"David remarked longingly to his men, 'Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.' So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the Lord. 'The Lord forbid that I should drink this!' he exclaimed. 'This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.' So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three." 2 Samuel 23:15-17
Oh to be one of the Three
Do you ever fantasize about being on a "Dream Team"? I do. The Yankees. The Oilers. Hewitt & McMillan (for all you older tennis players). They all bring "Dream Team" to mind.
I've had the experience once before now. And I suppose, it is not a bad idea to recap this stuff once in a while. So, here goes....
I was about 27 when I moved from Michigan back to the Washington, D.C., area where I had grown up. At the time, I worked for the U.S. Postal Service as a letter carrier. Work at the Post Office was tough and being in an environment that is heavily unionized was not all that pleasant for me. My experience is that extreme behaviors occur and extreme measures are taken simply to negotiate to the "middle ground". I did not have a Dream Team experience at the Post Office.
However, one of the stops on my mail route in Bethesda, Maryland, was an engineering and consulting firm - Dames & Moore. I noticed that the office was very professional, and I was particularly impressed with the ethnic diversity in the firm and also with the expressions on the faces of staff I would happen to see - they looked happy to me. They were not "yuppy" or pretty looking, but sincere and happy looking. I longed for that. One day, I happened to ask if there were any job openings in that firm, and the receptionist told me there was a secretarial opening to work for two of the partners in that office. So, I decided to apply and in fact landed the job.
And so began an interesting nearly 10 year experience. It was far from perfect for anyone to begin with. It was very interesting to work for the two partners I worked for -- they were the exact opposite of each other in terms of temperament and approach to almost everything. One worked in frenetic spurts, often missing deadlines, going overbudget, and explaining/negotiating things away after the fact. The other was always prepared, tended to be within budget, and always made his deadlines, and when there were overruns he was always prepared.
It is no fun serving two bosses. Biblically, it is impossible. "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Check it out -- Matthew 6:24 / Luke 16:13.
What happened with the two bosses is the subject for another devotional. Regardless, I ended up working for one of the two. He was the head of the geotechnical engineering group in the office, and eventually went on to become a Regional Manager. Working with him and his group was like being on a Dream Team. These engineers were tight-knit and all of them had traveled the world engineering sites for buildings. They were highly regarded in the field and some of them held positions on governing bodies that established engineering standards in that field. Walking around with them was an absolute treat as they could explain the geology and the soil structure anywhere we went!
So, I found that everywhere I traveled, I talked about the Dream Team I was on. Planes, trains, busses and automobiles were opportunities for me to talk about the players and the projects done by this team and our firm in general. Well, let me tell you, when you believe in what you are talking about, people want to jump on board. People I met gravitated to me and working relationships started to come together. I once met a 4-star admiral on a plane who was having asbestos issues in some warehouses in California. I told him about the Dream Team and how they could help him out, and I'll never forget him handing me his business card and saying "Have your guy call my guy." Let me be clear - this was not a credit to me, but to the Dream Team of which I was part. There was excellence. There was synergy. There was loyalty. There was honour. There was mutual respect. There was submission of personal objectives for the good of the team. There was kindness. There was love.
I loved being part of the Dream Team and am so very grateful to have the experience.
When my boss left the firm, the Dream Team fell apart. It was not a good situation for any of the remaining members of the team. There were still all those attributes listed above, but there was no team. I became a casualty of the fallout.
As I read about King David's escapades with his mighty men, and in particular with "The Three" that were his closest men, I am quite certain that was his Dream Team. There was excellence. There was synergy. There was loyalty. There was honour. There was mutual respect. There was submission of personal objectives for the good of the team - and for the Glory of God. There was kindness. There was love.
I long for the experience once again of being on a Dream Team. I don't think I make a good "David", but I think for a good Dream Team leader I make a great warrior.
Jesus, I yearn to be on your Dream Team. I pray that there be an opportunity for me to use what gifts I have to benefit the Kingdom of God. Oh how I long to be one of the mighty three. I pray to be filled with Your love of people and the desire for others to know You in the most intimate way. I can only imagine that years ago You allowed me to have that Dream Team experience so I could be a part of Your Dream Team today. I pray this in Your name. Amen.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Sunday, August 20, 2006
1 Timothy 4-6
Evy.
Whenever I read 1 Timonthy 5, I think of Evy -- a widow and an elder. She meets every requirement in this scripture to receive all possible benefits. When I am in her presence, I am humbled. She has faced so many significant trials in her life - a challenging marriage, the death of her child, cancer and subsequent mastectomies. And yet, if you were to talk to her right now, you would not fathom any of that, for her joy in the Lord does not seem to ever cease.
I thank God for Evy's being in my life.
Whenever I read 1 Timonthy 5, I think of Evy -- a widow and an elder. She meets every requirement in this scripture to receive all possible benefits. When I am in her presence, I am humbled. She has faced so many significant trials in her life - a challenging marriage, the death of her child, cancer and subsequent mastectomies. And yet, if you were to talk to her right now, you would not fathom any of that, for her joy in the Lord does not seem to ever cease.
I thank God for Evy's being in my life.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Nowhere
Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Luke 9:58
Nowhere
How well I remember this piece of scripture – my first memorized verse. I had recently become a Christian, and a personal trainer friend of mine, also a Christian, sent me the link to get an online mailing every day called “Sayings of Jesus” (www.sayingsofjesus.com). And the scripture above was the first one I got. I sent it off with questions to another friend in Edmonton, Alberta, who gave the questions to his pastor, who sent an answer back to me:
The context of this passage is Jesus was responding to a person who said he would follow Jesus. Jesus was simply saying, "If you want to follow me you may find you have less than you started with. I have no place to call home and if you follow me you will find you may have no place of acceptance or to call home. You will need to give up everything to follow me, so think about the price before you make the commitment and if you can pay the price make the commitment."
Well, that pastor is now my pastor, too, and he is a very good teacher. I thought that this scripture really laid things on the line – you are either in for the ride or out. No middle ground. I remember being a bit apprehensive about this scripture, because from the beginning of this journey, I knew it was “going to be hard”, and I wondered if this scripture would apply to me. But I also knew that any other way would not be really living. If I chose any other way, I knew I would have regrets and have missed something huge. I’m not talking about my journey to Edmonton, but my journey to Christ.
And it has been hard. It has also been hugely rewarding. I have an awesome pastor, a loving church family, good friends here to love and be loved by, a family back in Michigan that loves me still, a vehicle that works, a friend who is a doctor that fixed me up when I got beat up by my cat, a friend who is chiropractor who is fixing me up after massive packing and unpacking at our new church, a friend who is a massage therapist who has fixed me up repeatedly, a secret sister who has taken exceptional care of me – I could go on and on and on and on…..well, you get the picture.
The hard part has been in the waiting. I came here deciding to finish up a degree in Information Technology at NAIT while here. It seemed an obvious choice – I was nearly done and the program at NAIT is an excellent one. So, I would have one year of school, and one year of practicum. My church has been very generous to me and hired me for my practicum experience. Now that is over. And now I need to be able to work for real, and as a U.S. citizen, this means I go for a post-graduate work visa. It has already been 8 weeks since I have had to stop working. It is very hard to be my age and have nowhere to work.
In the meantime, I am housesitting. I have lived at a room and board here in Edmonton along with 4 or 5 other students in Bible College. I still maintain that it is healthier to live with people rather than on one’s own, but it can be hard at times, and when those hard times come, I feel like a failure who has no place of her own. And when I am housesitting, I think of how most people my age have a home and a family.
I know that we are all called to different purposes for God and that the measure of success in this world can be far different than the measure of success in God’s eyes. But even that is hard when there is so much apparent evidence to the contrary. It is one thing to talk the talk but it is a far cry from walking the talk.
The rubber meets the road right here, right now. I have been feeling insecure because of my circumstances – basically, having nowhere to work and no place to call my own. In tennis, there is one area of the court that is called “No Man’s Land” – that would be where I stand right now. And, I have not borne the experience all that well. I’ve complained about it and felt a bit of self-pity about it. I’ve tried to get out of No Man’s Land to no avail. I am determined to see this through, but it would be good to see it through with grace as opposed to a lack thereof.
I asked God for this experience. I counted the costs and determined that the cost of not following Him was far greater than following Him. So, I asked Him to give me the strength and the courage to follow Him wherever He leads. I still ask Him for that today. I guess it is time to realize that when I climbed out of the hole or flew out of the nest, it was not a temporary measure. The journey is not over and I may forever have nowhere to lay my head.
Jesus, I ask you again today for the strength and courage to follow you. I counted the costs when I began and though I’ve had a blip here, I still maintain there is no other way. I also ask for you to work on my heart further so I deal with these situations with more grace. I pray that I begin to appreciate the opportunities, like this one, to be more like you, and that I don’t look for affirmation based on others’ experiences, or look back with regret to things of no substance, or have expectations because of what seems “normal” to me. In your name, I ask these things.
Nowhere
How well I remember this piece of scripture – my first memorized verse. I had recently become a Christian, and a personal trainer friend of mine, also a Christian, sent me the link to get an online mailing every day called “Sayings of Jesus” (www.sayingsofjesus.com). And the scripture above was the first one I got. I sent it off with questions to another friend in Edmonton, Alberta, who gave the questions to his pastor, who sent an answer back to me:
The context of this passage is Jesus was responding to a person who said he would follow Jesus. Jesus was simply saying, "If you want to follow me you may find you have less than you started with. I have no place to call home and if you follow me you will find you may have no place of acceptance or to call home. You will need to give up everything to follow me, so think about the price before you make the commitment and if you can pay the price make the commitment."
Well, that pastor is now my pastor, too, and he is a very good teacher. I thought that this scripture really laid things on the line – you are either in for the ride or out. No middle ground. I remember being a bit apprehensive about this scripture, because from the beginning of this journey, I knew it was “going to be hard”, and I wondered if this scripture would apply to me. But I also knew that any other way would not be really living. If I chose any other way, I knew I would have regrets and have missed something huge. I’m not talking about my journey to Edmonton, but my journey to Christ.
And it has been hard. It has also been hugely rewarding. I have an awesome pastor, a loving church family, good friends here to love and be loved by, a family back in Michigan that loves me still, a vehicle that works, a friend who is a doctor that fixed me up when I got beat up by my cat, a friend who is chiropractor who is fixing me up after massive packing and unpacking at our new church, a friend who is a massage therapist who has fixed me up repeatedly, a secret sister who has taken exceptional care of me – I could go on and on and on and on…..well, you get the picture.
The hard part has been in the waiting. I came here deciding to finish up a degree in Information Technology at NAIT while here. It seemed an obvious choice – I was nearly done and the program at NAIT is an excellent one. So, I would have one year of school, and one year of practicum. My church has been very generous to me and hired me for my practicum experience. Now that is over. And now I need to be able to work for real, and as a U.S. citizen, this means I go for a post-graduate work visa. It has already been 8 weeks since I have had to stop working. It is very hard to be my age and have nowhere to work.
In the meantime, I am housesitting. I have lived at a room and board here in Edmonton along with 4 or 5 other students in Bible College. I still maintain that it is healthier to live with people rather than on one’s own, but it can be hard at times, and when those hard times come, I feel like a failure who has no place of her own. And when I am housesitting, I think of how most people my age have a home and a family.
I know that we are all called to different purposes for God and that the measure of success in this world can be far different than the measure of success in God’s eyes. But even that is hard when there is so much apparent evidence to the contrary. It is one thing to talk the talk but it is a far cry from walking the talk.
The rubber meets the road right here, right now. I have been feeling insecure because of my circumstances – basically, having nowhere to work and no place to call my own. In tennis, there is one area of the court that is called “No Man’s Land” – that would be where I stand right now. And, I have not borne the experience all that well. I’ve complained about it and felt a bit of self-pity about it. I’ve tried to get out of No Man’s Land to no avail. I am determined to see this through, but it would be good to see it through with grace as opposed to a lack thereof.
I asked God for this experience. I counted the costs and determined that the cost of not following Him was far greater than following Him. So, I asked Him to give me the strength and the courage to follow Him wherever He leads. I still ask Him for that today. I guess it is time to realize that when I climbed out of the hole or flew out of the nest, it was not a temporary measure. The journey is not over and I may forever have nowhere to lay my head.
Jesus, I ask you again today for the strength and courage to follow you. I counted the costs when I began and though I’ve had a blip here, I still maintain there is no other way. I also ask for you to work on my heart further so I deal with these situations with more grace. I pray that I begin to appreciate the opportunities, like this one, to be more like you, and that I don’t look for affirmation based on others’ experiences, or look back with regret to things of no substance, or have expectations because of what seems “normal” to me. In your name, I ask these things.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Rachel
Tonight I watched Rachel dance. Rachel is an African woman from Sierra Leone who invited me to a cultural event to discover the foods, sounds, dance, and history of her country. I am so very grateful to have Rachel as a friend and to be a part of her story as well as have her be a part of mine. And it all started when . . .
My church has a secret sister ministry. To participate, we fill out a fairly short form with family member names, favorite hobbies, favorite foods, prayer requests, birthdays, anniversaries, etc., and then we draw someone else's name. We become that lady's secret sister. My first secret sister assignment upon arriving in Edmonton was Rachel. I had no idea who Rachel was, which was ironic since I knew most of the church (even though it was a large church) and most of the church knew me. It just so happens that this church was responsible for me coming to know Jesus Christ even though at the time I lived about 2,000 miles away and in a different country.
Anyway, I asked my friend Brenda -- a board member -- and she said, "Oh yes, you know, she's one of the women from Sierra Leone."
Well, I did not know, actually, though I had heard some of the stories about these amazing women who had emigrated to Canada in 2002 due to the horrific civil war in their country. I had heard that these women lost family members and many had to leave their own children to come to Canada. When people spoke about them, there was always a tone of amazement and awe associated with these women and their strength in their circumstances.
I asked Pastor Bob if he knew anything about Rachel. He said, "She has a bullet wound in her leg from being shot as she was fleeing." What?! My secret sister had been shot? It seemed like something out of a novel or something, you know what I mean?
Rachel's form indicated she had one child -- Prince -- in his late teens. Her favorite color was yellow, a favorite hobby was reading, and chocolate was on her list of favorite goodies. Rachel was alot like me in these regards. I knew from my other research that her husband had been killed and she had other children left in Sierra Leone. I could not imagine what this must be like on a daily basis.
The rules of the Secret Sister ministry indicate that our focus is on praying for our secret sister and offer encouraging cards or small gifts. Well, I felt a bit sorry for Rachel because I have not been in a position to give anything other than small gifts for a while! But I tried to make whatever I gave as interesting as I could by writing up a poem to go with it or something of that nature. And at the end of the year, when we revealed who we were, Rachel said, "Oh, it was YOU who gave me all those wonderful gifts!" She was quite kind.
After we "met" she went back to Sierra Leone for a month -- she wanted to find her family. When she came back, we were able to have our first real dialogue after beginning this relationship. I asked her about her trip. She had managed to find her daughters. When she originally left, her two daugthers were aged 12 and 16 or thereabouts, and now they are 16 and 20. Like most young women there through the strife, they were repeatedly raped and abused. After the war "ended", they managed to get themselves into a camp in another African country (can't remember which one). It is there Rachel found them. She took them out of the camp and made arrangements for them to live with an Aunt. Rachel started the process of trying to see if they could come here, and then Rachel returned to Canada.
I couldn't imagine how it must feel to have your daughters tell you about these horrific things, and I asked Rachel about it. She said, "I could not listen to it." I can only guess at her pain. You don't bring children into the world to have them hurt.
Rachel will be going back to Sierra Leone to live with her family.
Tonight I sit with mutual friends Margaret and Chuck in the midst of perhaps eighty people from Sierra Leone and enjoy learning about their traditions. We had a wonderful dinner (great fish and chicken and several rice dishes with sauces and hot sauces, as well as ginger beer), we heard beautiful music and saw traditional dancing, and we learned some of the facts and history of Sierra Leone.
I thank God today for Rachel, and for the example she is to me of a woman dealing with some of the worst difficulties a woman and parent could deal with, and doing it with God's evident grace. I pray for Rachel's daughters. I pray that the good memories have started accumulating in their minds, and that new good experiences and memories made begin to outnumber and outweigh the bad ones. I pray that Rachel's daughters be healed, both physically and emotionally, through faith in Jesus Christ. I thank you for allowing Rachel to bless me with her story, her culture and her friendship, and I pray God's blessing on her as she journeys toward Sierra Leone once again.
My church has a secret sister ministry. To participate, we fill out a fairly short form with family member names, favorite hobbies, favorite foods, prayer requests, birthdays, anniversaries, etc., and then we draw someone else's name. We become that lady's secret sister. My first secret sister assignment upon arriving in Edmonton was Rachel. I had no idea who Rachel was, which was ironic since I knew most of the church (even though it was a large church) and most of the church knew me. It just so happens that this church was responsible for me coming to know Jesus Christ even though at the time I lived about 2,000 miles away and in a different country.
Anyway, I asked my friend Brenda -- a board member -- and she said, "Oh yes, you know, she's one of the women from Sierra Leone."
Well, I did not know, actually, though I had heard some of the stories about these amazing women who had emigrated to Canada in 2002 due to the horrific civil war in their country. I had heard that these women lost family members and many had to leave their own children to come to Canada. When people spoke about them, there was always a tone of amazement and awe associated with these women and their strength in their circumstances.
I asked Pastor Bob if he knew anything about Rachel. He said, "She has a bullet wound in her leg from being shot as she was fleeing." What?! My secret sister had been shot? It seemed like something out of a novel or something, you know what I mean?
Rachel's form indicated she had one child -- Prince -- in his late teens. Her favorite color was yellow, a favorite hobby was reading, and chocolate was on her list of favorite goodies. Rachel was alot like me in these regards. I knew from my other research that her husband had been killed and she had other children left in Sierra Leone. I could not imagine what this must be like on a daily basis.
The rules of the Secret Sister ministry indicate that our focus is on praying for our secret sister and offer encouraging cards or small gifts. Well, I felt a bit sorry for Rachel because I have not been in a position to give anything other than small gifts for a while! But I tried to make whatever I gave as interesting as I could by writing up a poem to go with it or something of that nature. And at the end of the year, when we revealed who we were, Rachel said, "Oh, it was YOU who gave me all those wonderful gifts!" She was quite kind.
After we "met" she went back to Sierra Leone for a month -- she wanted to find her family. When she came back, we were able to have our first real dialogue after beginning this relationship. I asked her about her trip. She had managed to find her daughters. When she originally left, her two daugthers were aged 12 and 16 or thereabouts, and now they are 16 and 20. Like most young women there through the strife, they were repeatedly raped and abused. After the war "ended", they managed to get themselves into a camp in another African country (can't remember which one). It is there Rachel found them. She took them out of the camp and made arrangements for them to live with an Aunt. Rachel started the process of trying to see if they could come here, and then Rachel returned to Canada.
I couldn't imagine how it must feel to have your daughters tell you about these horrific things, and I asked Rachel about it. She said, "I could not listen to it." I can only guess at her pain. You don't bring children into the world to have them hurt.
Rachel will be going back to Sierra Leone to live with her family.
Tonight I sit with mutual friends Margaret and Chuck in the midst of perhaps eighty people from Sierra Leone and enjoy learning about their traditions. We had a wonderful dinner (great fish and chicken and several rice dishes with sauces and hot sauces, as well as ginger beer), we heard beautiful music and saw traditional dancing, and we learned some of the facts and history of Sierra Leone.
I thank God today for Rachel, and for the example she is to me of a woman dealing with some of the worst difficulties a woman and parent could deal with, and doing it with God's evident grace. I pray for Rachel's daughters. I pray that the good memories have started accumulating in their minds, and that new good experiences and memories made begin to outnumber and outweigh the bad ones. I pray that Rachel's daughters be healed, both physically and emotionally, through faith in Jesus Christ. I thank you for allowing Rachel to bless me with her story, her culture and her friendship, and I pray God's blessing on her as she journeys toward Sierra Leone once again.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Thirteens
It is all about the number 13 today it appears:
Prov. 14:13: "Laughter can conceal a heavy heart; when the laughter ends, the grief remains."
Prov. 15:13: "A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit."
Prov. 14:13: "Laughter can conceal a heavy heart; when the laughter ends, the grief remains."
Prov. 15:13: "A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit."
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Wednesday
"Teach us to make the most of our time,
so that we may grow in wisdom."
Psalm 90:12
God, what does "make the most" mean? I can think of lots of synonyms, both words and expressions. "Optimalize" our time. "Capitalize" our time -- though not quite as accurate. "Fill up" our time. "Seek the greatest return on investment" of our time. All very interesting to me, Lord, but what about my time specifically? What would you have me do that makes the most of my time so that I may grow in wisdom?
You are the Almighty.
You have the plan.
You love me more than I love myself.
You see my strengths and my weaknesses.
You know me inside and out.
You are the holder of all wisdom.
You are my maker, my creator, my God.
You breathe, and the wind follows your command.
The leaves on the trees respond with praises.
The grass bows to your will.
The waves on the sea line up to attend you.
The strongest, most resilient fortress can not sustain
your softest breath.
Breathe on me, O Lord.
so that we may grow in wisdom."
Psalm 90:12
God, what does "make the most" mean? I can think of lots of synonyms, both words and expressions. "Optimalize" our time. "Capitalize" our time -- though not quite as accurate. "Fill up" our time. "Seek the greatest return on investment" of our time. All very interesting to me, Lord, but what about my time specifically? What would you have me do that makes the most of my time so that I may grow in wisdom?
You are the Almighty.
You have the plan.
You love me more than I love myself.
You see my strengths and my weaknesses.
You know me inside and out.
You are the holder of all wisdom.
You are my maker, my creator, my God.
You breathe, and the wind follows your command.
The leaves on the trees respond with praises.
The grass bows to your will.
The waves on the sea line up to attend you.
The strongest, most resilient fortress can not sustain
your softest breath.
Breathe on me, O Lord.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Musings in 2 Kings and then 1 Kings
So, my reading today was 2 Kings 21-25. Reading about the lives of the Kings of Israel and Judah is so very interesting to me. Studying leaders, their styles, their character, their flaws, their excellence, really floats my boat. The actions of leaders determine many of the circumstances for the rest of us.
Anyway, today's inspiration is Josiah. One of the seemingly few really good ones. A man of swift, sure action. As SOON as he discovered his kingdom had not been following God, he took action to rectify the situation. He did not wait a day, a week, a month. He didn't try to overanalyze the situation. He took action. Repented right away and began making restitution so to speak to the Lord. I love people of action like that and want to be with them.
As Josiah was tearing down altars and pagan shrines, he ran across some graves. One in particular was the grave of a man of God who had long ago predicted Josiah's actions in the area. So, Josiah left that grave alone.
I looked up that reference to the man of God who spoke to King Jeroboam. In my reading then in 1 Kings, I ran across this little tidbit for today. Jeroboam was very, very evil. God spared none of the rod in his punishment. At one point, Jeroboam's son was very ill and Jeroboam sent his wife to a prophet to see if the child would live. God spoke through the prophet Ahijah: "Go on home, and when you enter the city, the child will die. All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only member of your family who will have a proper burial, for this child is the only good thing that the Lord, the God of Israel, sees in the entire family of Jeroboam."
I guess what is interesting to me is the value we put on life here on this earth, and the constant reminder in the bible of how little that value is. God declared that the child was the ONLY good thing in the entire family. And yet, God allowed the child to die. I would venture a guess that if you or I knew a family down the street, say a large drug-selling, drug-taking, law-breaking family, and we knew there was one child in that family that was good, we would seek to have that child live and the rest die, so to speak. Am I wrong? Honestly, we would send in troopers to rescue that child, notwithstanding casualties among the rest.
God, on the other hand, sometimes appears to rescue the child by having him/her live in HIS world, and the rest he leaves to suffer here in THIS world. I am reminded again, that death on this earth -- death of dreams, death of plans, death of jobs, death of families, death of anything -- is not the end. Death on this earth is just the beginning.
Anyway, today's inspiration is Josiah. One of the seemingly few really good ones. A man of swift, sure action. As SOON as he discovered his kingdom had not been following God, he took action to rectify the situation. He did not wait a day, a week, a month. He didn't try to overanalyze the situation. He took action. Repented right away and began making restitution so to speak to the Lord. I love people of action like that and want to be with them.
As Josiah was tearing down altars and pagan shrines, he ran across some graves. One in particular was the grave of a man of God who had long ago predicted Josiah's actions in the area. So, Josiah left that grave alone.
I looked up that reference to the man of God who spoke to King Jeroboam. In my reading then in 1 Kings, I ran across this little tidbit for today. Jeroboam was very, very evil. God spared none of the rod in his punishment. At one point, Jeroboam's son was very ill and Jeroboam sent his wife to a prophet to see if the child would live. God spoke through the prophet Ahijah: "Go on home, and when you enter the city, the child will die. All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only member of your family who will have a proper burial, for this child is the only good thing that the Lord, the God of Israel, sees in the entire family of Jeroboam."
I guess what is interesting to me is the value we put on life here on this earth, and the constant reminder in the bible of how little that value is. God declared that the child was the ONLY good thing in the entire family. And yet, God allowed the child to die. I would venture a guess that if you or I knew a family down the street, say a large drug-selling, drug-taking, law-breaking family, and we knew there was one child in that family that was good, we would seek to have that child live and the rest die, so to speak. Am I wrong? Honestly, we would send in troopers to rescue that child, notwithstanding casualties among the rest.
God, on the other hand, sometimes appears to rescue the child by having him/her live in HIS world, and the rest he leaves to suffer here in THIS world. I am reminded again, that death on this earth -- death of dreams, death of plans, death of jobs, death of families, death of anything -- is not the end. Death on this earth is just the beginning.
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