Thursday, April 8, 2010

Deadly Combination

“But Pharaoh responded, ‘Who is the Lord that I should obey Him by letting Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and what’s more, I will not let Israel go.’” (Exodus 5:2)

“I do not know the Lord” – that’s a sadness. “I will not let Israel go” – that’s a mistake.

Not knowing the Lord leads to decisions that are regrettable and consequential.

There are no sadder words than “I do not know the Lord.” That saddens the Lord’s heart, and it saddens ours as well because we do know the Lord. Knowing Him makes us complete and releases joy in us. It’s like joy was in a frozen state until we came to know Him, and when He entered our hearts joy thawed out and was released. So it saddens when someone does not know the Lord.

Consequentially, there is no greater mistake than saying “I will not…” before the Lord when there is something He wants to happen. To do so is to invite the judgment of God. And, this has general application as well in that not knowing the Lord always leads to decisions of dire consequences, sooner or later. If he could, Pharaoh would be glad to testify to that. In reality, his story testifies to this truth.

Thus part of our task as believers is to help people know the Lord and find the release of joy in their lives, and to help believers come to understand and follow the will of the Lord for their lives. Our task is to lead people to completeness.

Lord, Help us to lead others to know You and to follow You. Amen.

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