Friday, August 12, 2016

Orchard of Driftwood

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.
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.
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

How are you praying this prayer for revival?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…have a blessed day!

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NOTES


[i] Title Image:  By John Fowler from Placitas, NM, USA (Delicates2), via Wikimedia Commons

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