Wearing the Mess You Made

 

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Do not gloat over me, my enemies!  For though I fall, I will rise again.  Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.  I will be patient as the Lord punishes me, for I have sinned against him.  But after that, he will take up my case and give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies. The Lord will bring me into the light, and I will see his righteousness.  Then my enemies will see that the Lord is on my side.  They will be ashamed that they taunted me, saying, “So where is the Lord—that God of yours?”  With my own eyes I will see their downfall; they will be trampled like mud in the streets.  In that day, Israel, your cities will be rebuilt, and your borders will be extended.  People from many lands will come and honor you—from Assyria all the way to the towns of Egypt, from Egypt all the way to the Euphrates River, and from distant seas and mountains.  But the land will become empty and desolate because of the wickedness of those who live there.  O Lord, protect your people with your shepherd’s staff; lead your flock, your special possession.  Though they live alone in a thicket on the heights of Mount Carmel, let them graze in the fertile pastures of Bashan and Gilead as they did long ago.  “Yes,” says the Lord, “I will do mighty miracles for you, like those I did when I rescued you from slavery in Egypt.”  All the nations of the world will stand amazed at what the Lord will do for you.  They will be embarrassed at their feeble power.  They will cover their mouths in silent awe, deaf to everything around them.  Like snakes crawling from their holes, they will come out to meet the Lord our God.  They will fear him greatly, trembling in terror at his presence.  Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people?  You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love.  Once again you will have compassion on us.  You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!  You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.  Micah 7:8-20

Of course the story of Israel, starting with Abram, is like the story of us all, starting with Adam.  The story begins with God’s kindness and gifts; it quickly progresses to a fall.  Sin is more than endemic, or pandemic, it is universally common to human DNA.  I have (what is probably) an annoying habit of taking impromptu surveys when I preach.  I may have asked one question more than any other; how many of you have NEVER sinned…not even once?  In 40 years of preaching I’ve never seen a single hand raised to claim perfect innocence.  The obvious conclusion is that we ALL make a mess of life.  Jeremiah said so in the Old Testament, and Paul validated it in the New Testament: 

Lord, we confess our wickedness and that of our ancestors, too.  We all have sinned against you.  Jeremiah 14:20
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  Romans 3:23

If you listen very closely to what Micah wrote about Israel’s mess-up, and how the prophet steps into Israel’s shoes, he, on behalf of his people, is owning it, confessing it, wearing the mess.  And in the middle of that messy-dress admission of guilt, the prophet speaks a word to every one of us who possesses human DNA:

When you’ve messed up it’s right to confess two things:

     1.     That YOU messed up, you’re not a victim; you’re the perp!

     2.     That God’s not done with you, because you’re willing to admit the mess-up, and ask for help to change.

For You Today

It’s important to see the hand of God mete out punishment for our sinfulness.  And it’s just as important (maybe more so) to see that God derives no joy in doing so; as the perfect parent, our Heavenly Father punishes in order to correct.  And that tells us He hasn’t written us off.  You correct what you are still going to keep and use; you don’t throw away what you love.

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

[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©