Monday, January 31, 2022

January 31, 2022

Deuteronomy 28: 65-67  (NIV)
Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!” – because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.
The wicked have everything to dread.*
In these verses, the Israelites are being warned of the dire consequences of offending God. They know their punishment is coming and they know they deserve it. They are overcome with dread and guilt.

Dread is an interesting state of mind. When a dreaded event is on the horizon, time moves at an accelerated rate. When you are in the midst of the much-dreaded experience, time stands still. When you just know something awful is about to happen but you don’t know when or where, it robs every moment of its joy. We begin almost to look forward to the hateful thing just so we can get through it and on with life.

Have you ever been so miserable that in the morning you couldn’t wait until the day was over but the night was so horrible that you longed for it to be morning again? Were these awful feelings ever the result of a guilty conscience? A guilty conscience is not such a bad thing – it means we are still conscious of our sinfulness. But, beware of two dangers involved with the conscience:

1) Ignoring it until it no longer functions properly – as Christians, the Holy Spirit is the voice of our conscience. In I Thessalonians 5: 19, we are warned not to “put out the Spirit’s fire.”
2) Becoming addicted to a burden of guilt – some people seem to have become so used to having guilt as their constant companion that they wouldn’t feel normal without it.

We, too, can count on dire – eternal – consequences for our sin if we aren’t covered by the blood of Jesus. When we surrender to Jesus, we are delivered from the dread of punishment, relieved of our guilt, and presented with abundant life. It’s our choice . . .
You are one decision away from joy.*

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