I have always wanted to witness the majesty of the Redwood and Sequoia trees in California. They have always captured my imagination and even their pictures blow me away. It’s amazing to do research on how they utilize the same good and life-giving sunlight, water, and soil that every plant needs. Yet, one thing that distinguishes them from almost any other plant life is how both trees have thick bark, high water content, and the ability to resprout from dormant buds. In other words, they are highly resistant to fire. When there’s a fire, it burns away a lot of other growth but not them, and the fire helps make the soil nutrient rich and ready for these giants to begin their long life.
These trees can relish in the peaceful times of God’s gifts of sunlight, water, and nutrients in the soil, and they can even thrive when the chaos of fire runs rampant in the forest. In a way these trees and their interaction with the environment are a perfect symbol for how you and I can imagine ourselves and our interaction with God and our world. We are like the trees, our current time is like the peaceful time with all of its normal troubles, and the forest fire is like the events we read here in Revelation eleven through thirteen.
God in His brilliant goodness and wisdom can use all things in a way that fulfills His good and perfect will. Even if Satan, the enemy of both man and God, is running rampant, God can play him like a master chess player who not only wins using His own chess moves, but even using his opponent’s plays. The consuming fire that Satan starts to eliminate his opponents ends God uses to consume him and bring about a rich new start for his children.
This truth should be clear to us as we read Revelation and particularly these chapters as well. The two witnesses, the pregnant woman, the messianic child, Michael and his angels, and believers who are marked by God rather than the beast are all like the Redwoods who grow taller and stronger than everything else under God’s loving and wise provision. Even though the fire is chaotic, hot, and effective at consuming everything else in the forest, the trees remain. Even though we read of the horrifying workings of the dragon and his beasts, every being under God’s care is rescued.
It is easy to read through Revelation and its “forest fires” and assume this is a book meant to warn us of an impending doom that we wish not to see. However, John wrote this book, under the instruction of God and Jesus, to give encouragement and hope. The dragon is fierce, but God is even more so, and we will bask in God’s victory one day. So prepare to endure the fire to come, because it will produce a rich soil for the sprouting of a new and perfect kingdom where we can grow taller than ever before.
Reflection Questions
How can these future revelations provide wisdom for the fires in our own lives today? How should our prayer lives be impacted by seeing how God uses even the fires to produce goodness?
Merry Christmas to all. This is the season to remember and celebrate the birth, the advent, the first coming of Jesus, who is the Christ, the Son of the living God! It’s fitting that we today begin reading and pondering the last book of the Bible, Revelation. This is the book that reveals amazing things about the second advent, the return of Jesus to this earth to establish the perfect age, the kingdom of God. This is a book of revelations, though at times it’s challenging, seems mysterious, difficult to understand and apply. In these first three chapters we find John’s opening comments, identification of the source and succession of the word and testimony he’s passing on, and then a letter from the Lord himself to seven churches in Asia Minor. The general flow of the letters is commendation of the church, any complaint that may need to be addressed, and the correction that’s then necessary. Anytime the Lord indicates a complaint, or really anytime anyone indicates a complaint against us, the hope and goal is always correction. We all have flaws, and should always seek to grow, to improve, to walk in truth, obedience, and love, as John stressed in the postcards we pondered the last couple days.
We’ll begin here with the introduction the author, the Apostle John shared. “The revelation of Jesus Christ. which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw – that is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” Note that there’s a blessing for those who read, hear, and take to heart these words, whether we quickly understand it or not. It’s good to be familiar with it. Understanding will come as events unfold, if we’re familiar with the writings.
1:7 specifically makes reference to Jesus’ return, “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him!” This is a sure thing. Jesus is coming. I hope to see him with joy in my heart, rather than mourning that I’m not ready, not a believer, not prepared, not all in!
The rest of these first three chapters include letters the Lord sent to seven specific churches, with specific commendation, complaints, and correction. Read them devotionally, and with application. In other words, ponder such commendation, complaint, and correction. Do any of these apply to you? To your church? In fact, you might write a letter, as though from Jesus to you. What would he say? What would he commend? What complaints would he have? What corrections would he expect? How would you respond? Would you do as he says?
Reflection Questions
What are your thoughts and feelings about the book of Revelation? What do you think God wants us to think and feel about the book? Why was the book as a whole given to Christians?
How often do you think of Jesus’ return? How do you imagine you will respond when he does return? If you are celebrating Christmas today (and also, if you are not), how can you remember and share the words of Revelation and the great hope of the 2nd Coming of Christ the Messiah, the Son of God?
How do you typically give or receive complaints? Work through the great questions from John in the last paragraph above. And spend some time with God in prayer with the Son of God interceding on your behalf.
Hunger is a powerful thing. It can affect your mood, and it can cause you to make poor decisions. There’s the old saying, “never go shopping on an empty stomach”. You will buy stuff that you don’t really need because your mind is affected by hunger. I can relate to that. Once upon a time, while I was at the Bible college, a friend and I decided to go on a green tea fast. On the day that we broke the fast, I went grocery shopping and spent way more money than I should have on food, and I’m pretty sure most of it went to waste. I was buying out of hunger, not necessity. I’m sure you can relate to my bad habit of stopping and getting horribly unhealthy food because you were hungry, and it was quick and convenient. Maybe you decided to stop because it was a cheap option?
We see the miracle of Jesus feeding 5000. There were a lot of extra people around because Passover was coming up soon. They find themselves in the conundrum of not having enough food for all these people who are gathered to hear Jesus. They could perhaps go buy food, but that would take a lot of time, not to mention money. And how do you source food quickly for this many people? How many people would be required to carry it back? I don’t really think there’s an avenue for coordinating food for this gathering.
Jesus ends up telling the disciples to gather up all the food that the group has collectively. What they end up with is a boy who has five loaves of bread and two fish. This is a laughable amount of food for a group of 5000 plus. Jesus prays over the food, and they start passing it out, and they pass and they pass, and they pass and they end up having leftover food after everyone has eaten their fill. What a miracle. Jesus perceives that the people being moved by this miraculous action are going to try to grab him and make him king forcibly. It is not the proper time, nor is this the proper motivation. Jesus is king because God declares it himself, not because of this miraculous meal.
Jesus withdraws to be by himself. The disciples set sail across the sea without Jesus, but encountered him walking on the water. They are freaked out, but they’re glad when they see it’s him, and once he’s on the boat, all is well. But the crowds are hungry for more and start to search for Jesus.
The people want to see more miracles, but that is not the purpose of Jesus’ ministry; rather, an attestation of the power behind him. Jesus’ message of the Kingdom of God is truly powerful. Jesus says that the crowds are not seeking him, not even after the power behind the signs that they saw, but because they had been well fed.
The people bring up the desire to see miraculous signs and recall that their fathers ate manna in the wilderness. Jesus, comparing his role to that of Moses, says that it was not Moses who fed the Israelites in the wilderness, but that it was God. He warns them of seeking temporal comforts and satiety; rather, they should seek after the true life-changing and life-saving power of God. Jesus’ claim that he is the “bread of life” or “bread come down from heaven” is a claim that God has ordained, empowered, and approved his Kingdom ministry and his standing as the savior.
It is a long and winding road that leads to the cross. Many will reject the bread of life for the bread of satiety or comfort, or maybe bread leavened with the yeast of the Pharisees, but many do take Jesus up on his “the bread of life” offer and are the beneficiaries of God’s amazing power that was and is at work in the hearts of the redeemed.
Reflection Questions
What significance do you see in the contrast of Jesus’ miracle, the manna of the Exodus, and the Bread of Life that Jesus speaks of?
Does the metaphor of food effectively drive home Jesus’ emphasis on the importance of the Gospel for true life?
In what ways can you take Jesus’ words from John 6 and apply them you your life in a way that strengthens your personal ministry?
Haggai is a short, two chapter book, but it packs a lot. Haggai was a minor prophet who urged the Israelites to do four things – reflect on their priorities, work in hope during hard circumstances, be humble and pure in their intentions and actions, and remain faithful for the coming kingdom.
Have you ever been in the midst of tackling a massive project? Perhaps a work, home improvement or church project? Sometimes these endeavors can feel so tedious, can’t they? Like you will never ever be done with the task and the finished product is hard to even fathom, a pinprick of light at the end of a long tunnel. In the midst of it all you’re likely very weary. You’re even considering taking some shortcuts just to get the thing done! If you’re solely relying on your human limits, you’re not seeing past the long days to the end result, which sounded so promising in earlier days.
The Israelites felt the same. Before they even began rebuilding the temple, they weren’t focusing on what God wanted from them, instead zeroing in on selfish endeavors. When they decided to rebuild, with Haggai’s prompting, it was a major undertaking. They felt like their efforts were fruitless and the days were difficult. They gave little effort to what they were told God wanted for them. They weren’t choosing to humbly submit to God and make the daily choice of obedience to Him. They just didn’t feel His vision anymore.
What Haggai is driving at is this – God has so much for us. But we need to do our part, too. Furthermore, our choices really do matter. Our heart matters. God doesn’t just want us to blindly “do,” He wants us to want to obey His word. That’s how His work is done in the world. We are His hands & feet, working in humility and obedience to our Father to establish His perfect Kingdom.
Reflection questions:
What are you doing for God right now, or what is He calling you to do? What is your attitude about it?
What is one way that you can recast your vision for what God has in store? What can you do today to be obedient to Him?
The Israelites have been in exile for twenty-five years and it has been about fourteen years since the fall of Jerusalem. The prophet Ezekiel is in Babylon when he experiences visions of God. He is taken to a very high mountain in Israel and from the south side he sees buildings that look like a city. He is visited by a man whose appearance was like bronze, an angel. He is holding a measuring tool. He told Ezekiel to closely pay attention to everything he would show him and he was to tell the people of Israel everything he saw.
He was shown a temple complex. It was given with detailed and specific measurements and dimensions including outside walls, gates, alcoves, thresholds, porches, outer courts, rooms, etc. Some say this vision symbolizes an ideal temple where God’s presence resides and God is glorified. Others believe that it is a literal future temple that will exist in the Millennium. There is much discussion on this vision. For instance, if it is a literal temple in the 1,000 year reign of Christ, why are there offerings there? Are these only memorial offerings remembering the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus provided? Though we may not understand everything about the vision, we know that it showed the people of Israel that there would be restoration and reconciliation with the LORD. This vision gave the people hope. They viewed the temple as a place to worship and praise the LORD. They had the same desire that we do. We want to be in the presence of God. We want to experience Him. After all, He is amazing and we love Him. He desires to be with us as well. How blessed we are to know that the LORD is with us. As the apostle Paul states, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? And God’s temple is sacred, together you are that temple.” (1 Cor. 3:16&17b) How blessed we are to be so connected to the LORD.
(As editor, I had been concerned that we had a few weeks with no one signed up to write devotions – so I sent out several emails and God answered with not just one writer for today – but two! So, with no apologies, but many thanks to God and to both Rebecca and Daniel, here is your second for the day…)
Devotion by Daniel Smead (Minnesota)
Today’s text is the start of another of Ezekiel’s visions, in which he again visits his homeland of Israel. It takes place on a mountain by a city, which is presumably a way of referring to Jerusalem, and Ezekiel observes a new Temple. His guide in that building is a shining figure, who sounds something like the figures that moved God’s throne-chariot back in chapter one. This figure measures the Temple and declares the dimensions for Ezekiel to record, having calculated them using a stick a bit over ten feet long.
Interestingly, this vision is one of only two places where Ezekiel states the exact date an event took place, the tenth of Nisan, near the start of the Hebrew year that went from 573-572 B.C. The vision is twenty-five years after Ezekiel was taken from Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple, and about thirteen years after the Temple’s destruction.
In its essence this vision allowed the exiles to look forward to a time when God’s people, again in the promised land, would have a renewed opportunity to worship God at a temple. The passage did not take shortcuts to describe this but went into minute detail. Rather than simply refer to the existence of a temple, we are told about its size and decorations as though the importance of fulfilling every detail is being emphasized. Using some effort, readers could put themselves in the scene alongside Ezekiel.
The building described in this text is quite large, and it is not a prophetic description of the Temple built in the time of Zerubbabel, after the Babylonian exile. Nor, apparently, did the returnees of that generation attempt to follow this design even when doing so would simplify their work. For example, 40:28-37 describes having three gates to the inner courts, and a Jewish Midrash says the second Temple had seven gates. In fact, the small number of gates, and the emphasis on large square rooms, raises the issue of the practicality of the design, and whether this was ever intended as a literal image of a building or just as a symbolic representation – the architectural equivalent of a parable, perhaps.
Ezekiel, as a priest who had ministered at Solomon’s Temple, would have a particular interest in the description this passage provides, whether it was symbolic or a future reality. But Ezekiel was not the High Priest, and even in his vision it seems that he does not enter the Holy of Holies, though he reports its dimensions (41:4). We hear nothing about the contents of that area.
I have written before about John’s measuring of the Temple in the book of Revelation, and how simple it can be for us when reading the figures in that passage to miss the time it would have taken to measure those distances. The same issue applies here. The long period when Ezekiel watched the shining figure go about this task, announcing number after number, can only have felt surreal. Obviously, this scene was leading somewhere, though learning what awaits tomorrow’s text. In the meantime, Ezekiel moved through a nearly empty building, large enough to hold thousands of people, simply recording its dimensions.
How often do you find yourself caught in a moment, feeling incomplete, unsure what comes next? At that time the exiles in Babylon were probably wondering what their next steps would be, and this vision was part of how God laid out expectations for them. Ezekiel, in his vision, must have found it obvious that what he saw was building toward a larger point, although he could have been recording measurements for hours. It may not always seem as obvious to us when God is at work in our lives, or how. But it is to be hoped that we can maintain trust that God is working. I don’t know how often we learn quickly or plainly what our next steps need to be. Sometimes Ezekiel waited years between his visions, visions that we can simply turn pages to link together. And the fulfillment of all that he saw in his visions waited far longer than a few years.
Regardless of all that Ezekiel went through, and how long it took, if the Bible revealed that somewhere along the way he decided not to pay attention to what God was doing with him, that it was not all worth it, we would consider him foolish. From our perspective in history such a choice would appear absurd. But sometimes we, and indeed sometimes I, need to be reminded of this same principle for ourselves. My trust, and my attentiveness for what interests God, need firming up. I can’t expect to maintain the same focus always and in every situation; no one can. Humans don’t have that kind of attention span and focus. I, and maybe you, need to be reoriented when necessary. At times we also need to realize that God still cares about us, continuing to be open and accepting despite our failings. The people God was telling about a new temple had their old one destroyed just 13 years earlier. God is open to offering forgiveness and acceptance, but more than being open to that, God strongly desires to provide it to us, in love.
Reflection Questions
What thoughts and feelings might Ezekiel’s original audience have had before Ezekiel’s temple vision – as they have been stuck in a foreign land far from God with no clear way to worship Him and even no temple to try to return to? Have you ever felt similarly?
What thoughts and feelings might Ezekiel have had as he was getting a tour of this temple? As he was sharing his vision? How might the people have responded?
In what ways might God be asking you to pay attention to what He has done, is doing and will do? Is there anything in your past that you didn’t understand at the time but you can see now how God was using it in preparation for your future?
When do you find yourself needing hope? What gives you hope?
Ezekiel brings a message of future redemption for Israel. How does their redemption happen? By truly connecting with the LORD. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.” (36:26-28) What a beautiful picture of living in a loving relationship with God!
In our passage the LORD is providing everything that is needed to be with Him. Just as we look to our Heavenly Father every day for all that we need to truly be His obedient children. We need the heart that the LORD creates for us and we need the power of His Spirit to transform us. Our circumstances can often weigh us down, so we also need the encouragement that the LORD provides through His message. The people of Israel needed that encouragement from the LORD. They were discouraged – they were disconnected from the LORD and spiritually dry. But God promises restoration and life.
In chapter 37, the valley of dry bones illustrates that God will bring individual and national resurrection. His promise gives hope. The Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord. (37:12b-14) God shows compassion on His nation and He will never forget His people. In the same way, He will never forget His children. When He is “proved holy through them in the sight of many nations,” may we also praise our Holy God.
Reflection Questions
In what ways did Ezekiel’s audience have a heart of stone? In what ways do you? What would be different with a heart of flesh given by the LORD?
What else does God say He will do for His people in today’s reading?
When have you felt like you were spiritually dry – in a valley of dry bones? When have you felt spiritually alive? What life has God given you now? What life will God give in the future?
Devotion by Pastor Jeff Fletcher – originally posted for SeekGrowLove on March 21, 2017, for Ezekiel 10-13.
“Elvis has left the building.” That’s what they used to say to the throngs of screaming fans after one of Elvis Presley’s concerts back in the day. They would rush Elvis out the back door into his waiting car or bus and whisk him off to safety. Hopefully, the fans would calm down after they knew he was no longer there… there would be no more encores for this performance.
In Ezekiel ten- YHWH has left the building. The building in question was the Temple of Jerusalem. Since the time of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness when Israel worshipped in the Tabernacle, to the time of Solomon and beyond, when they worshipped YHWH in the Temple of Jerusalem, YHWH was present with His people. They knew that there, in the holy of holies, the shekhinah glory of God was present with his people. Yes, there was a veil which separated the holy of holies from the rest of the temple, and only the high priest was permitted to enter into the presence of YHWH once a year to atone for the sins of the people, yet they could always look up to the tabernacle or later Temple atop Mt. Zion and know that God was with them. But no longer. Ezekiel saw a vision of God’s glory leaving the Temple. Because of their extreme disobedience and their worship of idols, God could no longer remain among his people. It was a time for judgment, and God had to leave. How sad that must have been for Ezekiel, to watch God leaving.
In Ezekiel eleven, judgment is proclaimed against Israel’s leaders. “You haven’t obeyed my laws” YHWH complains. “You’ve conformed to the standards of the nations around you.”
God is gracious, even in the midst of judgment, he promises to bring some of them back from exile and give them back the land which he had given to their forefathers. God promises to bring about change in their hearts. vs. 19 “I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” God still loves His people and offers them hope in the midst of judgment. Ezekiel shared this vision with the exiles so that they would understand the consequences of their sins.
In Ezekiel twelve, God warns that even their ruler would be forced into exile. They kept hoping that this would happen in the distant future, but God assures them that judgment is coming soon.
In chapter thirteen, God turns his judgment from the leaders to the false prophets. These people told lies in the name of YHWH. They said “thus saith the Lord” when God didn’t say it. God condemns them for leading their people astray. They “whitewashed” over the truth about God’s coming judgment against sin and substituted their lies about a false peace. “you encouraged the wicked not to repent”. He blames the false prophets for the sins of the people, therefore, they will come under God’s harsh judgment.
Israel had a wonderful building in which to worship, they had clear rules to follow, they had leaders to teach them, they had priests to offer sacrifices, they had prophets to bring them words from God- and yet that wasn’t enough. They were not content to live as God’s holy and separate people and act as a witness to the rest of the nations around them. Instead, they worshipped the false gods of their neighbors, they ignored God’s laws, their prophets failed to warn them for their sins and assured them of false peace when God was preparing to bring his judgment. It seems not much has changed. One would be tempted to see the same kinds of things going on today. How many buildings today allow idolatry and false gods to be worshipped? How many people falsely claim to be speaking God’s word when they are instead peddling the words of men? Some days we might even wonder “has God left the building” when we follow the sinful standards of the world rather than remaining faithful to God’s holy word? We’d like to think judgment is far away just as they thought then… but perhaps it’s much closer than you might think.
Reflection Questions
Has there been a time when you have felt that God’s presence and glory has left?
Have you ever conformed too much to the standards of people around you?
According to Ezekiel 11, who qualifies to receive the heart transplant from stone to flesh, and who does not? What is the purpose and the result of this heart transplant?
The book of Lamentations is heavy. It is a raw, unfiltered look at grief. Jerusalem has fallen, the temple is destroyed, and the people are either dead, exiled, or living in deep suffering. The city walls have been torn down, homes burned, leaders captured, and the streets are empty. Hunger, fear, and loss have touched every household, and the once-proud city is now a place of desolation. Every chapter is filled with heartbreak, and the writer doesn’t shy away from addressing the pain.
But this is more than just a story of destruction. It’s an honest record of what it looks like when life falls apart. When the consequences of sin, both personal and collective, are unavoidable. The people knew God’s commands, and they chose to break them. Now they are living with the fallout, and it’s not pretty.
What stands out is how Lamentations holds both grief and hope at the same time. In chapter 3, right in the middle of all the sorrow, comes this anchor: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23). It’s not spoken after things get better. It’s spoken in the middle of the storm. That’s what makes it powerful for us. We all face seasons that feel like ruins, and the truth is, they do not always get better. Our faith cannot rest on whether life is comfortable or whether blessings are obvious. It has to be steady, no matter the circumstances. Like Job, who said, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21), we are called to worship God whether life is full or stripped bare. The struggle may not lift quickly, but we can rest in the salvation we have through Christ and in knowing that our God is a Redeemer. Even when we cannot yet see it, He is at work.
Lamentations reminds us that it’s okay to be honest about our pain, but it also calls us to cling to God’s character in the middle of it. His faithfulness isn’t proven by how quickly He fixes things, but by His presence and unchanging promises even while we wait.
Reflection Questions
Lamentations shows the people facing the full weight of their choices. How does acknowledging the reality of your own situation, without excuses, change the way you pray?
The writer of Lamentations keeps talking to God even when he feels unheard. How can you practice staying in conversation with God when your prayers seem unanswered?
The book ends without a neat resolution, yet with eyes still turned toward God. How can you hold on to hope when you have no guarantee of when or how God will act?
(Thank you, Dustin Farr, for writing this week! Dustin is a first-time writer for SeekGrowLove and we look forward to hearing more from him. He is a recent Graphic Design graduate.)
The final chapters of Isaiah turn from sin and exile to a glorious, eternal promise: God will make all things new! These chapters are echoed through the New Testament and Revelation, pointing to the coming Kingdom of God!
Isaiah 64:1 begins with the longing: “Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down!” It’s the heart-cry of a people who’ve seen the brokenness of the world and long for God’s presence to change everything. Isaiah confesses sin, but he also appeals to God’s nature as Father and Redeemer. The coming Kingdom won’t just be a fix for the troubles of this world, but it will be a family reunion, where God will triumphantly restore His children!
In Isaiah 65, God answers the cry of his people with staggering promises. He speaks of new heavens and a new earth, a place of peace, joy, and justice. No more weeping. Long lives. Fruitful labor. Harmony between creation and Creator. This is not merely symbolic, it’s a literal vision of what God is preparing for those who love Him! Revelation 21 goes into further detail of the hope we have in the promise of His coming Kingdom.
Isaiah 66 is both sobering and glorious. God will come in fire and judgment against all pride, hypocrisy, and idolatry. He will also gather nations, comfort His people like a mother comforts her child, and establish global worship that never ends. All flesh will bow before Him, and His Kingdom will endure forever.
Isaiah 64-66 reminds us that this world is not the end of the story. The brokenness we see now will be consumed by the glory to come. God’s future Kingdom is not just about future perfection – it’s a living hope that shapes how we live today. Every word and act of faith and love is a preview of the Kingdom that will be revealed. Like Isaiah, we cry out for God to “rend the heavens”- establishing his eternal Kingdom on earth.
Prayer:
Father, thank You for the promise of a new heaven and a new earth! Thank You that Your Kingdom will come and Your will be done – perfectly, eternally, and joyfully. Help me to live today with eternity in view, to be faithful, and to carry Your light as I wait for Your glory to be revealed. Come quickly, Lord Jesus – Amen.
Reflection Questions:
• Do you recognize God as the potter, and yourself as the clay? How do you demonstrate this and acknowledge your dependence on Him?
• What part of God’s future Kingdom gives you the most hope right now?
• How does knowing the end of the story change how you face today’s challenges?
Many, many years ago, as a novice classroom junior high teacher, I was learning what it meant to “be firm, be fair, be consistent”; which now as a veteran educator is my favorite word of advice to pass along to the next generation of teachers.
One of my nicest, most reliable, hard-working students entered the classroom tardy one day. Any other week of the school year, I would have not given it a second thought and have her sit down and get to work – something she would have done naturally. However, the previous day, I had just had a stern conversation with the class about the importance of showing up on time and the consequences if anyone chose to be late to my class in the future. I had already taken attendance and wondered out loud if anyone knew where this particular student was. No one knew. A few minutes later, she walks in – without a pass. She paused as she entered the room. The rest of the class looked at her and then looked at me – was I really going to hold this ‘good kid’ accountable for what I just had said the day before? As much as I hated to do it, I reminded her that she would be eating lunch with me that day and the rest of the class knew if I meant business with this kid, I was absolutely serious about my message for the rest of them.
Later on as I was holding this student during lunch, we talked about where she had been, why she didn’t have a pass, and how the entire incident was so out-of-character for her. Her explanations made sense and she understood why I had to do what I did. She was never late again.
In leadership, this style of management is often referred to as a “velvet hammer”. In other words, “be firm, be fair, and be consistent” with everyone, every time.
As I read the opening verse of Isaiah 40 and the next couple of chapters of today’s Bible reading, I am reminded of the velvet hammer and my educator mantra.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God had just completed pronouncing judgement on the Israelistes in the previous chapters, aka the “hammer”. Now, in what is sometimes referred to as the “Second Isaiah”, God is now offering comfort and encouragement to His people, aka “the velvet”.
“Comfort, comfort”. With the repetition, you can almost hear the tenderness of a parent reassuring a child, “There, there, now. It’ll all be alright.” Discipline is never pleasant when the relationship is loving. The authority figure in the relationship knows that the pain and discomfort associated with accountability is necessary in order to provide guidance and direction for the child, follower, or subordinate. For the child, it’s a difficult reminder of the offense and the actions required to make things right again. However, with the reassurance that things can indeed be made right, the discipline is easier to accept.
“My people”. Even though the Israelites have continued to make disappointing choices, God still claims them as His. Any other sovereign probably would have given up on such an obstinate group, but not the Almighty. His covenant with the Israelites is reaffirmed with these two words. God is not going anywhere, He is not giving up.
“Says Your God”. And just as resolute as God is in holding up His side of the covenant relationship, He wants to remind the people that He longs for them to do the same. He still desires to be known as the God of Israel. There is nothing that can be said or done to make Him want anything less. Additionally, God is reminding them that amid all the other false idol gods that have been manufactured, He alone is their God. He is the one who is worthy of all glory, honor and praise. He alone is “the LORD, the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth” (v.40:28).
My hope and prayer for you reading this today is that if you’ve ever experienced God’s discipline, you’ve also experienced His tenderness and mercy. God loves you more than you can possibly imagine and His discipline is evidence of this love. Cling tightly to our Father because He is always faithful, always present, always full of grace and mercy, always all-powerful, always right there where we need Him to be. May you be comforted by this covenant of love today.
Reflection Questions
When have you experienced God’s ‘velvet hammer’ – a moment of discipline wrapped in love and mercy?
How does God calling the Israelites “my people” after their failures, influence your own identity and relationship with God, especially after you have missed the mark?
How does knowing that God is both just and tender shape your trust in Him?
Seek Grow Love 