You Propose Progress!

And I would rehearse it in my mind over and over again as though my life depends on it.

And maybe it does.

The Lord, in His kindness, would lead me all over the scriptures, seeking for hope in the midst of heartache.

And I would find solace in the most random places... or are they really?

Ecclesiastes 7:10, "Don’t long for “the good old days.” This is not wise.”
Lamentations 3:9, “He has blocked my way with a high stone wall; He has made my road crooked.” 
And then this one,
Leviticus 26:23, “And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me.”  (KJV)

Hard passages to read.
I had thought I asked for some encouragement.

But maybe these are the encouraging scriptures this weary heart needs to hear.

My commentary suggests for Leviticus 26:23, that there are 2 things that bring us to ruin because of our disobedience: 
1.) Contempt of God’s commandments
and
2.) Contempt of God’s corrections.

The root of all misery is our failure to learn the lessons in our seasons of correction and discipline.

A Father disciplines for the betterment of his child, in the same way the Good Father chastens His beloved children for our betterment, our advancement, and for our ultimate progress.

There are five warnings in Leviticus 26 for disobedience.
Five!
Oh the patience of a Father longing to usher His child back onto the path that leads to Him!

In the fourth one found beginning in verse 23, the focus seems to center around this idea that God’s chief concern is reformation in the heart and mind of the one who remains unteachable.

The word, Reform, which is found in the KJV, is found only here in Leviticus.  The meaning is, “to be instructed”, or “to let one’s self be purposed for improvement”.. to be “purified.”  It is the same word that can be found in Jeremiah 6:8, 31:18, Psalm 2:10, and Proverbs 29:19.

Reform means this = improvement or amendment of what is wrong, to change to the better state, improve by alteration, substitution, or abolition, to cause to abandon wrong or evil ways of life or conduct, to put an end to, to abandon error, improvement of morals or behavior.

Jeremiah 2:30 says we are to properly, “respond to His discipline.”

And so I see the world and the current conditions a little differently today.

Maybe we look with contempt and regret at situations that inflict pain and worry and fear incorrectly.  Perhaps our greatest concern in conflict shouldn’t be the panic of it, the bewilderment of it, or even the removal of, as much as the right use of it.

Maybe the right question we should be wrestling with is - How will we use this?  How will we use this together, You and me, God?  Because You didn’t purpose the pain, but instead You proposed progress.

Maybe it’s time we leave the world behind, to chase after the holiness that God desires.  To concentrate on the improvement He wants to make in our hearts, as a result of all we see taking place around us.

Make me better, God.  It is the cry of my heart!