand. But there was still a need and demand for it despite its smell.

So you see, everyone's fruit is different, and blesses others in different ways. So, go and bear abundant fruit, be faithful to God's purpose in and for you, and don't let the monkeys climb your papaya tree.

Remember Who You Are.

Yesterday I had one of the worst runs I have ever gone on. Running is important to me because, a lot of times it acts as an antidepressant for me. It keeps my heart light, and my head clear. I look forward to running, even if all I am doing is a few miles at a slllloooowwww pace.  But this run didn’t help me be more cheerful and focused, it just dragged me down. My goal was just two miles. But we didn’t even make it that far. We only did a mile. And I walked, A LOT. We’ve been having beautiful weather here in Colorado, but lately the wind has kicked up. I can handle cold, I can handle heat, but wind just kind of does me in. And when I say we, it means I had my son with me in the jogging stroller, so I was pushing a 45 pound weight on wheels that actually functioned more like a sail.

This past weekend I ran in a St. Patrick’s Day 5K race. It was great. I had my best 5K time ever – which isn’t saying much because I am still really slow, but I was on a high. I did it and I finished well. And then yesterday, I got up, determined to do this, to get in a good long run. It was only 35 degrees, but I’ve run in that before, we’ve run in that before. But it felt even colder with the wind blowing in my face. My son, Asher, kept looking up at me through the plastic peek-a-boo window in the canopy and holding his hands over his face. We quickly turned home which meant an uphill push, and my calves started to burn…bad. By the time we got home I felt like I was back down in my muddy little hole. I wanted to cry.

When I spoke to my husband in the early afternoon, he felt bad. Winters are just hard if you like to run and have to take a toddler with you (and spring forward has Messed. Us. Up.). I may not mind running in sub-freezing temperatures, but I can only bundle Asher up so much before he’s uncomfortable and kicks the blankets off and just ends up being cold again.

And then my wonderful husband texted me these pictures, and this message:

Remember who you are.

We all have bad days. Somehow, we all manage to survive our bad days too. Our bad days don’t define us. I am not defined by how my run went yesterday morning. Sometimes there are things outside of my control that I can’t change. I think God cares more about whether we show up, get on the trail, and finish, than our finish time, pace, or placement. We need to be reminded of who we are, especially on the bad days when we know we can do better, but the wind cuts through and holds us back. 1 John 3:1-2 says:

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

We are children of God! Whether we walk, jog, or sprint the race (the first place finisher could have run the 5K twice in the time it took me to finish). We are children of God who are works in progress, we are not finished yet. We don’t know yet what we will be, or how these challenges will shape us for God’s work. We have to take the bad days with the good, and keep pushing forward because one day, if we are faithful to our task, we shall see Christ. Our faith will be complete and we will know our Savior and God face to face.

It’s probably going to snow on Friday. I won’t get a good opportunity to run again until the weekend, but that doesn’t change my worth or value. I am a child of God. And He is making and forming me into something beautiful for His Kingdom and His purposes. May we always remember that God is the one determining our paths and how we turn out. He is in charge, He is in control over my life. All I can do is remember who I am because of Who He Is. And hope that the wind dies down soon.

Death and Life: Lamentation 5:1-7

This will be the last post on Lamentations at this time. It has been very insightful to study this short book, especially at a time when I was not feeling particularly joyful myself. If misery loves company, then Lamentations is a worthy companion in dire times. It reminds me that I am not the only one who has ever wondered where God is and whether He is watching and knows my struggle. To a certain extent, I have been in a pit of my own making, yet somehow I still feel like I was pushed into this muddy hole too. So often in life, our despair and trouble is our own doing AND that of the world. But if there is one thing I have learned from Lamentations, it is that all the focus on death and destruction makes the life and beauty of the cross so much more real, beautiful, and hopeful.

In this last installment of Lamentations I would like to look at the first seven verses of the last chapter. I’ll even give it away, it’s all about death and destruction. Are you surprised? But as I said before, God has an answer to this.

Remember, Lord, what has happened to us;
    look, and see our disgrace.
² Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
    our homes to foreigners.
³ We have become fatherless,
    our mothers are widows.
⁴ We must buy the water we drink;
    our wood can be had only at a price.
⁵ Those who pursue us are at our heels;
    we are weary and find no rest.
⁶ We submitted to Egypt and Assyria
    to get enough bread.
⁷ Our ancestors sinned and are no more,
    and we bear their punishment.

The poet of Lamentations confesses that they have been completely stripped of everything. Their inheritance, the land flowing with milk and honey that God won for them during Joshua’s time is gone. Their livelihood is gone.

When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant…
Deuteronomy 6:10-11

Now others live in those homes and cities. Now strangers work those fields and eat the produce of them. Just as God dispossessed the Canaanites of their land, so the Judeans have been dispossessed. Verse three continues by stating showing that the children have lost their parents, their providers, and the ones who were supposed to teach them the ways of the Lord. Just before the above verses in Deuteronomy, God commands His people, “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” The parents have failed the children, and now they are gone.

The next three verses show that they suffer from thirst, the cold, exhaustion, and deliberate pursuit from the nations that are invading them. Rather than trusting in the God that rained down bread from heaven to provide for them as they wandered in the dessert (Exodus 16:4), they turned to the nations around them for assurance and provision. Then, finally, when God would no longer tolerate the hardened hearts of His people, they received judgment. Our ancestors sinned and are no more, and we bear their punishment. It was not just the latest generation of people that caused the exile, it was everyone, from when God rescued the descendants of Jacob out of Egypt, all the way up to that fateful day. There was no generation that was better than any other. All had sinned, all had fallen short, and all had passed a tainted legacy onto the next generation, until finally God acted and enacted the consequences of failing to keep the covenant.

During this time, the time of the exile, there was a saying that made the rounds, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth have been set on edge.” This phrase is quoted in both Ezekiel 18:2 and Jeremiah 31:29. Basically it means the fathers are the ones that ate the sour grapes, but the children are the ones who pucker up and who feel like they have to gnash and grind their teeth as a reaction to the harsh taste. The previous generations didn’t feel the effects of their sin like the current one did. But in Jeremiah 31:28-30, this saying is used to show how things will soon be different.

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. ²⁸ Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord. ²⁹ “In those days people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ ³⁰ Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.

Justice will be served in a way that is different. Every person will know the effects of their sin in a way that is real and realistic. The good will not suffer for the vile deeds of the evil. God will bless those who are faithful, and judge those who are not. How is this going to happen? Jeremiah 31:31-34 continues:

³¹ “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.
³² It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.
³³ “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.
³⁴ No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,”

declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Wow. The Law will be written on the hearts and minds of God’s people. This is reflected in the ministry of the Holy Spirit who gives us the gift of discernment of our choices. That feeling I get in my gut when I know I am doing something not quite right, like not making eye contact with the homeless guy on the corner, is my heart being sensitive to God’s law stored within it. Lamentations talks about death and destruction and despair, but as I have said before in these posts, this small book has to be taken in the context of the books that surround it.

God is going to bring Israel and Judah back to life. He is going to resuscitate them, and give them new life. When they were exiled, it was as if they had been put to death – the punishment for their sins, and those of their ancestors. Only a God who raises the dead can minister to a broken and exiled people.[1] Only a God who raises the dead can restore the dignity of those who have been stripped of everything. The passage of death to life is something that should be very real to us. We need to talk about death and dying. We need to think about it, because without experiencing it, we cannot truly embrace and stand in awe of the new life that is given to us in Christ Jesus.

The images in the book of Lamentations are meant to remind us of our own death and despair without Jesus. Paul reminds us in the strongest terms, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1).” We need a God who has mastered resurrecting lifeless bodies and infusing them with value, worth, and purpose. And this is exactly what God has done. He has made us new creatures, He has given us new lives, callings, and purposes in His Kingdom. We cannot live the same as we used to. We cannot pretend that this doesn’t change everything, because it does and it should. Do we really want to go back to the place that was destroyed and put to death? Do we want to continue to bear the pain, suffering, and consequences of our ancestors? Do we really want to live—no be dead like we were before?

Lamentations is a call to remember that we don’t ever want to go back. There is too much ahead of us to take steps backwards towards death. Colossians 3:1-3 reminds us, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” We died, but we are not dead anymore. In the darkness of the destruction and despair of Lamentations, the cross shines even more brightly. It calls us to live life fully, joyfully, and enter into the light. When I am down and depressed, that is when the truth of God is so much more amazing: that He loves me, chose me, raised me to life, and walks beside me daily. We will all have down days, but the cross cannot be conquered, because Christ is already victorious over death, depression, desperation, and dread. Hallelujah!

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[1] J Andrew Dearman, Jeremiah/Lamentations, The NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2002), pg 476.

Living Among the Nations, Lamentations 4:18-20

People stalked us at every step,
    so we could not walk in our streets.
Our end was near, our days were numbered,
    for our end had come.

¹⁹ Our pursuers were swifter
    than eagles in the sky;
they chased us over the mountains
    and lay in wait for us in the desert.

²⁰ The Lord’s anointed, our very life breath,
    was caught in their traps.
We thought that under his shadow
    we would live among the nations.

The people of God were being hunted down. They were easy to pick out. They looked sort-of like everyone else, but there was enough of a difference to make them distinct. Their behavior was predictable: they didn’t turn to their God and pray for deliverance, they ran away, to the mountains, and into the traps set for them in the desert.

Verses 18 and 19 of this short passage outline to consequences of verse 20. The people are being caught and taken into exile for a very specific reason. We thought that under his shadow we would live among the nations. Here, the preposition, among, does not indicate that they were separate from, yet in the midst of the nations, rather, they were a part of the multitude that makes up the nations. This wasn’t the kingdom of priests and holy nation that God promised them they would become (Exodus 19:6). These weren’t lights in the darkness. They looked like the nations, except for, some of their religious rituals. They did just enough so they could check off the “God” box on their to-do lists. This wasn’t a people so moved and motivated by the power and strength of God that they lived their lives in such a way that made them completely different from the heathen and sinners of the world, these people sinned like everyone else and felt no guilt about it. No city on a hill. No lights in the darkness.

They got too cozy with the neighboring nations. They allowed pagans to influence their lives and their concept of God and in the end, they paid for it. In the end, they were just a hollow shell with nothing inside of value—no pearls of Godly wisdom, no righteousness, no holiness. In verse 20, The Lord’s anointed, refers to the King, Zedekiah. A quick look at 2 Kings 24:17-19 shows that Zedekiah was the Lords anointed in function and title only. “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done.” Jehoiakim, was Zedekiah’s brother. These were sons of Josiah, the last good king of Judah. Calling these men “the Lord’s anointed” mocks the people and the faith that they placed in a system, title, and dynasty. These were David’s descendants, surely that was good enough to ensure the Lord’s favor, right?

Furthermore, Zedekiah is called, “our very life breath.” This phrase also shows how depraved the people were. They thought they owed their lives and livelihood to a king, when Genesis 2:7 tells us differently: the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. God gives us life, He gives us possessions, and He can take it all away. The people thought, as the rest of the book of Lamentations tells, that they could depend on something other than God to save them; in this case, their king and his heritage. They thought they could forsake all the other requirements of God and His Kingdom because The Lord’s anointed sat on the throne.

To be honest, verse 20 hits a little too close to home because I know I fall into these same traps. I know that I feel safe and secure because of our house, cars, and possessions. Financial security lures me into not being as open to God’s standards of generosity and sharing. Savings accounts or retirement funds are not bad things in and of themselves, but when I let my security, comfort, and happiness dwell in those things, I am not trusting God. This is an election year and as entertaining as the various campaigns have been, I find myself wondering, what if so-and-so is elected. What will he do? Will he save us from ourselves, our debt, or our moral depravity? No, he or she won’t, because only God can save. We cannot trust a presidential candidate to deliver us from our enemies. Only God can do that if He so desires it.

On a more personal level, when I let the world in, and when I let the culture of this world influence me, I find myself increasingly bitter and discontent. The truth of God doesn’t speak as loudly when I come across falsehoods if I have been entertaining worldly values. I find myself desiring things so I can feel special, worthy, and good enough just as the world suggests we should, instead of looking to my heavenly Father for my identity, acceptance, and love. This must be why Paul so adamantly reminds the church of Philippi to rejoice and focus on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). When we loosen our grasp on who God is and what He has done, we begin to lose ourselves. When we make the goal of our lives to pursue God and His Kingdom, we find ourselves again.

Sometimes I feel it is easy to think I have earned my righteousness by attending church, the women’s Bible Study, doing a quiet time faithfully, and quoting Scripture to my son. These things come together to create a false God—one who doesn’t demand more of me than these things—and in the shadow of that idol I begin to believe that I can live out my life comfortably and without trouble. But if I have been covered by the blood of the lamb, then there are other things I need to think of beyond myself. Do I care for “the least of these” as Christ calls me to? Do I look after widows and orphans? Am I willing to be inconvenienced in order to be a channel of God’s grace? I confess, the answer is “No” more often than not. The people of Israel and Judah chose to ignore the heart of the law—to love God and others as themselves—in order to be more comfortable in their own circumstances. But in that comfort their hearts were lured away from God by the fading beauty of the nations.

We can’t depend on certain status symbols or outward signs of our faith to save us. Our righteousness was bought with the blood of Jesus, and we cannot earn it. We can only receive it. All the bumper stickers and study bibles in the world can’t save us if we haven’t internalized God’s word and made Him our source, our goal, and our strength. When we start to believe that something else is our life breath, we are in trouble. Lamentations testifies that God has no problem using our circumstances to set straight. The church has been through some crazy stuff in the past 2000 years, but God has been hammering her into the spiritual home and support of His believers.[1] We believe, we have His word, we have His Son, therefore, we will be held morally and spiritually accountable for our thoughts, words, and actions.[2] We cannot just pretend that Christ will readily forgive us with no consequences. Christ WILL forgive us, but we must also endeavor to live into our calling as children of the Most High God.

Every morning we have to wake up, and chose God’s way, and believe that He is the one who saves, and secures us for eternity. We cannot depend on anything else, not titles, not leaders, and not any person. Just God. He is the one that strengthens us to do what holiness demands of us. He is the one that instructs us how to live in His Kingdom and not among the nations. He is the source to our light in the darkness. May we shine brightly because we faithful to Him and His ways.

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[1]J Andrew Dearman, Jeremiah/Lamentations, The NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2002), pg 469.

[2] Ibid., 471