In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel is revealed to be God's people. The prophet named Ezekiel had many visions regarding the fate of the nation of Israel. In chapter 39, he mentioned a future war where an enemy of Israel will be slaughtered as a testament to what waits for any nation that wars against God's people. It would seem that Israel with God on her side, has nothing to worry about. That is, until we learn in verse 24 that it was Israel's sin that has led the nation to the brink of destruction.

We're not that different from Israel when it comes to self-inflicted misery. What I mean by that is we tend to sin as if there is no price to pay, believing God will wink at our transgression and give us a pass on judgment. We fail to consider that God never changes. While he may have compassion on sinners, he has zero tolerance of sin. But, aren't you glad that we can come to our senses and pray, knowing He will hear our distress and come to our rescue. But note that like Israel, we should expect sin to leave its mark as we deal with the consequences of our disobedience.

Thank God, even though we may bear the marks of our past mistakes, we can still be used to show God's glory to the world. When we turn to Him and repent of our sin, God fills us with His Holy Spirit much like He will one day when He pours His Spirit out on His Israel. He no longer hides His face from us, but restores us and gives us power to learn from our mistakes.

Have you found the grace of God's forgiveness or are you complaining about your circumstances, claiming God abandoned you? It will take generations of rebellious Israelites to come to that knowledge because of their obstinateness. We, on the other hand, are seemingly content to live out of fellowship with God rather than admit our failures - even when it only takes a few moments of prayer and honesty with God to turn things around.

The matter is in your hands. Will you pray and get right with God? Its funny how God has always known his people better than they know themselves. But speaking for myself, I don't God that well when I'd rather quietly deal with consequences of sin than admit they could've been avoided by simply staying close to God and obeying His word.

1. Pray Through the Word - 365 devotionals on the subject of prayer by James R. Green (Prov 11; Eze 39)
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

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