At that time the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, called you to weep and mourn. He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse. But instead, you dance and play; … You say, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” — Isaiah 22:1-14
As our plan began to unravel in a slow and painful way, I had many opportunities to consider what went wrong.
How did we miss the voice of the Lord so badly?
That old devil is a sneaky and destructive foe.
He saw us leaning a certain way and gave us a little push and over we went.
I personally had two conversations of direct warning, but didn’t heed them out of a prideful self-assuredness.
Oh, how I regret that today.
Because of moments like that, I really hesitate to throw stones at the people in scripture who failed to heed warnings as well.
The prophet Isaiah warned the people of Israel over and over again.
Turn!
Repent!
Choose life!
The path they were leaning into was a literal dead-end.
They had a chance to change course, but instead they chose to go over the cliff while they drank and feasted.
There is a remedy for all the wrong things we’ve said and done.
We don’t have to do life smothered under the weight of our guilt and shame.
God has made a way, a narrow one, but still a way into his presence, blameless with great joy.
The Way is Jesus.
We walk it by humbly recognizing our sin and need for his forgiveness.
Turn.
Ask for his help.
As the Proverb says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it is the way of death.”
So, what’s the plan?
God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: at the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth. — Ephesians 1:1-23
After running around in circles, into each other and nowhere in particular, we decided to huddle up and actually make a play.
We discovered that a plan allowed the quarterback to throw the ball sooner and with greater confidence.
Who knew? Even a kid’s pick-up football game would benefit from simply having a plan.
Paul begins his letter to the church in Ephesus reminding them of the extravagant blessings God has poured out into their lives.
God had blessed them so thoroughly and so frequently it was nothing less than a full-on shower of them. He then reminded them of the plan that God would soon put all authority into the hands of Jesus.
Imprisoned and persecuted, Paul was fully aware of the challenges facing this fledgling church.
Their decision to follow Jesus was going to invite trouble.
Trials of many kinds is what Jesus said to expect.
In the midst of those trials, it’s easy to lose sight of the much bigger picture.
We must rise above the noise and chaos to embrace the resurrection-proven truth that God will make everything work out according to his plan.
The allure
For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. — Psalm 73:1-28
It was so shiny and so new.
“After all,” I said, “everyone else has a new car, why shouldn’t we?”
The answer was painfully obvious.
We couldn’t afford it.
None of my funny math added up when the first car payment came due.
It was only by the grace of God that we were able to sell it before the bank sent out their repossession team.
Asaph went on that same hard journey everyone seeking to follow God will have to walk.
He saw people who were unjust, prideful and God-rejecting thriving in the worldly sense.
They had wealth.
They had health.
They were at ease and problem-free.
Asaph had none of that because he was committed to God’s ways.
He was faltering.
He was bitter.
However, he came to his senses and remembered, temporary is still temporary and eternal is still eternal.
The allure of the things and the pleasures of this temporary world is so strong and so in your face.
We see people doing whatever they want, with whoever they want, whenever they want.
The siren’s call to go after what they have gets louder every day.
We must look up and look beyond the end of our noses.
Jesus’ words penetrate the crazy.
“What does it profit a person if they gain the whole world and forfeit their soul?
Tom Wiles is senior minister of Fall Creek Christian Church in Pendleton. He can be reached at 765-778-3166.
