Grace Notes// Hope and a Future Week 5

Renewed Foundations

Written By: Margeaux Lawson 

ISRAEL’S RESTORATION

“While he was still confined in the guard’s courtyard, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time: “The Lord who made the earth, the Lord who forms it to establish it, the Lord is his name, says this: Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the houses of this city and the palaces of Judah’s kings, the ones torn down for defense against the assault ramps of the sword.” Jeremiah 33:1-4

WHEN HOPE IS HARD TO FIND

In Jeremiah 33, Jeremiah is imprisoned and defeated by the circumstances he finds himself in. God comes to him and assures him that there is a second word for him. In life, especially in the moment, we are weathering as not only a church but a nation, it can be an easy default to slip into a mindset of hopelessness. The Lord does not wish or intend for us to live in despair and lose vision or hope for the future. The weight of a global virus, racial inequity, political failure and an economic crisis is undoubtedly causing individual and collective strain. And as Pastor Ben Hardman said in his sermon this past week, “those who obey the first word, hear the second word, those who walk in obedience in the first word, experience the second word.” God has collectively called this nation into a difficult and trying first word and it is our decision if we are going to walk in obedience with Him in what feels like a desert. The Lord refines, prunes, teaches, equips and convicts in seasons of difficulty. If we can’t obey God in challenging times, then will we even seek, praise, rejoice and sing the holy name of God when He has blessed us? Or will we just credit ourselves for our fortune?

A CALL TO REBUILDING

The Greek word for restoration means to give back what has been lost. This is powerful in that we as a community can work to change the way we as individuals and a church operate in relationships, work, church, family and society. The Lord offers restoration to our hearts and minds and gives us strength and the ability to seek heaven in places of drought and injustice. What is occurring in our country and in the American church is a unique opportunity to steer ourselves into the justice that God seeks. I know I don’t want to miss this opportunity-to obey God, repent of my disobedience and wrongful ideology and be a part of a larger movement to seek Kingdom justice. God calls us to be Kingdom dreamers and rebuilders, to lead well and listen hard, to speak up for injustice and to operate with thoughtfulness amidst pain.  

Renewed Foundations

In the desert 

Dust in my hands 

Trying to make something out of nothing 

Mistaken to be on my own 

Swirling thoughts of hopelessness 

Thirsty, is there anything for me to drink?

I cry out to Jehovah Jireh, will you sustain me, O God? 

Will you give me strength in the reckoning of my soul? 

I cry out in desperation and rub my eyes under the sweltering sun

That seems to have no end

Obedience is the way of the Lord, heavenly water will sustain me

May I rejoice in obeying the Lord

May I dance in holy adoration 

May my ways of the past crumble

And the way of the Lord take hold of me 

May God’s desires plant a garden in my soul 

And cracked foundations be destroyed 

So the foundations of holy justice and mercy 

Be the groundwork of my mind, spirit, body and heart 

Renewed and reordered, as the Lord desires

PONDERINGS: 

Choosing to walk in obedience with God is rarely easy. The Lord calls us into a way of life that asks us to choose Him and His holy ways. A life spent in obedience is not a quick fix, which our society happens to love-instant gratification, everything, all the time! The Lord simply asks us to listen to his word and walk in his ways. Challenging our culture and society and where that can often lead our hearts is part of the deep soul work necessary to walking with God and uncovering His desire for our lives. 

PROCESSSING: 

What does obedience to God look like in your life right now?

How can you allow God to lay new foundations in your life? 

What role can you play in rebuilding within the context of your community?

Where do you feel God is trying to prune and refine you? Where are your hesitations in being refined/if any? 

IN THE WORD:

Ezekiel 34: 1-31 

Jeremiah 33

Jeremiah 30: 18-22

Isaiah 42: 1-25