Ancient of Days

"'I, even I, am the LORD,

and apart from me there is no savior.

I have revealed and saved and proclaimed--

I, and not some foreign god among you.

You are my witnesses,' declares the LORD, 

'that I am God.  Yes, and from ancient days I am he.

No one can deliver out of my hand.

When I act, who can reverse it?'"

Isaiah 43:11-13

The world is changing.  Governments are crumbling.  Once-powerful nations are losing their might.  People are suffering.  Children are dying from lack of clean water and sufficient food.  Wars are raging.  Natural disasters are destroying.  The world is descending into darkness.

If all the bad news I hear and read about each day were the whole story, I would be without hope. Thankfully, the Ancient of Days is on the throne!  Despite the appearance that the world is tail spinning out of control, there is One who reigns supreme.  He holds each of our lives in the palm of His hand, and He has a plan.  I can trust that His will is going to come to pass.  This is His world and He has not lost the authority or dominion, regardless of how it seems.

Everlasting  

I remember reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a child.  I was intrigued by the idea of he Everlasting Gobstopper which, according to Willie Wonka, was indestructible and made for children with very little money in their pocket.  The candy could never be finished, and even resisted growing smaller: it was everlasting.

Even though this fictional candy does not exist in the form described in the book, there is One who is never diminished and who has no beginning nor end.  Moses prayed, "Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.  Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God."  (Psalm 90:1-2)

In a world where everything is changing, it's good to know that God stays the same. As Lincoln Brewster sings in Everlasting God, "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord."  As you listen to the words, spend some time meditating on how the everlasting qualities of God affect the way you live your life as His child.  I can trust Him, depend on Him, lean on Him and He will comfort me, strengthen me, protect me, and defend me.   Always.  

Even though everything around me seems to be crumbling, God has always reigned, and will always reign, now and forevermore!

Able to Save

I remember hearing the story of a girl who was unable to save her sister from drowning in a lake.  Her failure weighed upon her throughout her life and kept her living in the past, unable to move beyond this horrible tragedy.  She held herself accountable for her sister's death even though everyone around her told her it was not her fault.  She couldn't get over the fact that she was unable to save her beloved.

Looking in from the outside, it is absurd for a mere human to put that much pressure on themselves.  There is only so much one can do, but it is easy to feel responsible for the health and well being of those I love.  This, however, is not a part of my job description.  I am not called to save anyone.  That is God's job!  He is the only one who is able to save.

The people of Israel knew this firsthand as they walked out of Egypt, free of the oppressive hand of the cruel Pharaoh who had enslaved them for so many years.  When God told them to prepare for departure by killing an unblemished lamb and spreading the blood on their doorposts, they had no idea the plan that God was putting into motion.  That night, the Angel of Death came to the land of Egypt.  All those who had the protective covering of the blood of the lamb were passed over, but those whose doorways were clean and unprotected experienced the wrath of God in the loss of their firstborns.  

Cries of mourning pierced the air that day as the Israelites walked out of Egypt, finally free.  Hundreds of years later, another Lamb, this One perfect, shed His blood as a protective covering  from the wrath of God for all those who receive it. 


If God is able to reconcile me, a sinful woman to Him, a holy God, surely God is able to save in other ways, as well.  He can save me from the deep pit of depression from where no man can climb out and save himself.  He can rescue me from the pain of past hurts from where no amount of human counseling can release me.  He can resuscitate a marriage, dead and buried, from beyond where no amount of effort can bring it back to life.  God is able to save.


God said through the prophet Isaiah, "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other."  (Isaiah 45:22)


 Even though everything around me seems to be at risk, God is able to save from His wrath as well as from present troubles.  

Irreversible

I've heard the words many times, spoken at the end of a wedding ceremony, " . . .what God has joined together, let man not separate."  (Matthew 19:6)  It is decreed with the authority of God and with reverence for Him.  What God creates is permanent, meant to last and irreversible.  

How unlike our present age where anything can be undone, from crimes committed, surgeries performed to damage done.  If one has enough money, power and resolve, almost any action can be reversed.

I must be very careful not to let this mentality creep into my perception of the LORD.  His plan is, ". . . determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched over all nations.  For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?  His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?" (Isaiah 14:26-27) No matter how good one may be at persuading others to go along with their plan, God can never be swayed.  His plan stands firm, and anyone who fights against Him will lose.

I don't usually think of myself as one who is struggling against God, but when I insist on knowing the who, what, when, where and why before I will follow Him, I am.  If I stubbornly continue in an area of addiction, whether it be to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, shopping, exercise, eating, or even scrabooking, I am making that activity more important than God and defying His commandments.  If I think I don't fight against God but fail to give Him my full attention, I am fooling myself.  There are many ways to resist God, and every one of them will put me on the losing team.  

Even though I live in a fast-food, temporary, throw-away society, I can choose to follow the permanent, irreversible God.  The One who values all human life and protects it at all cost; the One who stands firm for what is right even when all those around are caving to popular opinion; the One who joins a man and a woman together and gives them the grace and love to make it last forever.  This is the God I choose to follow.

Even though everything around me seems to be decaying, I can purposefully follow the One who is irreversible.

The world in which I live is fallen.  Thus, there is much about which to feel dismayed.  But I can be thankful that the Ancient of Days lasts forever, can salvage the seemingly hopeless and is permanent in nature.  My God is on the throne!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I will remember that God reigns.  Nothing can overpower Him or dethrone Him.

How do I live my life as if everything were temporary?

When do I feel helpless and without hope when I worship a God who is able to save me?

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