God Came Down

Hey ya’ll!

There have  been several people that have been so encouraging in praying for us at the Clothes Closet. It’s so humbling when someone walks up to you and says, “You are in my prayers regularly!” It’s the obvious reason that I haven’t fully lost my mind. AND it’s the reason that God keeps showing Himself faithful. People JUST pray! They pray and they give and they tell me that they are excited to know that the Lord is at work through this ministry.

Guess what? ME TOO!!!!!!!! I love, love, love seeing His hand at work each week. He blows me away with His provision and His faithfulness every single time the doors are open.

So I recently started a Bible study with my SS ladies and they are beyond precious to me. I know a few of the ladies pretty well, and there are a few that are kind of new to me, but their love for Jesus and for growing in His Word is exciting and I can’t wait to see where this leads!

Well this week we were in the Old Testament. We read in different places in Genesis and Exodus setting the stage in history for the upcoming weeks. There was this one story that has just made me pause. It’s not a new story to me. I learned it when I was a girl growing up in Sunday school. I’ve read it many time, but this time it just made me think a little more. I love how God’s Word does that! Takes something old and makes it fresh and new!

You know that story in the Bible about the people building the Tower of Babel? It was after God destroyed the earth by the flood and the people of Noah (you know.. Noah’s 3 sons and their offspring) began to be fruitful and multiply. God told them (Genesis 9) to fill the earth, but by Chapter 11 they seemed to like one another, didn’t listen to God, and decided to build themselves a tower “with it’s top in the heavens” and they were not wanting to be dispersed over the face of the earth… like God commanded.

They said that they were going to make a name for THEMSELVES. (Gen. 11:4)

They just thought that they were SO great.

Prideful.

Disobedient.

Big.

It just got me thinking about myself. It started making me ask questions like:

“Why do you do what you do?”

“How prideful are you?”

“Do you do things because GOD said or because you think it’s a good idea?”

“What are you building? Is it God honoring?”

When we obey God in one way or another and it goes well for us, do we celebrate one victory and just walk away? Or do we press on in prayer, seeking God and His wisdom to continue in that obedience?

I suppose, for part of my life, I’ve seen obedience as an “event’. God told me to do ABC and I did it, and now what?  

We have to begin to see our walk with God as a journey. An ongoing, day-by-day, walk with Him in all areas of our lives. It’s not just ONE step of obedience and then we go off on our merry way!

What IS that?

ANYWAY… the story continues ( and this part CRACKS ME UP every time! I laugh OUT LOUD at God and the silly people) in Genesis 11:5 and it says, “And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the children of man had built.”

Did you see it?

The people were going to build their BIG. OLD. TOWER. It was going to reach the HEAVENS!

And the LORD had to COME DOWN to see it.

Oh. I die.

We are so sure that what we are doing is just AH-MAZING! We are going to impress people AND God. But here’s a few things to think about…

#1- God didn’t tell them to do it

#2- They have already forgotten their heritage that had been wiped out by a flood because of the sins of their forefathers- forgot where they’d come from and the judgment  that ensued

#3 GOD DIDN’T TELL THEM TO DO IT!!!!!!!! In fact, He told them to do the exact opposite.

So, instead of the people obeying God in the first place, they wasted ALL that time and energy on building a tower and city and then GOD’s will takes place anyway. He confused their languages so they could not understand each other and FORCED them to go through out the earth. (Gen.11:7-8)

I don’t know about you, but I am flat out tired of using all of my energy on what I think is right! GOD is GOD! He is right 100% of the time and His plan is best… THE FIRST TIME!

I don’t know what God is telling you to do, but let’s consider these things:

God does NOT have a plan for living in sin. As a matter of fact He sent His ONLY Son for that very purpose. When we think that our way is the best because it just feels good, we like it or we just CAN not stop.. we are wrong and God WILL help us overcome whatever we face so that the patterns of sin can die in our lives.

GOD DOES have a plan for our lives. We can trust that when we start pursuing Him that He will show Himself faithful and He will direct our paths in relationships, friendships, work issues, etc. He IS in control and He loves us! His plan is not to harm us, but to walk with us through whatever we face.

Jesus came to give us life! He is also a gentleman.

He does not force His way into our situations. His Word is clear (just like with the Tower of Babel people) about what He wants of us and if we are wise we will do what He says. Otherwise His plan will come about without our input.

I love God’s Word. It’s TRUTH! It doesn’t play around, try to be politically correct or try to make me feel good about how I live. It’s the truth. It IS the handbook that we all complain about not having! WE DO! It’s RIGHT here!

Thanks for praying for us! Please DO NOT stop. I want so much to bring God honor through the Clothes Closet and in my own personal life. I want to take God’s truths and apply them to every part of all that I’m involved with. I want to obey the FIRST time and not waste time on my plans… they usually fail miserably.