Friday, August 12,
2016
You brought us from
Egypt like a grapevine; you drove away the pagan nations and transplanted us
into your land. You cleared the ground for us, and
we took root and filled the land. Our shade covered the mountains;
our branches covered the mighty cedars. We spread our
branches west to the Mediterranean Sea; our shoots spread east to the Euphrates
River.
But now, why have you broken down our walls so that all who pass by may steal our fruit? The wild boar from the forest devours it, and the wild animals feed on it.
But now, why have you broken down our walls so that all who pass by may steal our fruit? The wild boar from the forest devours it, and the wild animals feed on it.
Come back, we beg you,
O God of Heaven’s Armies. Look down from
heaven and see our plight. Take care of
this grapevine that you yourself have planted,
this son you have raised for yourself. For we are chopped up and burned by our enemies. May they perish at the sight of your frown. Strengthen the man you love, the son of your choice. Then we will never abandon you again.
this son you have raised for yourself. For we are chopped up and burned by our enemies. May they perish at the sight of your frown. Strengthen the man you love, the son of your choice. Then we will never abandon you again.
Revive us so we can call on your name once more.
Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.
Psalm 80:8-19(NLT)
In this prayer the Psalmist rehearses
the beginnings of Israel. Like a tender
grapevine, grown in the harsh captive soil of Egypt, God transplanted her in Canaan
land. There she flourished, spreading
out to fill the land with a harvest of Good News – there is a God, and JHWH
loves!
And then…the question…WHY? Why the brokenness in our national life?
The Psalmist asks and answers his own
question; the vine has forgotten how to produce fruit. It no longer lives like a vine. It no longer responds to the Vinedresser, the
Owner of this vineyard. It has become an
orchard
of driftwood.
And the prayer of why
turns to the petition of what; it’s what Israel asked
that God might do to change things, and what America should be asking now:
Revive us so we can call on your name once more.
Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
Make your face shine
down upon us. Only then will we be
saved.
Bring life back to the dead, revive
tjhis pile of kindling and let us once-again bear fruit. It’s a simple prayer,
prayed in faith, ready to act…or wait…or whatever else God has in mind.
There’s no long explanation or sermon
attached, just a heart-felt understanding of the great emptiness caused by an
absence of God, and a willingness to repent and offer ourselves as living sacrifices.
For You Today
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…have
a blessed day!
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