November 9 thru 15, 2009

Day One, Micah 7:7a; But as for me, I will look to the Lord. My wife telephoned from her office to say that she had discovered that she didn’t have a valid insurance verification form in her vehicle (Oklahoma Statutes require such a form be in the vehicle at all times). I assured her that I had received it, and I’d get it to her. I first looked in the glove compartment of my own car, on the off chance that I had put both of them in it—no such luck. Then I looked in my paid insurance files—could have filed it with the bill—not there. Next, I went through my brief case, just in case I had forgotten to give it to her and it was mixed in with some papers—not there either. My next step in this search was to begin going through my letter tray and the “box of stuff” I keep under my desk—just in case—you guessed it, it wasn’t there. Finally, as I was about to call our agent to see about a replacement, a brilliant idea came to me—check the insurance policy file, which I did, and guess what—there it was in the most logical place for it. I was so involved with trying to solve the problem that I had overlooked the obvious first place to look. Isn’t that the same way we are when it comes to dealing with life’s problems? The obvious place to look for guidance and help is the Lord, but so often we make it the last place we look.

Day Two, Micah 7:7b; I will wait for the God of my salvation; A story attributed to the great twentieth century preacher, Peter Marshall tells about his experience trying to fix a toy for his son. It seems that the boy had broken something, I think it was a model airplane. He brought the broken plane to Dr. Marshall, who assured him that he could fix it. Patiently, the boy waited as his father looked carefully at the pieces and began the tedious task of gluing them together. If you’ve ever tried to glue something back together, you don’t always get the pieces lined up perfectly on the first try—well, Dr. Marshall had the same problem. After what seemed like an eternity to the boy, his father finally got the pieces just right. But impatient from waiting and assuming his father needed help, the little lad reached out and grabbed part of the plane and said, “Let me help you fix it.” Needless to say, the careful alignment of the pieces that Dr. Marshall had finally achieved was disturbed and the tedious process had to be repeated. The result was that the boy had to wait longer than necessary to begin playing with the toy. When we commit a situation or problem to God we must be willing to step back and wait for Him to finish. Sometimes our attempts to “help fix it” sets back the work God has been doing on our behalf.

Day Three, Micah 7:7c; My God will hear me! A few years back, my daughter presented me with a Jack Russell Terrier pup for my birthday. My wife took one look at it and consigned it to an outdoor dog run (I think it had something to do with water leaking from the pup when she picked it up). This little dog learned to watch the windows on our back porch. As soon as she sees movement, she would begin dancing at the gate of her dog run and yapping with gleeful anticipation of a visit from her human servant (me). She never did figure out that I heard her the first time and the reason I hadn’t rushed out to greet her was that before I answered her call for companionship I had to get her dog food, water and doggie treats ready. God hears our prayers and pleas for help the first time, and while there is nothing wrong with continuing to pray, we must not loose heart when He doesn’t appear immediately—we must remind ourselves that God will hear (meaning answer) us, but before He does, He is assembling the things He knows we need.

Day Four, Micah 7:9a,c; I will bear the indignation of the Lord…until he takes my side and executes judgment for me. I never once questioned the fact that my mother would take me shopping because I needed new clothes for high school, but I did spend a couple of days wondering when it would happen! I had been excited about selecting my high school clothes, when my mother told me to do something (I forget what it was). I was at that stubborn age and decided to do what I wanted to instead. When it came time to go and she discovered that I had not done what I was supposed to be doing, she flatly told me that I wouldn’t be getting new clothes for the new school term until I did as I had been told. This battle of the wills was short lived, but still she wouldn’t take me to buy new clothes! (Nadine wasn’t someone to trifle with, and once she got steamed it took her a while to cool down!) The day before school started, mother came in laden with packages full of school clothes. My stubbornness had cost me the opportunity to pick out my new clothes—but a mother’s love forgave the stubbornness in order to provide what she figured I needed. (She also said she hoped I’d learned my lesson…)

Day Five, Micah 7:9b,c; …because I have sinned against him, until he takes my side and executes judgment for me. Church people like to divide the world into two classes of people: Sinners (that’s those other folks) and Saints (that would be us). We often go so far as to imply that once a person moves from one category to another, their conduct doesn’t matter. But this isn’t the way the writer of this passage felt. In its simplest meaning, the word translated “sinned” in this passage refers to “missing”, as in not achieving a goal and forfeiting the prize; but it also can mean “to bear the blame”. We’ve all known people who refuse to take responsibility for their decisions. They always find ways to blame someone else or some circumstance for their mistakes. What this writer is saying is that he understands why he feels alone and forsaken—it is because he has failed to live up to the relationship of trust between him and God, but that he is willing to accept full responsibility (take the blame). Because he is willing to sincerely take the blame for the breech he knows that God will eventually come to his assistance.

Day Six, Micah 7:9c; …until he takes my side and executes judgment for me. The Contemporary English Version’s translation better captures the original meaning of the verse, “until He comes to my defense. But I know that I will see him making things right for me…” Of all the verses in the Old Testament, I think this one best expresses the concept of grace, and the hope we have because of it. It almost parallels the great grace passage found in I John 2:1, “My little children, I am writing these things to you that may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” In New Testament times, an advocate was one who pleaded a case for an accused person (came to their defense). Both of these verses teach us that when we miss the goal and take responsibility for it, God himself (the aggrieved party) will come to our defense, and then come to our aid! This isn’t a license to “sin”, rather it is an assurance that God’s love is a “steadfast love” and his “grace is freely given” to all who accept God’s terms.

Day Seven, Micah 7:9d; He will bring me out to the light; I will see his vindication. Have you ever done something and just wanted to hide? In Biblical days, it was customary to open the house up during daylight hours and sit outside. But when someone was ashamed (either because of something they had done or a family member had done) they would go into their little house, close the door and block out the light. They would sit in darkness and ignore anyone who came by to check on them. While we might not go to such extremes in our modern era, we often withdraw into our darkened mental house full of self-doubt, self recrimination and self-loathing. We kick ourselves for what we’ve done and brood over it until we become depressed and irritable toward those around us. It is true that we can learn from our mistakes, but this part of this passage tells us that once we’ve realized our mistake, taken responsibility for it and allowed God to “come to our defense”, He wants us to stand up, dust ourselves off, and get on with the business of living! My late father used to say that the picture of Jesus “standing at the door and knocking” in Revelation 3:20 referred to Jesus knocking on the darkened house of one who was ashamed, entreating them to realize the fullness of God’s grace by opening the door and allowing Him to come in and nourish and encourage them in order that they might forgive themselves and walk with Him into the brightness of the day God offers all of us.