Title: The Wilderness to Eden
Contents
1 Hear me, you who seek the Lord in pursuit of righteousness, consider the rock that you dug up and the hollow pit you dug out. 2 Think of your father Abraham and Sarah who gave birth to you. 3 For I, the LORD, comfort Zion, and comfort all her desolate places; I have made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; There will be a singing voice
1. Words that begin
More and more people are lamenting, “Why is my life so frustrating!” or “Why is my life so twisted and I don’t know how to solve it!” More and more people are mourning, “Will the night of my life always pass?” This unfortunate phenomenon inevitably worsens when the country's economy is difficult and society is insecure and chaotic. According to Statistics Korea, surprisingly, the number of Koreans who committed suicide last year was 12,045, that is, an average of 33 people per day. The suicide rate is the highest among OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) member countries. What is even more unfortunate is the fact that suicides among those in their 20s and 30s have increased rapidly due to hardship and failure to find a job.
Several years ago, a research team led by Associate Research Fellow of the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs Nam 貞子 and Professor 趙孟濟 of Seoul National University Medical School surveyed and analyzed the actual conditions of depression among 5,000 people across the country. is depression, and 14!!!% are severe in need of treatment. In addition, 25.3!!!% of the total population has mild or more depressed depression, which is more than double that of developed countries such as the United States and Japan.
2. Those who pursue righteousness and seek God
Even more serious than this happened to Israel, who was in captivity after the Babylonian fall. As the years passed, life became more difficult, difficult, melancholy, and desire to die, God made a plan to liberate repentant Israel from the Babylonian captivity by raising Cyrus king of Persia.
At that time, the prophet Isaiah cried out, “Hear me, you who seek and seek the Lord after righteousness.”
Pursuing righteousness is following a right relationship with God and a right relationship with humans. A life of righteousness is walking according to the Spirit in the Lord. Those who pursue righteousness naturally seek and seek Jehovah God, not idols, powerful people, or themselves.
The prophet Isaiah heard the parable of the quarry about the blessings that will come to those who seek and seek God in pursuit of righteousness. Think of the rock from which Israel was dug and the hollow pit that was dug up. In other words, think of Abraham and Sarah, the ancestors of Israel.
When Abraham lived in Ur of the Chaldeans, he lived in an idolatrous family far from God's blessing. It is God who called Abraham out of idolatry, promised great blessings, and made it happen. In Genesis 12:1 we read, “Then the Lord said to Abram, “Leave your land, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great; “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and in you all peoples on earth will be blessed.”
According to God's promise, Abraham became the forefather, the rock that left Israel, spiritually, and became the father of all believers in God. His wife Sarah became the mother of Israel, the hollow pit in which Israel was dug. In addition, Abraham was given the blessing of wealth, and when his nephew Lot, who had upset him, became a prisoner of the enemy, he was given the gift of love by risking his life to lead 318 men and save them.
“If you fear the chain store owner, you will hate him, and your hatred will destroy you.”
“Then what should I do?”
“Go out every morning to bless your store, turn around and bless the chain stores across the street.”
“No, to bless the competitor and destroyer?”
“Anything you bless him will come back to you. Whatever evil you ask of him will destroy you.”
Six months later, the grocery store owner said to his master:
“If we had only been worried and worried, we would really have had to close the store. But after doing what the teacher said, I am now in charge of that chain store, and the game is better than ever.”
What is important is not how difficult and difficult the situation is, but how much you follow the right relationship with God. What really matters is not how depressed and wanting to die, but how much you seek and seek God. Beloved, like believers who have been justified by trusting in the Lord, instead of complaining and grumbling, I hope you will pursue a right relationship with God. Please seek and save only God, not powerful people, idols, or yourself. Then, according to each person's needs, God will give them the blessing of meeting people well, blessing their descendants, showing them the way to go, giving them wealth, or giving them a greater heart of love.
3. The One Who Makes the Wilderness Like Eden and the Desert Like the Garden of God
The prophet Isaiah prophesied about the blessings of Israel who seek and seek God in pursuit of righteousness. “For I, the Lord, comfort Zion, and comfort all her desolate places; I have made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and rejoicing, thanksgiving, and the sound of singing will be in her.”
You have liberated the destroyed Jerusalem, that is, Israel from the Babylonian captivity, so that Israel will have joy and joy, thanksgiving, and the voice of singing. Of course, according to the prophecy of Isaiah, the messenger of God, God later lifted up Cyrus king of Persia and freed Israel from the Babylonian captivity.
Our God is the Almighty who makes a life like the wilderness that has been devastated due to some mistakes or mistakes to a life like Eden. He is the Almighty who makes a life like a desert caused by unbelief or sin become a life like the garden of God. All we need to do is repent and believe in God. Everyone! I hope you enjoy the life of Eden, the garden of God, where joy, joy, thanksgiving, and the sound of singing come naturally.
How many lives around us need to be changed by God's grace?
A woman was walking in the park when she saw an old man sitting on a bench smoking a cigarette.
Grandpa was sick and tired. woman to old man
“Grandpa, you seem very ill, are you okay?” I asked.
"OK."
“By the way, do you smoke a lot?”
“I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day and drink three bottles of soju. I only eat greasy food, I don't exercise.
“It’s amazing, what’s the secret to living so long even with that?”
“I haven’t lived that long.” “What is your age this year?” “Thirty-six.”
A robbery broke into a dormitory at a girls' school in Japan.
“Don’t hold back! Give me all the important things you have!”
The robber threatened to leave the room with all his valuables. Just then, a girl
“Uncle, why don’t you take that most precious book with you when you say you will take everything that is important?”
He pointed to an old book. The thief also stole the book.
4. Conclusion
How about our country? How about the Korean church? What about our home? What about our own psychic state? Aren't you desperate for God's comfort? Our God makes the desolate wilderness like Eden, and the desert like God's garden. He changes the fate of hell into the fate of heaven. He turns sighs, sighs, and sorrows into answers of joy, joy, and thanksgiving.
I hope that all of us will have a right relationship with God as children of God who have been justified by believing in the Lord, and build a right relationship with those who depend on it. I earnestly pray that you will always be victorious and prosperous by acknowledging God in all things and receiving God's guidance.