Hello Sweet Friends,
Today’s Reading … Psalm 121, 123-125, 128-130, 6, 8-10, 14, 16, 19, 21, 2 Samuel 1-4, and 1 Chronicles 1-2
Today, we began reading 1 Chronicles. But before we dive in, I wanted to share our next printable with you… “Don’t. Give. Up.” our takeaway from the books of Joshua, Judges and 1 Samuel. Keep looking for more as we continue our 90 day read this summer!
Both 1 and 2 Chronicles are thought to have been written during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, when the Jewish people were restored to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity. While they were written years after 1&2 Samuel and 1&2 Kings, they serve as a supplement to these books.
I so love that we read 1&2 Chronicles in tandem with the stories that they are reiterating. Looking ahead, to the time of the Jewish return to Jerusalem, offers us a glimpse of hope – eventually God’s people do stop running and return to Him! Additionally, 1&2 Chronicles focus, even more, on the spiritual deeds and misdeeds of the kings and the importance of worshiping the Lord properly through the ministry of the priests and Temple (What the Bible is All About). There is a hint of “hindsight is 20/20” happening here. As Ezra, (the assumed author of Chronicles) recounts the information from the books of Samuel and Kings, his perspective is different. The first time we read this, the Israelites are running form God, now they are returning to Him. They have experienced exile in Babylon and lost everything. They are just beginning to rebuild as Ezra writes these words. Same story, different perspective.
When we are in the midst of trials, either because we are running form God or just because we live in a fallen world, our perspective tends to be narrow. We see the circumstance, we feel the pain, we desire to control the outcome. Looking back on those trials, understanding the outcomes, we have a different perspective. We see God’s hand, we feel His heart and we desire to surrender to His plans. What a gift it would be to stop in the middle of the present and ask the Holy Spirit to give us the perspective of the future. This is not asking God for a crystal ball. This is simply asking Him to accomplish in us whatever He desires and, at the same time, to grant us the wisdom to trust, rest and learn in the process, in the present.
Looking back I see His hand guiding my life. Looking forward I trust His hand to lead my life. Today, I choose to take His hand and live my life. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, I will lean in to my trusted Savior and learn with each step of the journey.
Love to you all,
Kinsee
“so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return empty, but accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it”(Isaiah 55:11).
