“Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them.”
~ Isaiah 30:20
Hi James and Ellen,
Are you good at making a decision? What happens when you make a wrong or bad decision? A wrong or bad decision can be circling the wrong multiple choice answer on a test that a teacher is giving resulting in the student failing the test. A wrong or bad decision can be driving over the posted speed limit resulting in having a policeman pulling the driver over to give the driver a speeding ticket. A wrong or bad decision can be experimenting with a mind altering drug resulting in a guy, gal or kid suffering irreparable brain damage. A wrong or bad decision can be ignoring the quiet, guiding voice of God – as God the Spirit, urging repentance and believing in what Jesus Christ did when He gave up His life while on a cross resulting in having to suffer the consequences of having listened to the tempting, beckoning voice of the evil one – who is Satan. Israelite people group leaders who were living a little over 2700 years ago in the country of Judah and in the city of Jerusalem made a really wrong or bad decision. These Israelite people group leaders opted to ask Egyptian country leaders for their help versus asking God for His help. About 700 years before God – as God the Spirit, breathed on Isaiah the words that are scribed in the Isaiah Book, God – in His sovereign way, led His specially chosen guys, gals and kids – the Israelite people group guys, gals and kids, out of the country of Egypt. It would then take the next forty years for the Israelite people group guys, gals and kids – God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids, to finally be able to enter into the land area – which was the land area of Canaan, that God was giving to them to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . God had His specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group guys, gals and kids do a forty year exodus in and about a barren, hot region because they did not believe that God would actually kill the giants for them who were living in the land area of Canaan. Because some Israelite people group leaders who were living in the land of Judah and in the city of Jerusalem did not believe again that God would help them, they decided to join forces with guys from the country of Aram before going to the country of Egypt to ask for Shabako’s help. The Egyptian Pharoah at this time was Shabako. About seven years before Hezekiah – who was ruling at this time as king over the guys and gals who were living in the land area of Judah, some of the leaders among God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in land of Judah and in the city of Jerusalem and some of the Aramean leaders left for the country of Egypt to ask the Egyptians for their help, the Assyrian army had wracked havoc on God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the northern Israelite kingdom in the land area of Israel. There was the concern that because God had not helped the northern kingdom of Israel against Assyria’s army, that God likely would not help Israel’s southern kingdom of Israel – which was the land area of Judah, against Assyria’s army.
An unacceptable, wrong or bad decision – on God’s part anyway, is to give in to a mindset that God does not have the power or the desire to help when serious help is needed. Isaiah does some sobering ranting in Isaiah 30. God – as God the Spirit, breathed some very strong words on Isaiah to scribe. God – as God the Father, wanted His specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the land of Judah and in the city of Jerusalem to know through His prophet spokesman – who was Isaiah, that He was seeing them acting out as obstinate kids. Has your dad and/or ma ever called you obstinate kids? Your grandpaa is pretty sure that you are at times obstinate kids. Your grandpaa can be kind of – okay very, obstinate at times. Your grandpaa hopes though that you are not being obstinate with God – that you are always listening for and to His quiet, guiding voice – as God the Spirit. God – as God the Spirit, is always there beside/inside you always guiding you in the way/direction that God – as God the Father, wants you to walk. God really likes it when a guy, gal or kid asks Him for His help. God is very clear about the fact that He will help any guy, gal or kid who asks Him for His help. God is also very clear about the absolute fact that He is continuingly giving life exams to guys, gals and kids that a guy, gal and kid can pass with flying colors and will lead the guy, gal or kid to enjoy a peace reward for having passed the life test or that guy, gal or kid can fail miserably that will lead the guy, gal or kid to suffer with a very helpless emptiness for having failed the life test. Verse 20 says, “Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them.” Are you okay with being tested and graded by God on how well that you do on the adversity and affliction tests that He is giving you? What can you learn from a mistaken, wrong or bad decision? A mistake, wrong or bad decision is a life teacher. A mistake, wrong on bad decision reinforces a good decision. Even though you will make a lot of mistaken, wrong or bad decisions, God uses these mistaken, wrong and bad decisions to teach you the difference between how fulfilling and meaningful life is when He is asked for help and how empty and hopeless life is when He is not asked for help.
In God’s pre-wired schematic for a soul, all life tests that He gives to a guy, gal or kid have two responses – a right or wrong response. God’s response to a wrong response is to have a guy, gal or kid feel as if he or she has been put into a fire pit. God’s response to a good response is to have a guy, gal or kid feel as if he or she has been given a gift of absolute joy. Something to be considered is that God – because He is sovereign and omniscient, allows and directs every moment of your lives which means that what you think of as a life goof is in God’s eyes not a life goof.
Isaiah 30 (827)