Tag: groan

11.

Micah 4:9   Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pain seized you like a woman in labor? Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued; there the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. Now many nations are assembled against you, saying, “Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.” But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.

Jeremiah 30:6-7     Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale?  Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.

Isaiah 13:8   They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.

Jeremiah 22:23    O inhabitant of Lebanon, nested among the cedars, how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you, pain as of a woman in labor!”

Isaiah 21:3    Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see.

Hosea 13:10-11     Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers— those of whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”?

Time and time again people of God have forsaken their love and devotion to Him.  He sends prophets to speak the truth, warnings, and righteousness expected.  What do they do? They still choose to disobey and turn their ears deaf to His calling to them.  Time and time again.  It is not as though they have not heard of the anger of God being displayed against people who have forsaken Him in the past.  Yet in their time of prosperity and peace, they choose to go down paths that are away from God.  They first become complacent and then neglectful and then disobedient.  It is not as though one day they woke up and said “Let us be disobedient to God.  It is a small step up on a small step upon a small step.  Our growth in Jesus Christ is word upon word, line upon line, and precept upon precept.  When we allow ourselves to become neglectful and complacent we are not adding word upon word, line upon line, or precept upon precept.  We are though, taking small steps away from God and it does not take many of these steps to lose your way and/or influence others to lose their way too.  We do well to search God’s Word for truth for our soul  We do well to search it for meaning in our lives.  We do well to seek and desire it with all our hearts, minds, and souls.  In it, we will find soul-deep satisfaction.  In it, we will find living water that will continue to purify our sinful nature.  In it, we will become aware of sin in our lives.  In it, we will find hope for today and tomorrow.  In it we will be more than conquerors, we will be God-honoring faithful, trustful, and obedient followers.

The way of his own heart

“Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?”

Psalms 107:17  Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;  they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.  Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!  And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

 Psalms 14:1   The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good

Psalms 92:6  The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever;

 Proverbs 1:22   “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?  

 Proverbs 7:7    and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense,

 Psalms 38:1-8    O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath!  For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me.  There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.  For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.  My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness,  I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning.  For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.  I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

 Isaiah 57:17-18    Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.  I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, 

 Jeremiah 2:19     Your evil will chastise you, and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God; the fear of me is not in you, declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

Foolish, simple, backsliding, lacking sense, hating knowledge, and no fear of God all speak of the condition of man and the potential to forsake God.  I sometimes wonder if much has changed in mankind.  Our sinful nature is always sticking its ugly head up into our lives.  Some of these verses were written over 2500 years ago and yet they seem to apply as written for today. Think of the technology today that draws us away from seeking, speaking, following, praising, and listening to Him.  iPad, iPhone, computer, smart TV, and easy transportation all are used to fill our lives.  It does not take long for them to erode our walk with God.  Busyness and technology quickly lead us down a path of complacent neglect and is no excuse.  It takes a fully committed heart, mind and soul to seek, follow, honor, listen to, and obey God.  Do you want to hear His whispers of guidance? – Read His word.  Do you want to find purpose and satisfaction? – Read His word.   Are you tired of seeing everyday as just another self centered meaningless non-fulfilling day?  Read His word.  In His word we find promises of hope, joy, grace, mercy, eternal life, forgiveness, peace, rest, power, strength, and His steadfast love.

Momentary affliction

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,”

Psalms 38:1   O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.  My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.  I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.  O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me. My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off.

Hebrews 12:5  And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”  It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?  If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.  Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?  For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.  For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Proverbs 15:10   There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.

We do not have to walk long on this path with God to experience His hand in our life.  Blessings, one after another.  I wonder if we count His discipline as a blessing.  We should but sometimes we have wondered away and He loves us so much that He disciplines us to get us back on path.  Staying close to God is always a blessing.  What is it that is pulling you away from this closeness?

Transgressions Blotted Out

” Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”

“So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Psalms 25:7  Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!

Psalms 79:8   Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low

Psalms 109:14   May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!

Isaiah 38:17   Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.

Isaiah 43:25   “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins

Isaiah 64:9    Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever

Hebrews 8:12  For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Hebrews 10:16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”  then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”  Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Proverbs 5:7-14   And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.  Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,  lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless,  lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,  and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,  and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!  I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.  I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.”.

Psalms 51:1  Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Ephesians 2:4-8  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—  and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

It scripture is very clear and people are recorded knowing they were without hope and dead in their sin unless God in His mercy: “blotted it out”, “remembered it no more”, “cast their sin behind His back”.  They understood there was nothing they could do to remove this sin from before God.  They had great understanding of God’s judgement of sin and they were helpless before Him.  Before Christ they had faith in laying their sin at God’s feet and trusting His mercy to not count it against them.  They confessed that they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God.  We also read that all of mankind is without excuse because thought they new God they have chosen not to honor Him or give thanks to Him.  So what is a person to do to be right with God?  Confess you are a sinner, repent and turn away from your previous ways of living, believe, and trust in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, and then live your life with a heart, mind, and soul desire to humbly serve, honor, and glorify God in all you do, think, and say.  “For by grace your are saved”!!!!!!