God's goodness and our wayward hearts

"According to their pasture, so were they filled. They were filled and their heart was lifted up. Therefore they have forgotten Me." (Hosea 13:6)

Indeed we serve a great God, one who wants nothing but the best for us. While stated in Jeremiah 29:11 (For I know the purposes which I am purposing for you, says Jehovah; purposes of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope), this is best summed up by John 3:16-17.

What is really tragic though is that as a result of our Lord blessings, many times, we tend to slide away from Him. Its as if through His blessings, we decide that we are self-made and no longer need Him.  Right in the beginning, with all the blessing and provision of the garden of Eden, man blatantly disobeyed God resulting the entire human race being condemned (Genesis 3). The children or Israel were hardly delivered from slavery when they went off dancing around a golden calf and provoking God; claiming that the calf which they had created had in fact bought them out of Egypt (Exodus 32).

And so the pattern continues throughout history with people crying out to God, the Lord hearing, receiving and restoring them, and then a growing cold as people take what God has blessed them with and then use it to pursue their own will and pleasures.We live as if we are the creators of our own destiny. All this makes me think of a term that I heard the other day, "Atheist Christian" i.e. someone who confesses God but lives like He doesn't exist.

Like the old hymn, my heart cries out,
"Keep me true Lord Jesus, keep me true.
There's a race that I must run.
There are victories to be won.
Give me power every hour to be true."

What a contrast the above verse from Hosea is with Psalm 23.

Psalm 23

1. The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
2. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
3. He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5. You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Here the psalmist acknowledges that God is his support and sustainence.  He feeds, eats and drinks (i.e. lives) in the safety and surety of the Lord. Rather than drifting from God, he draws close in both good times and bad times, times of praise and times of discipline. Like Job and Paul he has absolute confidence in the Lord.

"For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall rise on the earth at the last;  (26)  and even after they corrupt my skin, yet this: in my flesh I shall see God.....", Job (Job 19:25-26)

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.  (8)  Now there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that Day; and not to me only, but also to all those who love His appearing.", Paul (2Ti 4:7-8)

"I know not what of good or ill

May be reserved for me,

Of weary ways or golden days,

Before His face I see.

But I know Whom I have believèd,

And am persuaded that He is able

To keep that which I’ve committed

Unto Him against that day."

Even though Paul had and lived by the above convictions, he was still very aware of the weakness of his flesh. "So then I run, not as if I were uncertain. And so I fight, not as one who beats the air.  (27)  But I buffet my body, and lead it captive, lest proclaiming to others I myself might be rejected." (1 Corinthians 9:26-27), "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?  (25)  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then with the mind I myself serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." (Romans 7:24-25) 

In short what makes one believer stand out from another is his or her willingness to die to self and truly put God first in his or her life. As John puts it, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). Which once again is best summed up by Christ, "And He said to all, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. " (Luke 9:23)

2 Peter 1:10, "Therefore, brothers, rather be diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things, you shall never fall." As Luke 9:23 says, this is a continual, daily experience. Not that we are working our way to heaven as our salvation is secured and wrought through our Lord. We do however need to ensure that we allowing Him to renew our mind (Romans 12:2), and that we are not growing hard of heart (Hebrews 3:8), but rather that we are growing up daily into Him (Ephesians 4:15,1 Peter 2:2,2 Peter 3:18).

The great thing about drawing close to God is that He draws close to us (Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. James 4:8). Therefore the process or action of abiding in Christ (1 John 2:28) turns out not to be that difficult; it's simply a decision that needs to be followed through on.