Isaiah 22:10-12 - You
check the houses and tear some down to get stone to fix the walls. Between the city walls, you build a reservoir
for water from the old pool. But all your feverish plans are to no avail
because you never ask God for help. He is the one who planned this long ago. The Lord, the LORD Almighty, called you to
weep and mourn. He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins and to
wear clothes of sackcloth to show your remorse.
Isaiah’s message was one of pure horror. God was going to pull his protective care
from them…because they had ignored him and refused to repent of the sin in
their lives. Like the game Jenga…he was
going to pull out the one piece of their lives that would make it tumble and
crumble to nothing.
Judah had gone so long in their own power and strength…they forgot
God. They had built up a pretty good
city…fortified it with tall walls…even found a way to replenish the old pool
with water. But they forgot who had created them….and become a little too self-sufficient.
Their plans did not include God at all…but instead built up a prideful ….self-indulgent
….mirage of a good life.
It reminds me how we wait till things get bad in our life
before we ask God for help. Come financial crisis …pray for help. Come lethal disease…pray for life and
healing. See our friend or family member
sink to the lowest point in their lives…pray for God’s comfort and strength to
recover. But see a small need…we wait to
pray…thinking that this is too small a need for God to intervene.
That is how satan tricks us into the state that Judah was
in. He whispers in our ear that God doesn’t care about the little things…or God
only helps those that help themselves. And slowly we begin to ride life in our
own power…falsely thinking that we can do some things completely on our own.
John 14:13-14 says… “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the
Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me ANYTHING in my name, I will
do it.”
One small thing handled on our own with no consequences…gives
us the false confidence to take own more and more on our own…and pretty soon…satan
has tricked us into leaving God completely out of the picture. That bad situation you go through that brings
you back to your senses….is truly a gift of God to show you how far away you
have actually gotten from his plan for your life. You did things so long on your own…you didn’t
even realize how much you had hurt God’s feelings….how much he missed your time
with him.
Father…thank you for the reminder that I need to ask you
everything. Thank you for reminding me
that the small things in my life are just as important to you…for each piece
must stack up perfectly for you to use it to your glory. Forgive me for the times I have built my own
tower of Jenga sticks and gotten them high enough that I thought I didn’t need
you. Thank you for pulling out the stick
that made them topple…so that I would remember how much you loved me…..and let
you show me how to build my life the way you wanted it built. Help me to discern
the whispers of satan ….so that I can send him packing with scripture…the way
Jesus did in the wilderness. Help me to cling to the promise in John 14…and ask
you for everything that I need…small or large. Amen.
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