Making It Personal
In verses 6 and 7 you see the pride that goes along with keeping the Law. What can man do to bring the Lord to earth? What can man do to raise Him up from the dead? The answer, NOTHING in his own power. How arrogant to think that we can control the Son of God by our actions.
There are some things that man can do to move a loving God and touch His graciousness. We know prayer catches the attention of God, James 5:16. Psalms 77 and 18 show us a God who is touched by the struggles of His children. Not only is He touched, but when a hurting child cries out to the Lord, He gives attendance to our cries.
In II Chronicles 33:12, 13 we see an interesting account of how Manasseh treated the Lord’s Word. Manasseh heard from the Lord, he and the rest of the Israelites ignored it, and God brought on the Assyrians to afflict them. In the affliction, Manasseh cried unto the
Lord and God was moved. God then helped and returned Manasseh to Jerusalem. Manasseh got to the point where he realized it was all God,
humility, and the Lord did His work through Manasseh.
We know that praise also moves the Lord. II Chronicles 5:13, 14 give us an account when the people of the Lord praised God with pure hearts. God was so moved that He could not help but show up and show up He did. God’s presence was so overwhelming that the priests could not even minister any more. Not only does He deserve our worship, but He loves it.
God also is moved by our obedience. Joshua gives us a clear picture of God working through our obedience, even when the plan does not make sense to us at all. Marching around a city 7 times and then 7 times on the last day doesn’t sound like much of a battle plan. Yelling at the wall isn’t going to accomplish much. However, this is what God told Joshua to do and this is precisely what they did. God was moved and the obedient children were victorious. So, what are you doing to get a hold of the very heart of God today? Was He touched by your worship? Was He moved by your obedience? Let us see God work through His humble people this week!