By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
E matawaia tonu ana o tatou kanohi i tatou e titiro ana ki te awhina tekateka noa mo tatou: i a tatou e tiaki atu ana, i whanga noa tatou ki te iwi e kore e whakaora.
A o tumau i matou sa fole o matou mata i vaai i lo matou fesoasoani le aoga; sa vaavaai atu i matou i o matou fale matāmoe i le nuu e le mafai ona faaola mai.
Moreover, our eyes failed, looking in vain for help; from our towers we watched for a nation that could not save us.
Lamentations 4:17
It’s astonishing—for over a century, God’s prophets had warned the people of Judah to recognise the faithfulness of God and return to him, or they would experience the fear of God.
Isaiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Jeremiah and Ezekiel had each warned them.
In light of the rise of the Babylonian threat, the people, their priests, and their kings constantly put more confidence in Egyptian power or in their own military might than in God’s power.
The crushing of Judah and Jerusalem by the Babylonians was like watching a car crash in slow motion. It happened over 20 years in three phases, culminating in a cataclysmic 18-month-long siege over the city.
It’s astonishing then that amongst the rubble of the siege and destruction, the people’s hearts are still pining for Egypt to ride to their rescue.
As I prepared to preach on Lamentations 4 this weekend, I was struck that my own heart is not that different.
My heart still pines to be “rescued” by status, significance, and physical security.
My heart is still inclined to think that my abilities are more than they are. My heart is tempted every day to entrust myself to the products, programmes, and podcasts that fill my social media feeds. My heart still gets riled when people don’t agree with me.
I now see that the real issue under so many of my issues is that I don’t rest my heart in the one who has rescued me. Our security, safety, and satisfaction are found in God alone.
