Day 272: Sorrow to Joy

Revelation 16; Esther 9-10; Psalm 107:23-43

I think if we have been a Christian for a long time, we forget what it is like to not believe in God. In Revelation, it talks about the angels pouring out the bowls of God's wrath on the earth. These are terrible curses on the world and those who have the mark of the beast "cursed the name of God who had power over these terrible troubles. But no one turned to God and praised him." Later, "because of their painful sores, they cursed the God who rules in heaven. But still they did not stop doing evil things." These people acknowledge that God is real, he is powerful, he is active, and he can hear them. They ACKNOWLEDGE that, but they refuse to worship him. I think this shows an interesting place in a person's spiritual walk. There may be people around us who simply believe there isn't a God. Then there may be those who admit that there is a God, maybe even the one true God, but they refuse to worship him. It is so important that we Christians submit our lives to The Lord and allow him to work in us and through us. We need to love and help and serve like Jesus, to be an example of the full and abundant life that he promised; this will demonstrate to those who believe God is real but don't submit, just how powerful a life lived for God can be.

God gave the Jews permission to take things from their slain enemies, but every time, they don't. Is this because their faith was strong and they felt they didn't need more stuff? That God would provide? Whatever the reason, I find it interesting. Then they celebrate to "remember this month as a time when our sorrow was turned to joy, and celebration took the place of crying." God can and does turn our sorrows into joy and he wants us to find ways to remember those powerful moments. That's why they made a special day to remember this and all of it was written down, like a big journal. I pray that we are able to find ways to remember the wonderful things God has done in our lives so that when we go through tough times and all we feel is sorrow, we will have faith that joy is on its way.

Like the previous verses discussed in the previous post, this psalm is all about rescue. God rescues us from the serious trouble that we will have in this life; this psalm pretty much promises all of that. It ends with some thoughts on choices though. It talks about how God can turn rivers into deserts and fruitful fields into beds of salt. Why? If we choose to live outside of his blessing, his grace, his will, his plan for our lives, this is what the landscape of our life will turn into. On the other side, however, if we choose to live in his blessing, his grace, his will, and his plan for our lives, "the Lord can also turn deserts into lakes." Who we live for will determine the richness and fruitfulness of our lives. That's a very powerful thought.