Fear Not

Following Our Footsteps

Chapter 46

December 22

2 Chronicles 15:2,4,7,15

2. "The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, He will be found by you...."

4. "...in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought Him, and He was found by them."

7. "...as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."

15. They sought God eagerly, and He was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.

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Preface

If we seek God we will find Him. So, in our distress, we sought Him eagerly, found Him and He gave us rest on every side. No war. No one attacking. Just peace.

We know the first is true because of the second. If we don't have the second, then we're not living the first.

The lives that others lead can serve as lessons for our own. We know this. It would seem obvious. But too often we get so caught up in our own "going-ons," that we fail to stop for a moment and just 'look' and learn. In this regard, Solomon wrote, "Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech..." "...whoever listens to [wisdom] will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm" (Proverbs 1:20-21,33).

Azariah was a prophet who took the time to 'look,' pay close attention and learn. He knew, of course, the history of God's people: They'd have peace in faith. Time would pass. They'd take their peace for granted. Get board. Slip into idolatry. Create chaos, turning their lives into a living hell. They'd remember their days of peace. They'd make the connection that it was when they were close to God, living wisely. So they'd call out to God. He'd show up and fix everything. Life would get back on track. Peace in faith returned. Time would pass. They'd again take peace for granted...

If this is the wheel of life, then it's like roping oneself to an actual wheel, happy for each part of the rotation when we're not being run over.

We're told that the problem with forgetting history is that we end up repeating it. But each time we forget, we devolve back into the dark-ages. When on top of the wheel we make significant societal gains, only to roll under the wheel, resetting ourselves back at the start, rendering the gains for nothing. And we start back over.

Why did the Egyptians not invent the car?

How many turns of the wheel did it take before society could get to the point where technological advancement truly took off? Imagine, though, where we'd be if not for the past resets born from idolatry at the expense of faith.

There may be those who do not want this to be true. They're imprisoned by FOMO, not wanting to give up their shiny coal for dull diamonds. Every generation has those who think they can prove the past wrong. They refuse to believe that they can't have their cake and eat it too. Ironically, they point to their technological advancements as proof that they won't fall as those who came before. But if they slip, they fall. Every single time the empire collapses.

Yes, advancement occurs faster than the generation in which it advances can handle. But it's not for them. It's for the next generation to grow inside the expanded space of greater understanding, which is part of the process of God revealing Himself to us more and more.