Corona Devo 1092

I don't think "cycle" is the correct term (because it explains the repetition of occurrences, but not the root of them).  I believe that "cause and effect" is a more appropriate way to describe the seasons of blessing, favor, sin, consequence and "rest" that we experience as individuals and as God's people.

Looking for an example?  

For thirty-one years, the people of Jerusalem lived, followed and enjoyed a great and God-fearing King named Josiah.  He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight (2 Chronicles 34:2).  

When we follow the Lord/His Word (the Bible)/His ways=Life is good.

~~~

But then, the cause-and-effect of us being human occurs: people focus more on themselves than God and we pull away (or allow ourselves to be distracted) from His desires and we feed into our own.  Sin enters.

Things can't work-out the (good) way that God has planned for us...if we will not defer to Him and allow Him the authority to work in our lives.  

Back in Judah and Jerusalem (during the time of 2 Chronicles 36), king after king came and went and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God (2 Chronicles 36:5).

Ungodly kings ruled over God's people, stripped the Temple of the (physical) sacred objects of the Lord, and over time, their rule of the people stripped the people of their spiritual sacred beliefs and trust in the Lord.  

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king... (12) But Zedekiah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and he refused to humble himself when the prophet Jeremiah spoke to him directly from the Lord. (13) ...Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to the Lord, the God of Israel.  

(14) Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, desecrating the Temple of the Lord that had been consecrated in Jerusalem.  

(15) The Lord, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple. (16) But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the Lord’s anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done.    ~2 Chronicles 36:11-16

Our world becomes broken when we are not following God's Laws and we are following our own.  Life gets very difficult.  

We serve a loving God.  But we are also in service to a holy God.  An almighty God.  The One True God and the King of kings.

The Lord will pursue us, relentlessly.  But our continual stiff-arm to His authority over our lives cannot be perpetually tolerated by a holy/pure/sinless God without consequence.  

So the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm...

(18 )The king took home to Babylon all the articles, large and small, used in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both the Lord’s Temple and from the palace of the king and his officials. 

(19) Then his army burned the Temple of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces, and completely destroyed everything of value. (20) The few who survived were taken as exiles to Babylon, and they became servants to the king and his sons...

(21) So the message of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said.   ~2 Chronicles 36:17-21

People wandered (and allowed themselves to be led) away from God, and then they received what they had desired: Separation from Him.  Life (in this part of the cycle) is not good.  It is not-at-all what God intended for us, but it becomes the reality that we have chosen.

~~~

Evaluate for ourselves and for our Nation--Can we identify with a stage of this cause-and-effect process right now?  

    Are we living for God today?

    Have we been led (or willingly distracted) away from God's plan (and instruction) for our lives?

    Are we receiving the consequence/allowance for our self-will and sin?

    Or are we in the "Sabbath rest" period of renewal?

~~~

"Cycle" isn't quite the right word, but "cause-and-effect" is the correct term.  We see these phases play-out as we seek (and sink) in attempting to serve the Lord.

Adam and Eve lived in paradise with the Lord...until they allowed themselves to be distracted by the serpent who dangled pride in front of them, and they took a bite.  The effect and consequence of their "original" sin are still passed down to every new born baby.  The family of God entered into the cause-and-effect of sin that day in the Garden of Eden, and unless we accept Jesus into our hearts (and even when we do), the battle against sin is a palpable pressure that pounds us daily.  But in Christ, we receive God's forgiveness, and can enjoy rest (in our spirit) from the world's unrest.

~~~

The Israelites were God's chosen people.  He rescued about two million of them out of slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh.  They believed Moses (and God's Word), and they followed Moses into the wilderness on their way to (their) Promised Land.  God had promised it to them, and He wanted it for them.  But their ingratitude and lack-of-faith prevented all but two of them from actually entering the Promised Land.  Only two (Joshua and Caleb) believed in the Lord whole-heartedly, and the rest of them lived-out their lives while wandering in the wilderness as a consequence of their self-will and sin.  

~~~

These are (only) two examples from the Bible, and I have more than I care to share from the past 40 years of my "wanderings" in the wilderness (before and after I came to know the Lord!)

But I will not accept "cycle" as the correct term (because it only explains the repetition of occurrences, but not the root of them).  

Until we realize that there is a "cause" and an "effect" (consequence/allowance) for each of our life- choices, then we will keep wandering and being distracted by sin and the world's "gods".

But...if we will seek God and stand for God...there are the blessings of knowing God and being in communion with Him.  

That's the effect that we want God to cause in our lives today.   

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com