Amos 5:13-15 (MSG) Justice is a lost cause. Evil is epidemic. Decent people throw up their hands. Protest and rebuke are useless, a waste of breath. 14 Seek good and not evil—and live! You talk about God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, being your best friend. Well, live like it, and maybe it will happen. 15 Hate evil and love good, then work it out in the public square. Maybe God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, will notice your remnant and be gracious.
This caused me to revisit an entry in my journal from a few years ago on another prophecy regarding injustice (see below). Even when we feel like the decent people above – overwhelmed by the evil and injustice that surrounds us – we must always remember that we serve the Living God, the God Who answers, the God for Whom nothing is impossible, this God-of-Angel-Armies Who cannot be defeated.
Isaiah 30:12-14 (MSG) Therefore, The Holy of Israel says this: “Because you scorn this Message, preferring to live by injustice and shape your lives on lies, this perverse way of life will be like a towering, badly built wall that slowly, slowly tilts and shifts, and then one day, without warning, collapses — smashed to bits like a piece of pottery, smashed beyond recognition or repair, useless, a pile of debris to be swept up and thrown in the trash.”
Observation
People make up every society. We forget that people are people, whether in 1000 BC or 2000 AD. There are always people who live in a way that pleases God and others who seek only to please themselves and the culture in which they live. Because we only have a perspective limited by our mere decades of life, we often wonder why God does not move more quickly. Sometimes it seems that the wall is not tilting and shifting because the movement is imperceptible in our short lifespan.
We also are limited in experiencing the collapses that have come over the millennia, such as the revivals that completely turned a society right side up, the revolutions that have overthrown unjust rulers, and the social reforms that have succeeded against entrenched power and traditions. There is no way to explain with words the history leading up to those powerful events; you had to be there.
Impact on Me
I have experienced miracles that cannot be explained with words – miracles of provision, healing and restoration. There is nothing that compares to being in the midst of the power of God working, impacting your situation, making possible what is impossible, demonstrating that His eyes and attention are on you, filling you with a joy and peace that is immeasurable.
These kinds of experiences fill me with hope for the next impossible challenge. They also cause me to recognize that it is not what talents, abilities, resources experience or seniority I bring to the table that matter. He has gifted me on purpose for His purposes BUT it is only the submission that comes with faith, my willingness to be used and full obedience to His instructions that make my giftings matter and effective in His service. His success does not depend on me, but mine entirely depends on Him.
Prayer
Lord, Father God, Almighty, Redeemer, Faithful forever, I praise and thank You for all You have done for us all. May I never lose hope that You are faithful forever and will fulfill Your Word when the time is right and most profitable to Your Kingdom purposes. Romans 15:13 (JBP) “May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in your faith, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, your whole life and outlook may be radiant with hope.” Let me know that the wall will fall when You are ready. In Jesus’ name, I pray.
Pressing On In His Footsteps 