12/05/2017 - OUTRAGED WITH HIS PEOPLE

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Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel. Psalms 78.21

The secret is not letting the Lord hear the complaints that come from our hearts, as a life decision. We should watch our words, especially when we talk to Him. There is no way for us to turn against God. If we are facing any challenges, we have to rejoice in the fact that He is righteous. Then we will be approved when the difficulty is over.

When outraging, the Lord will bring punishment to those who do not pay attention to the works He has made. For making Him furious, the person will face a punishment that will make them think twice before making the same mistake. The Most High works on every good thought He has on our behalf; because of that, if we are turning away from Him, He will correct us with love, or we will be lost forever. He truly loves us!

On that day, a fire was lit against Israel, and something very serious would happen with those who had outraged the Lord. The chiefs of the people had the obligation of submitting to the Highest One. After all, if it wasn’t by the love God had for them, they would never have left the captivity in Egypt. In the same way, born again Christians must please the Father, because, if it weren’t for the death of Christ, they would have never been set free.

Poor Israelites! They didn’t think about how much they would suffer and how much pain they would feel as they saw countless lives being lost because of the petulant attitude they showed towards the Lord. Never be irresponsible to the point of acting like them. With God we should speak a few words, with a lot of fear. Truly, we are His servants, we are allowed to approach Him and pray to Him by pure mercy.

The Lord knows how to separate for Himself those who are dear to Him – people who know and keep His commandments – and protect them in times of trouble. It would be good if, among the people of God, nobody would make Him angry, this way, they certainly would walk in victory after victory, taken by divine joy. Those family leaders did not think about their evil actions, and ended up paying with their own lives. Have mercy on us!

After they saw God supplying them with water in the desert – which should have made them rejoice and obey Him with all of their heart -, the Israelites chose to put Him to proof, questioning Him in a challenging way, if He could give them meat. Well, the Lord must be honored and never discredited, nor be teased by the people. We should seek divine will, and never depart from it.

God proved that He could quench their carnal cravings, but showed that He could not stand that type of behavior among His children. Because they spoke irresponsibly, the leaders paid a high price. Remember: the Lord presents Himself pure among the pure, but shrewd to the devious (Psalm 18:26). Never provoke Him!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares