A consistent pattern
There is a pattern in our world. It is the pattern of many who claim to know the Lord. In prosperity their lifestyle reveals the condition of their heart. Are they children of God who treasure his Kingdom and presence? If so, they will follow him closely and walk with him in holiness. Are they children of the world? If so, they will walk in worldliness and in the passions of the flesh.
Judgement and humility
Judgement humbles people. In Isaiah 17-19 we read about the people of Judah, Israel, Damascus, Cush, and Egypt who all walked in arrogance and idolatry for generations. They did not acknowledge God's holiness and power. They did not acknowledge his ways and his commands. The abandoned the Lord and lived their own ways. They looked to their idols and altars of worship for provision.
As a result of their wickedness the Lord brought destruction to their lands. The Lord laid them low and withheld his blessing from them.
How did they respond? How did they react to this lack of blessing and this destruction in their land? They looked to the Lord...at least for a time.
When destruction came many cried out to the Lord because they sought relief from the consequences of their lifestyles. Were they authentic children of the Lord? The Lord knows. Only time and life would reveal that. It seems clear the Lord used destruction to bring about repentance and salvation of some. Others we know turned to the Lord until prosperity came then turned back to the world once they established a comfortable lifestyle.
My prayer for you
My prayer today is for your salvation, your repentance from sin. I do not pray for your comfort or your prosperity. I pray for your true turning to the Lord for forgiveness and restoration. Comfort and prosperity are useless without a transformed life. At the same time I do desire for the Lord to bless your life upon your turning to him wholeheartedly.
May you turn to him with all you have at all times. And may your life be a living testimony of his goodness to all who know you.
Isaiah 17:4-5
4 And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low,
and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.
5 And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain
and his arm harvests the ears,
and as when one gleans the ears of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
Isaiah 17:7-8
7 In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense.
Isaiah 19:22
22 And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.
