Take Ownership

Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Yahweh.
Let us lift up our heart with our hands to God in the heavens.
We have transgressed and have rebelled; you have not pardoned.
You have covered with anger and pursued us; you have killed, you have not pitied.
You have covered yourself with a cloud, so that no prayer can pass through.
You have made us an off-scouring and refuse in the middle of the peoples.
All our enemies have opened their mouth wide against us.
Fear and the pit have come on us, devastation and destruction.
My eye runs down with streams of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
My eye pours down, and doesn’t cease, without any intermission,
Until Yahweh look down, and see from heaven.
— Lamentations 3:40-50 WEB

The Book of Lamentations, thought to be authored by the prophet Jeremiah, is a collection of lamentations on the destruction of Jerusalem and the capture, enslavement and exile of its people. Following these events, many wondered how God could have done these things to His chosen people.
But in this passage, the writer explains that it is not God who is ultimately responsible for these events, but the people themselves. God had given instruction to the people on how to live. But the people and their leadership ignored God. They did not do so all at once, but gradually, a little at a time, to the point where their transgressions did not seem as such to them. But they transgressed none the less.
When the destruction and the enslavement finally came, the people wondered, “How could God do this to us?” But the writer responds, “How could we have done this to ourselves?” The writer calls for self-examination. He calls for the people to take ownership of what has happened to them, to search themselves, and to turn back to God.

As we look to a new year, let us also take ownership of our lives. Let us acknowledge that God loves us and wants the best for us, but we do not always do what is best for ourselves. Let us prayerfully examine and try our ways. Let us ask God to help us recognize the sin, the bad, the things He knows are not the best for us. Let us welcome the pruning process with praise and thanks, knowing that the end will be better than the start. And whatever the outcome, let us remember that God loves us and is with us always.
-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lamentations 3:22-23 – Even Through the Bad, God is Faithful

Image
The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. --Lamentations 3:22-23 NASB The most significant thing about this wonderful passage is where we find it in the Bible. The Book of Lamentations tells of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, which took place over 587 and 586 BC when Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar overran the city. The surviving inhabitants either fled to other countries, were carried away to Babylon as slaves or remained under the brutal rule of an occupying force. Lamentations does not name its author, but it is generally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah. For many years Jeremiah had warned the people and their leaders about their unfaithfulness to God. Jeremiah knew that being chosen by God did not translate to a free pass. He knew that actions had consequences. If God's people were not faithful to God's instructions, bad things would happen. But even
Read more

The Abomination and the Tribulation

Jesus continued to answer the disciples' questions about the destruction of the temple, the signs of His coming, and the end of the age. “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, and you see standing in the holy place—where it should not be—the ‘abomination of desolation,’ as described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), you will know that Jerusalem’s desolation is near. Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city. And let no one in the field return for their cloak. Let no one on the housetop go back inside to retrieve anything from their house. For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. “How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against these people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the
Read more

When Will These Things Happen?

Jesus and His disciples arrived at the Mount of Olives. And Jesus sat down opposite the temple. His disciples had not stopped thinking about what Jesus had said about the temple—that the time would come when one stone would not be left upon another. And so, Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to Jesus privately. “Teacher, they asked, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ They will deceive many. But do not follow them.” “You will hear of wars, rumors of wars, and rebellions. But do not be alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come. Then He told them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven. All these are the beginning
Read more