FEELING GREAT DOESN’T MAKE IT RIGHT!

There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.  Hosea 2: 15

My will is a stubborn thing.  I am bent on rebellion without God’s grace.  I want to do my own thing – my own way  – and pursue my own interests.  Narcissism appeals.  Whatever gods I chase will initially make me feel great.  They promise instant gratification and they deliver.  Giving up rights to myself and submitting to God’s purposes is the hardest decision I’ll ever make.  What usually motivates it?  Pain.

        Achan was greedy.  After Joshua and the children of Israel brought the spoils of their enemies home, spoils that were to belong to God, Achan was tempted to steal a beautiful Babylonian robe and a wedge of gold.  It seemed harmless enough and no one would ever miss them, so he took them.  Imagine his shock when God told Joshua of Achan’s sin!  Achan was found guilty, stoned, and the valley where this occurred was named the Valley of Achor, which means, “trouble”.

        I have lived Achan’s story.  I’ve known the exhilaration of pursuing what I want.  I’ve smugly stroked my stolen robes, thinking I was beyond God’s grasp, but my choices caught up with me.  The things I so desperately thought I needed eroded in my hands and my journey had taken me to the valley of trouble.

        Repentance is the catalyst that causes God to transform the land of trouble into the door of hope.  When God turns from His anger and reaches out to me in mercy, it is a wondrous thing.  Today, I need not fear being stoned to death.  Because of Jesus, there is mercy.  He was already punished in my place and the journey to the foot of the cross unlocks the doorway of hope.

True joy is what occurs when I submit my will to Yours, Lord.  Amen