Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. Nahum 1: 6-7 KJV
The context: This was a message about Nineveh, who God has sent Jonah to preach against. The people, led by their king, repented, and God forgave them. Fast forward a few years later, the land of Nineveh was back in sin. It doesn't matter what the world preaches and teaches these days: if God calls a thing sin, no degree, acquisition, connection, influence or bleach can present it as anything else. It is sin, and the punishment prescribed by God for sin is death. You can take it as God has said and take caution, or you can hold on to lies. As always, the choice is always personal.
And then we try to convince ourselves that God forgets. The Almighty God, who keeps covenants to a thousand generations, is the One we think we can fool with outward hypocrisy. Oh yes, he does forget, but that is when a man repents from sin and sincerely seeks Him. He gives a brand new start, washes a man clean, and seals the man for the day of redemption.
That is what the full package of salvation secures. If this is true for a man who genuinely seeks God, imagine what the fate of a man who rejects God is. If I reject God, I cannot turn around and blame Him for the consequences of my choice. If He held Isaac, Isaiah and Israel to a certain standard, why would I think He will hold me to a lesser standard? If He is truly an eternal God, isn't it not surprising that nothing has changed?
Grace is available in abundant measure, but it doesn't permit sin. It gives strength to live right, not to excuse sin. If I use grace as an excuse for sin, it means I do not even understand what grace is. Note: if God could turn his eyes away from His Son as he hung on the cross, there is no human being who will be excused if s/he dies in sin. Do not let the world's philosophy deceive you into thinking there will be no consequences for rejecting God.
I read today's extract with some bit of self examination. When the wrath of God is revealed against sin, who is that man that can stand? When his fury against all that is wrong is expressed, who can abide? Yet, in the same breath, God is presented as a good God, and a stronghold in the day of trouble. I must therefore find out where I need to be or what I need to be doing if I am to escape the day of wrath and enjoy the protection available in God.
I believe the key words here are: He knoweth them that trust in Him. It is God's perspective that counts, not what I or the people around me think. I could be busy at work for God, moving mountains and making impact, yet God may not reckon with me. I may claim that I am working for God, but God does not know me as His own. And that is the danger in making assumptions. Should I seek to deceive people with outward activity empty of God's personal touch, or should I seek first to know God personally before I even seek to impact men?
And I must know that I deal with a God of absolute knowledge. I cannot deceive Him. He knows if I trust Him completely, or if I am caught in multiple scenarios. And the word trust isn't used lightly. It is not what I claim or project, but what God thinks. So, I must seek to know what God thinks of me. Once I have that settled, it doesn't matter what other men think. If God is sure of my allegiance, He is sure that my life will give Him glory and He can use me as He pleases. If He is not sure, it doesn't then matter how 'mightily' I am used or how people applaud. May I not stand before God and find out that I had pursued the wrong approval. He is coming back again, just as He has said over and over again. Events today back this up. Now is the time to avoid the coming wrath. Are you ready? Am I? His time of favour is here.
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