Ebb and Flow

2 Chronicles 29:10

Now I intend to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us."

2 Chronicles 31:20, 21

"This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered."

IN PLAIN ENGLISH

In reading these passages (and the chapters as a whole), you will see that Hezekiah purposed to turn the Isrealites around. For years, the nation of Isreal had done things in disobedience to the Lord and had turned their backs to the Lord. God had become angry with them. That lead to the desolation of the nation instead of the blessings God wanted to bestow. I love 29:10 where Hezekiah says that he will make a covenant with the Lord so that His fierce anger will turn from them. This is the verbal action of the heart of repentance. All the work that took place after that was the physical evidence of that repentance. As Hezekiah walked out the repentance of the nation, God's blessings began to flow again, restoring Isreal back to right standing. In 30:9b, Hezekiah tells the people that "He (God) will not turn His face from you if you return to Him." What a beautiful promise of redemption and restoration! And in 31:20, 21 you can see that the end result of repentance is restoration of God's blessings.

AS FOR ME

What joy this promise gives me! And how I can testify that it is true. The last week has been a bit of a struggle to keep up with the devotions as I started. It is so easy to allow the things of life to just edge back in. It's like trying to build up a wall on the beach to keep the tide at bay. You can eventually do it, but it takes perseverence and determination. When that water starts coming around the ends of the wall, just don't give up. Eventually the tide will ebb away and allow you to build more wall up so that the next time it flows in, you have a little more resistance.

The last couple of nights drove that home for me. On Tuesday night, I was telling my accountabilty buddy that I could see how my repentance had changed others in my life...Tracye and I have become united in working toward consecrating our relationship to the Lord as never before, my boys were becoming more solid in their walks, and my dad (who I'm praying will come back to the Lord soon) was filled with more joy and life than I have seen him in a long time. I know it may be presumptuous to assume I had anything to do with these other lives, but it bears witness in my spirit that the Lord is working in me and all my relationships.

Then last night Tracye and I had an issue come up that, on the surface, it appeared as if nothing we had worked for had made any difference. I tried to hold on to the spirit man on the inside of me but ended up just losing control and "fleshing out". Tracye went to bed upset with me...

This morning, we came back together and started the day with new beginnings and prayer. Then "BAM" this devotion hit me. It took Hezekiah a while to get the temple rebuilt; guess I can invest the same wholehearted attempt too. I know the resutls are going to be the same...God promised!