I have a tendency to get grandiose visions of the wonderful speeches I am going to give or the amazing devotion I have to share instead of spending time writing them. I have a tendency to forget who the center is in view of the great idea I have. What I believe I am to share is how Christ wants to move in us. He wants us to know that we are not alone. He wants us to know that not only are we not alone, but that: “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.” (Exodus 23:20). Not only that, He says: Isa 52:12 “For you are not to hurry away, you are not to leave like fugitives. No, Yahweh marches at your head and the God of Israel is your rearguard”. New Jerusalem
I have long prayed these Scriptures in my hour of need. It’s so easy to get caught up in figuring out “the solution”. It’s so easy to decide that “this” or “that” is the right answer. What the Scriptures tell us is that He Himself sets our path. They tell us that He is not only setting our path, but covering our past. I think that rear guard can be looked at two ways. First, it is as it says: He has our back; secondly, though, I see, He has our past mistakes and sins and he has covered them (or washed them away).
I like to see that He is saying that those past mistakes we have made (and sinful tendencies) have to get past him to get to us. He says to us that he is a shield and our strength.
I recently heard a wonderful woman of God speak of raising her children. In particular she shared a few examples of when she had had enough. She talked about praying to God for guidance or else she would lose her mind. She shared how God told her what to do with her children, and how well it worked. I was struck by that. We are taught to give every bit of our life over to God, but how often do we do it. It seems so often that we call on God for the “big” stuff but think that the little stuff can be handled without bothering Him. He is such an awesome Father that he wants to be bothered for everything. He takes the time to answer every need we have. What an awesome Father!
Isaiah 6:8: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah was filled with dread right before he said this. He knew he was not clean enough, not good enough for God. God knew this too, so he purified Him. God calls us as we are. He knows who we are. It’s easy to say, “God must not mean me” because we know what our failings are. God says come anyway. He wants to make us whole, He wants to use us as we are, and then, in the process, make us better. He is a healing God. He wants to give us the strength we need. It’s easy to feel that the calling can go to someone better. I think it’s important to answer the call, especially when we are uncomfortable. If what he calls us to does not take us out of our comfort level a little, then we have a tendency to forget who is calling and in whose name we come.
God doesn’t just want us to remember who is sending us, He also wants us to be made whole in our obedience to him. He is a healing Father. My mom has often shared how having a Heavenly Father has helped her to find healing as her own father is emotionally distant. When she became a Christian in high school, the void that she had always had, began to be filled. All the things that God calls us to do: help others, be godly parents, help our neighbors, be obedient to Him, all these things are ways that He works on us, the way he refines us like gold in fire.
And I pray: Lord, we need you to guide us. We need your strength, we need your wisdom, we need You. Lord, today, we ask you to March at Our Head, and not only that, Lord, we ask that you be our Rearguard. We thank you, for we know that you all these things. Lord, we thank you for your scriptures that are a guide for us when we do not have the words. We thank you for your Holy Spirit which inspires us to seek you. We thank you for offering us your salvation. We thank you for the fellowship that we have here. Lord, we ask you to dwell in our midst. Lord, you are a catalyst for change, Lord, please change those things in us that keep us from being wholly one in you. Lord, let our lives be examples of what your grace can do. We ask that we may be vessels of your healing power to the world around us. Lord, we ask for compassion, generosity, and charity. Help us to see the people around us as you see them. Help us to love them as you do. We offer you our time here, today, and ask that you use it to bring us closer to you. Let this time be a time of building up, a time of healing, and time of support. You Lord, are the center of our lives, help us to live like that. Help us to be aware of you always. Help us to be Godly examples to our children. Help us to parent like you do. You, Lord, are the focus of our lives, be our all.
