Today’s passage is Leviticus 26:14-26. God warns the Israelites with what will happen if they don’t obey and refuse to listen: terror and disease, harvests to their enemies, no rain, unresponsive soil, afflictions multiplied seven times, wild beasts taking their children and cattle, deserted roads, punished for their sins seven times over, defeated by their enemies, killed by pestilence, plague and starvation.
1(17) What anxiety makes me quake in ?
2(19) How does God break my pride?
3(22) What sins of mine have become like beasts stealing my children?
The Sky like Iron
Today’s passage made me reflect on my circumstances at work.
Recently I have been nonplussed by small but disturbing events in my school.
No single event was a big problem, but there seemed to be more than usual. In a moment of reflection on this, I suddenly felt the terror of my school collapsing because I wasn’t in control!
I felt like running wildly away (v.17), but there was nowhere to go! I stopped running in my mind and called out to God. I said, “This is your school, not mine! Forgive me!” At once, the Lord gave me his peace.
With his peace I thought about the variety of events to see if there was a pattern. It took me five days of prayer to see the problem: me! My pride had got in the way once again.
Things had been running reasonably smoothly for a school and I was congratulating myself instead of thanking God and seeking further instructions.
God broke through my pride and complacency with unpleasant and disturbing events, all of which demanded my response. But nothing seemed to work or sort things out.
I have literal children that my sins have harmed.
God also gave me teacher-children and student-children to care for and guide.
I can only do it properly with prayer and God’s guidance,
which I have neglected.
The wild beasts of my pride (22) stole them from me.
I finally saw that the misbehaviors, carelessness, selfishness, egotism, and excuse-making of my children was the result of their imbibing those sins from me!
I infected them with my breath and my attitude. My words were meaningless because my heart was empty.
God mercifully convicted me of my sin and called me to repentance.
Application: at a meeting I have with some of my “children” I will confess that their attitude and behavior is a result of my sin. I will apologize and ask forgiveness.
Thank you, Lord, for bringing me back to your commands and decrees and showing me my lack of diligence as your steward. Let your spirit of contrition be with me tomorrow in my meeting with my spiritual children.
