Read
Judgment on Ethiopia
12 People of Ethiopia,
the sword of the Lord
will slaughter you!
Judgment on Assyria
13 The Lord will reach to the north
to crush Assyria
and overthrow Nineveh.
14Herds of wild animals
will live in its rubble;
all kinds of desert owls
will perch on its stones
and hoot in the windows.
Noisy ravens will be heard
inside its buildings,
stripped bare of cedar.
15This is the glorious city
that felt secure and said,
“I am the only one!”
Now it's merely ruins,
a home for wild animals.
Every passerby simply sneers
and makes vulgar signs.
Reflect
When you look back over your life, when you consider all the things you have accomplished, when you think about all the things you have (even if they are few) may your heart be filled with humble praise and adoration to the Lord for his goodness to you.
For all these things are blessings from the hand of the Lord. Your very existence is a blessing from God. The skills and talents that you used to achieve your accomplishments are gifts from God. The people who have helped you along the way are blessings from the Lord. It is only through the grace of God and his sustaining presence of yourself and this universe that you are able to read this devotional.
Yes there are people around you who believe they have gotten where they are in life because of a combination of luck, hard work and self-sufficiency. They believe that they are the master of their own universe. They came, they conquered. They think that they are without peer, that they are self-sufficient. They worship themselves, and expect others to worship them as well. In their arrogance they are blinded to the fact that God’s hand of judgment is raised against them. Out of his infinite mercy and grace God warns them again of their pending doom, allowing them one more chance to repent.
Why are your eyes focused on them instead of your loving Heavenly Father? Who are you to be questioning the timing and methods of our holy God’s grace and justice? Remember that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Continue to humbly trust in the Lord.
Respond
Gracious Father, We are humbled that you are mindful of us, mere creatures of dust. Forgive us for questioning and doubting you that we may humbly and perfectly love you, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
James Bruyn
Dr. James Bruyn is a bi-vocational visionary leader, writer and speaker who enjoys helping individuals integrate their faith in God with their daily life. James is passionate about connecting the rich promises of our loving Heavenly Father that we find in the Bible, with the joys and challenges of living out our faith in the workplace. James leads a ministry to Christians in the marketplace in Calgary, provides leadership coaching, and consults for the rail industry. Publications: God With Us At Work; Gifted To Do Our Work (Word Alive Press)