The Blessing of Yielding to God’s Authority

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The Blessing of Yielding to God’s Authority

“The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him” (Nahum 1:7).

On December 7, 1941 the United States of America suffered a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. That attack plunged the USA into war. The Allies won the war and Japan, the aggressor, was defeated.

Back in 612 BC Nineveh, a capital of Assyria, suffered a surprise attack from which she never recovered. A vivid description is written up in chapters two and three of the book of Nahum.

Nahum a picture of God’s character

To set the stage for his write-up of Nineveh’s upcoming destruction, Nahum first gave his readers a picture of God’s character.

Nahum related that “God is jealous” (Nahum 1:2). God stands all by Himself. He alone is God.

God is personally involved in all aspects of His creation. He is aware of what the wicked do and will not acquit them (Nahum1:3). His anger is fierce (Nahum1:6) as He takes vengeance on His adversaries (Nahum 1:2).

God gives the wicked ample time to turn from their sin. He is “slow to anger, and great in power” (Nahum 1:3

One hundred years before Nahum lived, God sent the prophet Jonah to Nineveh. The message God had for Nineveh at that time was harsh. He was going to overthrow the city if they did not repent within forty days.

On that occasion the leaders and residents sincerely and humbly repented of their evil. Sadly, the wholesale change of heart on the part of the  Ninevites was temporary.

Nineveh “the bloody city”

Nineveh was one of the capitals of Assyria. At the time of Nahum’s writing, Nineveh had a reputation among the surrounding nations. From Nineveh, Assyria specialized in taking down key cities difficult to defeat. Nahum described Nineveh as a “bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery” (Nahum 3:1).

An example of Nineveh’s ruthless work was what they did at No, short for No-Amon, the Egyptian city of Thebes. Nineveh conquered this city in bloody conquest (Nahum 3:8-10).

 God does not leave the wicked unpunished

Nineveh thought it was invincible. But Nineveh was no match for God. When God was ready, He brought down the city so thoroughly it could not get back on its feet again, so great was the devastation. Nahum advised them to “seek strength because of the enemy” (Nahum 3:11) even though it was a lost cause due to their blatant defiance of God.

God is serious about sin; God gives blessing to those who yield to him

By this we see God is serious about sin. On the other hand, for those who yield to God’s authority as LORD and have accepted His offer of salvation through Jesus, God shows a different side of His character. For them, “the LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knoweth them that trust in Him” (Nahum 1:7).

May we embrace God’s authority instead of running away from Him. By doing so we will find God’s great power is of great help to us in our personal battles we wage against sin.

As we trust God to help us with personal issues, we discover God is good. Following His principles of living found in His Word the Bible, we draw close to God and begin to get to know Him.

Yielding brings blessings

The longer we know Him, the greater the possibility of the friendship becoming more intimate. We see things in us we don’t like and we throw off unhealthy aspects of our character. We start thinking more like the God we read about in the Bible. Now we’re talking real living! May we let God have His way in us today, for His glory.

Shirley Logsdon

https://youtu.be/R0gu0nOaFsI Whom Shall I Fear  God of Angel Armies by Chris Tomlin

additional message from Tiffinany McGinnis

The Sweet Life of Evil People

 

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About Shirley Logsdon

I am the only child of Christian parents who wanted me to know God personally as they did. One night during church we watched a movie depicting a family in their home accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. I was nine and realized then my desire to make Jesus my personal Savior. With the full support of my parents, I met with the pastor and prayed to receive Christ. A few years later, several of us around the same age began classes for our confirmation to become church members. The privilege of taking communion was a special time for me. . During my teenage years I was outwardly complacent, but was inwardly rebellious. I developed the nasty habit of disrupting harmony in the household by nitpicking at anything and everything. A preacher came to hold revival services at my dad’s church and nailed me silently with looks. This helped me tremendously. I turned a corner and began to respect and obey my parents in attitude and actions. I survived these years through prayer (mine, my parents and friends). The love and tenacity of my parents and God’s grace got me through these years of upheaval. I readily identify with David the Psalmist when he said in Psalm 25:7, “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.” Because my parents provided a stable home life for me, when I went to college my Christian values remained intact. After completing my education in 1979, I started working. For a while, I worked at temp agencies, then I did odd jobs. I settled down in a secretarial position in 1986 working for a firm specializing in retirement plan administration. In 2007, I started working for a law firm, eventually becoming a knowledge management assistant in their law library, helping to alert attorneys to new business opportunities. I am a productive citizen of my country in large part because my parents prayed for me and made clear by word and example what they expected of me. I am extremely grateful to God for them. John 15:5 is my life verse: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” I am confronted with this realization every day I live, and it helps keep me on the straight and narrow path. I met my future husband at church. After a few years of our two families getting acquainted, he and I started courting. We married at the church where we met, in the presence of many relatives and friends. We have been married for 29 years. My hobbies are reading, cooking, and canning or freezing what my beloved husband grows in the garden. Also, I thoroughly enjoy writing. While my writing has included poems, most of my writing has been letters to family and friends. I like to share my faith when I write and am fond of adding a Bible verse or two to help focus on the source of our life. Since I am now retired after working 38 years, I can concentrate on keeping up with birthdays. Something else I enjoy is studying the Bible, often with others. Blogging is a new form of writing for me. I am getting my feet wet and I’m beginning to enjoy the experience.

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